On Monday, May 12, 2008 federal immigration authorities (ICE) raided a meatpacking plant in Postville, IA. ICE Officials reported that they arrested atleast 390 people.
What happened to "Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses..."?!
Most of the 314 men and 76 women arrested are from Guatemala and Mexico, but some are from Ukraine and Israel. There were 56 people released on "humanitarian grounds."
Agriprocessor, Inc. owns the meatpacking plant that was raided.
The American Civil Liberties Union of Iowa condemned the raids in a statement Tuesday:
"It appears that detainees are not receiving adequate time to meet with their lawyers, and that defense attorneys are being overwhelmed by requests to represent far more clients than is advisable -- or perhaps even ethical," said Ben Stone, the group's president. "We are concerned that the sheer size of this raid is likely to result in numerous violations of The U.S. Constitution, which protects the due process rights of all persons in this country."
Guatemalan Natives Talk About Postville Immigration raid :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b1IUTdU9IF8
Local News Report of ICE Raid at the Agriprocessor Plant
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PrDXYMtGA4I
PRESS STATEMENT
http://www.miracoalition.org
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
Bush's Last Throes: Tear Apart Immigrant Families
U.S. Immigration Customs Enforcement (ICE) raided another meat-packing plant yesterday, this time, Agriprocessors in Postville, Iowa. The town has a population of 2,273 and the plant employed 968 workers. At least 300 workers so far have been detained. The following is a statement by Eva Millona, Acting Executive Director of the Massachusetts Immigrant & Refugee Advocacy Coalition (MIRA):
"This week, almost every American is anxious about the recession, worried about the escalating price of food and gas, and concerned for the families devastated by the tornadoes that tore across the Plains and the South, destroying towns and killing dozens. Meanwhile, the Bush Administration demonstrates its misplaced priorities in mounting a major raid, using helicopters, vehicles, and scores of armed agents to arrest hard-working immigrant employees of a meat-packing plant."
"Is it really in the country’s best interest to be spending federal resources to tear apart families, to traumatize young children, to devastate small towns, and to ruin local economies, at a time when the country has other pressing challenges and concerns? Shouldn’t we instead be protecting all working families in America from exploitation, guaranteeing the fair and just treatment of every worker, especially the most vulnerable? Immigration enforcement should not exacerbate the exploitation of workers, nor should it interfere with labor laws that are vital to protect all working families in America."
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MIRA works to advocate for the rights and opportunities of immigrants and refugees. In partnership with its members, MIRA advances this mission through education, training, leadership development, organizing, policy analysis and advocacy.
U.S. Attorney's Press Conference -- Postville, IA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ME171CJAXI0
Sister Mary McCauley talks about Postville Immigration Raid
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4_k4DBtvvM4
Summary Plyler v. Doe
The Postville Community School District was given a subpoena to turn over detailed information to the Iowa Division Of Labor Services that included birth dates, social security numbers, home address, phone numbers, etc. A 1982 U.S. Supreme Court Case prohibits school officials from questioning students on their immigration status.
In 1982, the Supreme Court rules in Plyler v. Doe , 457 U.S. 202 (1982), that public schools were prohibited from denying immigrant students access to a public education. The Court stated that undocumented children have the same right to a free public education as U.S. citizens and permanent residents. Undocumented immigrant students are obligated, as are all other students, to attend school until they reach the age mandated by state law.
Public schools and school personnel are prohibited under Plyler from adopting policies or taking actions that would deny students access to education based on their immigration status
In response to an increasing number of ICE raids where immigration authorities appear at or near schools, School Districts around the country (example: San Antonio, TX) have been training school personnel on how to respond to requests for information from Immigration and Customs Enforcement in order to be in compliance with the law.
At least 5 million children in the U.S. have at least one parent in the country illegally, according to the Urban Institute, which did the study for the National Council of LaRaza,the largest Latino civil rights and advocacy organization in the United States. http://www.nclr.org/
Senator Obama speaking to the National Council of LaRaza:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CQmWntWQ8T0
Immigration Reform
See labor journalist David Bacon's insightful analysis of the demise of the recent immigration bill. Bacon lays out the political forces involved- from big business giants to small grassroots groups and the influential 'liberal' immigrant lobbying organizations. Bacon also lays out the future challenges for grassroots immigrant rights groups and labor activists in supporting comprehensive immigration reform that is based on human rights and economic justice for immigrant workers and their families.
Senator Barack Obama, Statement on U.S. Senate Floor, May 23, 2007:
"The time to fix our broken immigration system is now...But for reform to work, we must also respond to what pulls people to America...where we can reunite families, we should. Where we can bring in more foreign-born workers with the skills our economy needs, we should."
Contact Your Congressional Representative: Online Directory for the 110th Congress -- Directorio para el 110 Congreso de los Estados Unidos
http://www.visi.com/juan/congress/
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