Re: [migrawatch-public] 119 Arrested in Contra Costa County

This must stop- we must figure out how to make this stop-
February 3 we all need to bring some ideas and actions to the table- I know we are all busy but somehow we need to figure out how to make this a big deal- We need to create the momentum action against ICE.

Amelia


-=ramiro=- <saviorself@riseup.net> wrote:

...y sigue la burra dando. !!FUCK THE ICE!!


Feds arrest 119 illegal immigrants in Contra Costa
- Tyche Hendricks, Chronicle Staff Writer
Tuesday, January 23, 2007


Federal officials have arrested 119 people in Contra Costa
County in a weeklong illegal immigration crackdown, and
they had deported 16 as of Monday.

This portion of the yearlong "Operation Return to Sender"
took place primarily in Concord and Richmond and targeted
fugitives who had ignored final deportation orders, said
Timothy Aitken, deputy director of Immigration and Customs
Enforcement's detention and removal office in San
Francisco.

ICE is the agency that now performs the enforcement
functions of the old Immigration and Naturalization
Service.

Agents also picked up 94 other undocumented immigrants
they encountered in the process, he said.

Latino community advocates said the enforcement action has
sown fear in East Bay immigrant communities.

Just over half of those arrested were Mexican citizens, he
said. The rest were from El Salvador, Nicaragua,
Guatemala, Honduras, Belize, India, the Philippines,
Afghanistan, Fiji and Brazil.

Of the 119 people arrested, 18 were criminals, said
Aitken, including people who had been convicted of
possession of a controlled substance, possession of
dangerous weapons, annoying and molesting children,
disorderly conduct and driving under the influence with
prior convictions.

"We want to go after the worst of the worst; we go after
people who have ignored a judge's order," Aitken said.
"But we can't be blind to someone who doesn't have lawful
status in the United States. We wouldn't be doing our job
if we ignored those people."

The agency has 52 teams nationwide like the three he
manages in Northern and Central California, Aitken said.
He said that number is to be expanded to 75 by the end of
the year, though he would not say how many or what kind of
officers are included in each team.

"Congress thinks this is important," he said. "They're
putting some teeth back in immigration law."

Many illegal immigrants stayed home from work this week
and kept their children home from school out of fear,
Latino community leaders said.

George Vallejo, director of a day labor center in Concord,
said at least four workers involved with the center were
picked up. In one case, Vallejo said, agents went to a
home looking for the brother of a house-painter but ended
up taking the painter too, leaving his wife and baby
behind alone.

"I can see in their faces how scared people are," said
Vallejo. "They're so afraid they're going to separate
their families."

The Concord chapter of the League of United Latin American
Citizens filed a compliant Monday with Immigration and
Customs Enforcement.

LULAC chapter President Jerry Okendo said agents were not
properly identifying themselves and, armed with a warrant
for an individual, they were sweeping through apartment
complexes and picking up anyone who could not provide
proof they were living in the United States legally.

"We understand that ICE has a job to do," said Okendo,
"But we also understand that there are laws and guidelines
they have to follow, and they are not. As a civil rights
organization, we're infuriated."

LULAC is helping affected families obtain legal counsel,
Okendo said.

Spokeswoman Lori Haley with the immigration enforcement
agency said she wasn't aware of the specific complaint,
but said the agency would address them directly.

"They are entitled to notify headquarters with any
concerns they have, and any allegations would be seriously
reviewed," Haley said.

Richmond City Councilman John Marquez said he was dismayed
that ICE agents were identifying themselves as police.

"We've worked a long time to develop a relationship
between our Police Department and our Latino community so
we can get control of the violence taking place in our
city," he said. "Now when someone identifies themselves as
police, people are afraid to cooperate."

The Richmond Police Department has a policy not to take
part in investigations that deal only with immigration
status, said department spokesman Lt. Mark Gagan.

The East Bay's Immigrant Legal Resource Center and other
advocates have set a community forum about the roundup for
3 p.m. Sunday at St. Mark's Church, 159 Harbour Way,
Richmond. Members of the Richmond Police Department and
Rep. George Miller, D-Martinez, and Richmond city
officials are invited.

Operation Return to Sender has arrested 13,000 people
nationwide since June 2006, according to figures revised
over the winter, Haley said.

Of those arrested, almost 1,600 were in Northern and
Central California, and 29 percent were people with
criminal records, she said. Aitken said the three fugitive
operations teams he manages make similar arrests every day
and not just as part of specific campaigns. His teams are
trying to track down almost 15,000 people between
Bakersfield and the Oregon border who have absconded from
deportation orders, he said.

E-mail Tyche Hendricks at thendricks@sfchronicle.com.

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