Vol. 75/No. 5      February 7, 2011

Ricardo Gonzalez, a junior in high school, was describing what happened early January 20, when immigration, local, and county cops raided numerous places in this town of 17,000. Police put the number arrested at 30, though many immigrant workers say it is higher.

“They handcuffed my father and put him next to an open door. For a time they wouldn't let him put a shirt on. An officer pointed a gun with a scope on it at me. They handcuffed me and they did the same to my brothers who are 15 and 19 years old. I asked to see their search warrant. They didn't show it to me until 15 minutes later. Then they showed me the arrest warrant for my mom. They were laughing while they were removing my mother from the house.”

According to news reports, 14 people were charged with false documents or falsely claiming U.S. citizenship. Another 16 were taken into custody on alleged administrative immigration violations. Thirteen of the 14 facing criminal charges are women.

A helicopter shone a spotlight from the air as police cars drove through the housing area.

“I woke up at about 7:00 a.m.,” Octavio Garcia-Ruiz, a student at Central Washington University and a resident of the mobile home park, told the Militant. “You feel kind of helpless when you hear helicopters going around. I didn't go to school that day because I was worried about everyone else. You don't know who they are targeting.”

“This is a working-class community. They didn't target criminals,” he continued. “The statement from ICE [Immigration and Customs Enforcement] to the local papers gives the impression that this was over a very serious crime. They said it was part of an 'ongoing criminal investigation.’”

“People are scared to go to work or go to the store. You don't see Mexicans in here now,” explained Gloria Medina, a hospital worker.

Gonzalez reported that his father has been calling from the immigration detention center in Tacoma. “We put money in his account at the immigration jail so he can call,” Gonzalez explained. “It costs $4 a minute. We talked to my mother, too. She is in the county jail in Yakima.” Garcia-Ruiz said his aunt is locked up in Yakima.

While Militant reporters were speaking with witnesses to the police action, word came that a picket line against the raids had gone up in front of the post office. Larry Lowther, a retired professor, explained that pickets would be held there—the only federal building in Ellensburg—every Thursday afternoon. He said committees had been set up at a planning meeting the previous afternoon to organize material aid for families of those arrested, to cover legal questions, and to look into how the raids were carried out. A meeting to discuss the raids on January 21 drew 200.

Job Pozos-Avila, regional director of the United Farm Workers union, announced a protest in front of the Federal Courthouse in Yakima January 25 as hearings began for many of the arrested. "If we don't do anything, [ICE] will feel like they can continue doing this and get away with it,” he said.

Some 75 people participated in the action chanting, "Stop the raids," and "Our parents are not criminals." More than 30 came from Ellensburg High School. Many of the students had relatives who had been picked up in the raids.

A few passersby joined in. "I heard about this on the radio," explained Ana Jeronimo, an agricultural worker. "I think it's unfair." Renewed picketing was announced for the next day.
 
 
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