ICE Raid in Washington State - While Napolitano Speaks in Washington D.C.

Janet Napolitano, new director of DHS says she did not know about the raid in advance. It is not surprising... since ICE seems to have a mind of its own.  See "Napolitano orders review of WA Raid" -- Seattle Times, February 25, 2009

There was a hearing today of the House Committee on Homeland Security.  A few hours before the hearing, 9 people were detained by ICE in Houston.  See Houston Chronicle article "Immigration Agents arrest 9 at Ship Channel,"  February 25, 2009*

2 25 09

Publish at Scribd or explore others:

just in case you can't get the link to the Houston Chronicle article on the Ship Channel raid:

"Immigration officials arrested nine suspected illegal immigrants on Wednesday at a sweep at the Greens Port Terminal, a cargo loading and unloading facility on the Houston Ship Channel.

Yolanda Choates, a spokeswoman for U.S. Customs and Border Protection, said the joint operation with local authorities also led to the arrest of a U.S. citizen with four outstanding criminal warrants.

Choates said she was unsure which company or companies employed the nine illegal immigration suspects found during the morning raid." Houston Chronicle, February 25, 2009

Mixed Stories about ICE Raid in Maryland

The Washington Post has published an excellent article regarding a misguided ICE raid in Maryland.  This incident is an example of how DHS was losing control of itself near the end of the Bush reign.  Below the WaPo article is a report published by the Migration Policy Institute (pro-migrant if you want to call it that) regarding DHS search for criminal aliens that don't exist.

Conflicting Accounts of an ICE Raid in Md.
Officers Portray Detention of 24 Latinos Differently in Internal Probe and in Court


On Jan. 23, 2007 officers of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrested 24 Latino men in the vicinity of a 7-Eleven in Baltimore, Md. The agency said the officers were seeking to detain men in an initial group that approached them and who, when asked, admitted to being in the country illegally. This clip shows the arrest of Ernesto Guillen--one of eight men who appear to have had no previous visible contact with the officers before they were detained.

By N.C. Aizenman
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, February 18, 2009; Page A01

The boss was not happy. His elite team of immigration officers had been raiding targets across Prince George's and Montgomery counties all night long in search of fugitive and criminal immigrants but had netted only a handful.


As the unit regrouped in its Baltimore office that frigid January morning two years ago, the supervisor warned members that they were well behind a Washington-mandated annual quota of 1,000 arrests per team and ordered them back out to boost their tally.

"I don't care where you get more arrests, we need more numbers," he said, according to one account in a summary of an internal investigation. The boss then added that the agents could go to any street corner and find a group of illegal immigrants, according to the summary, not previously made public...more

NFOP_Feb09

Publish at Scribd or explore others:

ICE Raid in Palm Springs

----

51 illegal immigrants, 2 others arrested in raid at Palm Springs bakery
A former and a current supervisor are accused of hiring the workers in exchange for $3,000 each.
By Anna Gorman, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
September 11, 2008
A work site raid at a Palm Springs bakery Wednesday resulted in the arrests of 51 illegal immigrant workers and their current and former supervisors, who allegedly hired the employees in exchange for money.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials said the agency had opened an investigation into Palm Springs Baking Co. based on a tip in 2006 that the business was hiring unauthorized workers.

During the investigation, officials said, they discovered that more than 100 of 130 Social Security numbers were invalid or didn't match the names of employees. Many of the Social Security numbers belonged to U.S. citizens or legal workers from California and several other states, as well as to people who had died, according to court papers. About 25 people were using fake numbers, court papers said.

Both the current supervisor, 52-year-old Margarita Avilez Hernandez, and the former manager, 36-year-old Alicia Ramirez, face criminal charges and could get six months in federal prison if convicted.

Authorities said that the immigrants each paid $3,000 to get hired at the bakery and that many of them told the managers they were here illegally.

"No business regardless of size or type is above the law," said Robert Schoch, special agent in charge of the ICE office of investigations in Los Angeles.

Phone calls to the bakery were not returned.

The workers suspected of violating immigration law are from Mexico, Honduras and Guatemala. Twenty-seven were detained and 24 were released on humanitarian grounds while they wait for future hearings.

Officials also executed a federal search warrant at the bakery and said the investigation is ongoing.

The arrests were the latest in a string of immigration enforcement actions at work sites nationwide. Between Sept. 30, 2007, and Aug. 30 of this year, the agency arrested about 4,700 illegal workers on suspicion of administrative immigration law violations and 1,070 others on criminal charges.

Some employers who want to protect themselves from unannounced raids are joining a new ICE program called IMAGE, which allows the firms two years to work with immigration officials to get rid of undocumented workers. The city of Palmdale is a participant.

"We certainly credit the good faith of a company coming forward," Julie Myers, the head of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, said this week. The program, however, doesn't inoculate employers who knowingly hire illegal workers, officials said.

anna.gorman@latimes.com

Mississippi ICE Raid: "no company executives detained"

People clapped when those arrested were taken away.  WHAT IS THAT?  At the least it shows how much hatred and resentment is around.

And again, as always, the company executives were not arrested.  As far as I know the only time there have been arrests is if the company administrators were foreigners.  

Does this mean that ICE only wants the low wage workers who are "breaking the law."  What about the high paid bosses who are also "breaking the law" by hiring undocumented people?  Are they immune?  It appears this is so.

All this betrays reason... but then, our present administration (Bush & Co.) has never shown the ability to reason as their strong point.

An added note.  Now that the Democrats are all together, the "party of the people" could use this opportunity to make a strong statement against raids.  I am not holding my breath. 

----

Sun Herald -Biloxi/Gulport
Posted on Wed, Aug. 27, 2008
Fear grips immigrants after Miss. plant raid
By HOLBROOK MOHR

...Nearly 600 immigrants suspected of being in the country illegally were detained, creating panic among dozens of families in this small southern Mississippi town.

...The superintendent of the county school district said about half of approximately 160 Hispanic students were absent Tuesday.

Roberto Velez, pastor at Iglesia Cristiana Peniel, where an estimated 30 to 40 percent of the 200 parishioners were caught up in the raid, said parents were afraid immigration officials would take them.

"They didn't send their kids to school today," he said. "How scared is that?"

One worker caught in Monday's sweep at the plant said fellow workers applauded as immigrants were taken into custody. Federal officials said a tip from a union member prompted them to start investigating several years ago.

Fabiola Pena, 21, cradled her 2-year-old daughter as she described a chaotic scene at the plant as the raid began, followed by clapping.

"I was crying the whole time. I didn't know what to do," Pena said. "We didn't know what was happening because everyone started running. Some people thought it was a bomb but then we figured out it was immigration."

...John Foxworth, an attorney representing some of the immigrants, said..."There was no communication, an immediate loss of any kind of news and a lack of understanding of what's happening to their loved ones," ...

..."We have kids without dads and pregnant mothers who got their husbands taken away," said Velez's son, Robert, youth pastor at the church. "It was like a horror story. They got handled like they were criminals."

...[Barbara Gonzalez, an ICE spokeswoman]...said agents had executed search warrants at both the plant and the company headquarters in nearby Ellisville. She said no company executives had been detained, but this was an "ongoing investigation and yesterday's action was just the first part..."

Associated Press Writers Shelia Byrd in Hattiesburg, Emily Wagster Pettus in Jackson and Eileen Sullivan in Washington, D.C., contributed to this report.

for link to complete Sun Herald article click here

link to top photo
link to bottom photo

NYT on the Laurel, Mississippi ICE Raid

detail of photo from NYT

-----

August 26, 2008
Hundreds of Workers Held in Immigration Raid

By ADAM NOSSITER

New York Times

LAUREL, Miss. — In another large-scale workplace immigration crackdown, federal officials raided a factory here on Monday, detaining at least 350 workers they said were in the country illegally.

Numerous agents from Immigration and Customs Enforcement descended on a factory belonging to Howard Industries Inc., which manufactures electrical transformers, among other products.

As of late Monday afternoon, no criminal charges had been filed, said Barbara Gonzalez, an agency spokeswoman, but she said that dozens of workers had been “identified, fingerprinted, interviewed, photographed and processed for removal from the U.S.”

The raid follows a similar large-scale immigration operation at a meatpacking plant in Postville, Iowa, in May when nearly 400 workers were detained. That raid was a significant escalation of the Bush administration’s enforcement practices because those detained were not simply deported, as in previous raids, but were imprisoned for months on criminal charges of using false documents.

The mass rapid-fire hearings after the Postville raid took place in a temporary court facility on the grounds of the National Cattle Congress in Waterloo, Iowa. An interpreter was later sharply critical of the proceedings, saying the immigrants did not understand the charges against them.

An immigrant rights group in Jackson, Miss., the state capital, was critical of Monday’s raid, saying families with children were involved.

“It’s horrific what ICE is doing to these families and these communities,” said Shuya Ohno, a spokesman for the Mississippi Immigrants Rights Alliance. “It’s just hard to imagine that this is the United States of America.”

In Laurel on Monday afternoon, several dozen family members of immigrants waited for news of their relatives at the Immaculate Conception Catholic Church. There were several small children. A priest at the church who identified himself only as Father Sergio refused to allow interviews with the families or answer any questions, saying only: “People are afraid. We need to calm them. There are mothers and children involved.”

Entrances to the sprawling plant, in an industrial section south of town, had been blocked off by ICE. A nearby fast-food restaurant was full of the blue-shirted agents, one of whom would say only that a “little inspection” was under way at the facility.

A woman entering the church grounds with four small children said several of the youngsters’ parents had been detained. The woman, Mary Troyer, said she was a translator for many of the families.

“I don’t like this at all,” Ms. Troyer said. “I don’t understand it. They have come here to work. It’s very sad.”

The ICE spokeswoman, Ms. Gonzalez, said the workers would be taken to an ICE detention center to “await the outcome of their cases.” She said 50 would be “released into the community” instead of being sent to the center, for “humanitarian reasons,” including medical difficulties or the need to take care of children.

She said no lawyers were present while the workers were being interrogated. “Everyone will have due process under law,” Ms. Gonzalez said.

Late Monday afternoon, the grim-faced workers, some of them handcuffed, were lined up near white and silver buses as the rain poured down.

In a statement issued after the raid, Howard Industries, one of the largest employers in the region, acknowledged that it was “visited” by immigration agents trying to determine if its employees were citizens or otherwise legally authorized to work in the country.

“Howard Industries runs every check allowed to ascertain the immigration status of all applicants for jobs,” the statement said. “It is company policy that it hires only U.S. citizens and legal immigrants.”

Bill Chandler, executive director of the Mississippi Immigrants Rights Alliance, called the Laurel raid a violation of human rights.

“We’re very disturbed at what’s happened,” Mr. Chandler said. “It’s a real contradiction between our proclaimed values of hard work and family in Mississippi and the actions of local law enforcement, and ICE. I think it’s a real affront to our values. They’re creating their own terrorism by going after workers.”

After the Iowa raid, the federal interpreter said many of the immigrants did not understand the charges to which they pleaded guilty. But federal officials said the judges in the cases believed that the guilty pleas had been made freely and voluntarily.


Copyright 2008 The New York Times Company

for link to NYT article click here

WARNING: Imminent ICE RAID in Hattiesburg, Mississippi

From the Mississippi Immigration Rights Alliance:

"Physical indications show that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids are imminent in Central and Southern Mississippi in the coming days, mainly targeting residences and poultry plants. If you have any questions or observe any activity bearing out the effects of this operation, please contact our Central office at (601)968-5182."

TalkLeft the Politics of Crime

August 23, 2008 Saturday 12:06 AM EST

ICE Raid Appears Imminent in Mississippi

by Jeralyn

A workplace raid a la Postville, Iowa appears imminent in Mississippi. From the Mississippi Immigrants Rights Alliance:

A series of preparations by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on the Gulf Coast has local advocates on edge about the possibility of yet another worksite raid, and yet another devastating blow to businesses, families and communities in the name of immigration enforcement.

"The preparations we are seeing ICE make are alarmingly similar to what occurred immediately prior to the raid on the Agriprocessors, Inc. Kosher meatpacking plant in Postville, Iowa, a few months ago, " said Patricia Ice, an immigration attorney and spokesperson for MIRA. ICE has reportedly booked dozens of rooms in hotels on the Gulf Coast. They may be checking in as early as tonight.

More....


Perhaps even more worrisome are the reports that the federal court in Hattiesburg is being readied for a response similar to the response to the raid in Postville, when nearly 400 plant workers were arrested on trumped up identity theft charges, and slammed through criminal prosecution and judicial removal (being forced to waive all their criminal defense and immigration claims) within just days of the raid.

"What happened in Postville was an absolute travesty of justice that must never happen again," said Ms. Ice. "ICE must assure that any future enforcement actions are conducted in a humane manner and that detainees are permitted their constitutional rights to due process and to legal counsel."

FROM LEXIS NEXIS:


Aug. 23, 2008 ( delivered by Newstex) -- A workplace raid a la , Iowa appears imminent in Mississippi.

From the : A series of preparations by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on the Gulf Coast has local advocates on edge about the possibility of yet another worksite raid, and yet another devastating blow to businesses, families and communities in the name of immigration enforcement. "The preparations we are seeing ICE make are alarmingly similar to what occurred immediately prior to the raid on the Agriprocessors, Inc. Kosher meatpacking plant in Postville, Iowa, a few months ago, " said Patricia Ice, an immigration attorney and spokesperson for MIRA. ICE has reportedly booked dozens of rooms in hotels on the Gulf Coast. They may be checking in as early as tonight.

 More.... Perhaps even more worrisome are the reports that the federal court in Hattiesburg is being readied for a response similar to the response to the raid in Postville, when nearly 400 plant workers were arrested on trumped up identity theft charges, and slammed through criminal prosecution and judicial removal (being forced to waive all their criminal defense and immigration claims) within just days of the raid. "What happened in Postville was an absolute travesty of justice that must never happen again," said Ms. Ice. "ICE must assure that any future enforcement actions are conducted in a humane manner and that detainees are permitted their constitutional rights to due process and to legal counsel." ... Newstex ID: TALK-0001-27611238

ICE Raids Construction Site at Dulles Airport

ICE Raid at Dulles Airport, arrests workers construction site. ICE official tells reporters:

"No one is being threatened or interrogated," he said. "They are all being given due process."

42 Workers Detained In ICE Raid At Dulles

By N.C. AizenmanWashington Post Staff WriterThursday, August 14, 2008; B01

Forty-two workers suspected of being in the country illegally were detained yesterday at Dulles International Airport as immigration authorities checked the identities of people entering one of the employee entrance gates.

Although immigration officials were still investigating, they say the detainees, all of whom are men, were Latin American construction workers involved with some of the extensive building projects underway at the airport.

"There's no indication that any of the aliens were involved in any terrorist activity at all," said Mark McGraw, deputy special agent in charge with the Department of Homeland Security's Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency.

McGraw said the operation began about 5 a.m., when ICE agents working in conjunction with airport and transportation authorities set up a checkpoint at one of the southern drive-through entrances.

"ICE agents were stationed at the security gate, and we reviewed all the identity documents of all the people entering at that moment," McGraw said. "When we determined that the alienage or identity of someone inside a vehicle was in question, we recommended further inspection."
A similar operation at the airport in June 2006 resulted in the arrest of 55 workers.
McGraw said that although such large-scale checkpoint inspections are infrequent, they are part of the agency's wider, daily efforts to guard the nation's airports.

"This is a critical, sensitive facility so . . . of course we pay particular attention to it," he said. "It's one of the highest priorities of the Department of Homeland Security."

The workers were being detained administratively on immigration violations, McGraw said. Federal officials were trying to determine whether criminal charges were warranted against the workers and their employers.

Advocates for immigrants, with the National Capital Immigrant Coalition, complained that ICE officials refused to grant the detained men access to a lawyer even though the advocates arranged for one as soon as they were contacted by some of the workers' relatives.

According to Kimberly Propeack, advocacy director for CASA de Maryland, a member of the coalition, the lawyer reached ICE's office in Fairfax City in the afternoon, after the men were detained, but was told that because they had not been fully processed, they could not be informed that he was willing to represent them.

"Our understanding is that [ICE] has been interrogating the workers without legal counsel, despite the fact that an attorney has been literally knocking on the door to get in to help them," Propeack said.

Advocates, who held a protest in front of ICE's Fairfax office last night, were also concerned that officials might decide to move the men quickly to detention facilities in a distant state, as often happens to immigrants picked up by ICE.

"Some of these workers are likely to have viable legal claims to stay in the United States," Propeack said. "They may qualify for asylum; they may have pending immigration applications. But if they are moved away from their families, who are the only ones likely to find them legal help, the likelihood that they will find legal representation is very slim."

McGraw said that it was not clear where the men would be detained but that if they are moved from Virginia, it would be because of a lack of bed space. He said ICE intended to grant the men access to their families and a lawyer as soon as they were fully processed.

"No one is being threatened or interrogated," he said. "They are all being given due process."

for link to WP article click here

ICE raids Mexican restaurants in Cincinnati

The day before a congressional hearing on immigration raids, ICE arrested 58 people in Cincinnati. They all worked for Casa Fiesta, a restaurant chain.

It would be interesting to see how ICE plans their strategy. They are not planning to deport all undocumented workers. It has to be more than creating fear in communities...

-----

Immigration raids Ohio restaurants, arrests 58
Wed Jul 23, 2008 10:16pm ED

CINCINNATI (Reuters) - U.S. immigration agents raided eight Mexican restaurants in northern Ohio on Wednesday and arrested 58 employees as part of a criminal operation against illegal immigrants, federal authorities said.

All those arrested were citizens of Mexico and working at Casa Fiesta, a chain of Mexican restaurants in Ashland, Fremont, Norwalk, Oberlin, Oregon, Sandusky, Vermillion and Youngstown, Ohio, Immigration and Customs Enforcement said in a statement.

It said the raid was the culmination of more than a yearlong investigation.

Of the 58 arrested, 54 were men. Three of the four women were released on their own recognizance on humanitarian grounds, ICE said. They are still required to appear before a federal immigration judge who will determine whether they have a legal right to remain in the United States.

The raid was the latest targeting businesses employing illegal workers.
... ICE said it had made 949 criminal arrests in worksite-related raids since October 2007, including the arrests of 105 owners, managers, supervisors or human resources employees who face charges ranging from harboring to knowingly hiring illegal aliens...

(Reporting by Andrea Hopkins; Editing by Peter Cooney)

for complete Reuters article click here

Rabbi advocates for immigrant employees of Agriprocessors plant

Rabbi Morris Allen
link to photo




Rabbi Morris Allen takes a firm stand on the rights of undocumented immigrants. The ICE raid at Agriprocessors in Postville, Iowa has forced more of the American Jewish community to take notice of the immigration debate.

See dreamacttexas post "The meat hook story in Postville," June 11, 2008.
----

Raid Unsettles Kosher Beliefs
By MIRIAM JORDAN
Wall Street Journal
July 1, 2008; Page A12

An immigration raid on the country's largest kosher meatpacking plant has fueled a nationwide debate in the Jewish community about what it really means to be kosher.

A federal investigation of the plant is under way and immigration officials declined to comment. No officials at Agriprocessors have been charged with wrongdoing, and management declined to be interviewed for this article.

...revelations [of employee mistreatment] at Agriprocessors have prompted [Rabbi Morris Allen] the conservative rabbi from Mendota Heights, Minn., to call on consumers to avoid the company's products. The 53-year-old is founder of a movement that advocates for animal and worker welfare in kashrut, food prepared in accordance with Jewish law.

Rabbi Allen ...formed a commission of inquiry and won Agriprocessors' permission to visit the plant.

Rabbi Allen led a five-man team that included a Spanish-speaking rabbi, labor and immigration activists and an official from the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism, representing Conservative congregations.

"We discovered things that were unbelievably painful," Rabbi Allen says. Among other allegations, he says pregnant women working on their feet all day were denied bathroom breaks; injured workers lacked proper medical care; and accounting machinations deprived workers of payment for all clocked hours.

After the raid, Rabbi Allen returned to Postville to meet community leaders, clergy and workers awaiting deportation. On May 22, the Rabbinical Assembly, the association of Conservative rabbis, issued a statement calling on consumers to avoid Agriprocessors' products. It quoted Deuteronomy: "You shall not abuse a needy and destitute laborer."

Reaction has been swift. Synagogues and blogs are rallying in support of the ban. Uri L'Tzedek, the Orthodox group, joined in with a boycott petition so far signed by 2,000 Jewish religious and political leaders. And this week, the Conservative movement is set to release guidelines for an initiative called Hekhsher Tzedek, Hebrew for "justice certification." Meant to supplement traditional kosher certification, it will attest that kosher food was produced at a facility that meets ethical standards in areas like wages and benefits, health and safety and animal welfare.

Rabbi Allen's BlackBerry is stuffed with angry emails accusing him of sowing discord among Jews. "It's not a matter of hurting Jews or non-Jews," says the rabbi. "It's a matter of finding the truth and what is acceptable according to whom we are as a people."

Write to Miriam Jordan at miriam.jordan@wsj.com

for complete WSJ article click here

to see NYT article on Rabbi Allen and the Postville raid, click here

ICE Raid in Maryland- Employers not Fined or Detained

As long as ICE raids continue and  employers are not charged or detained - but undocumented workers are snatched away to God knows what detention center  - Department of Homeland Security will continue to show it's false mission.  These actions belie any claim that DHS and ICE are protecting the security of our country. 

As long as employers are only told "shame on you" and sent home - ICE will continue to look like the bully who terrorizes kids who can't hit back.

-----

Authorities Detain 45 in Immigration Raid at Painting Company
By William Wan
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, July 1, 2008; Page B02

Authorities raided the offices of an Annapolis painting company yesterday and detained 45 suspected illegal immigrants, who officials say were hired and housed by the company in private homes.

The raids, executed simultaneously at the offices of Annapolis Painting Services and 10 private homes that authorities said were owned by the company, were conducted by a force of 75 federal immigration agents and 50 Anne Arundel County police officers.

The immigrants are being held by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials in Baltimore while their status is reviewed, said Scot Rittenberg, an assistant special agent in charge in Baltimore.

No charges have been filed yet against the owner of the painting company, Robert Bontempo Jr., because the investigation has not been completed, Rittenberg said. But Police Chief James Teare Sr. said Bontempo could face federal felony charges...

for complete WP article click here

150 ICE agents: part IV

The Big Snare



Here is a video from Fox about the Action Rag raid.

Today, the Houston Chronicle's headline on the raid used the word "snare." What do you snare? Armadillos? rabbits? mice? I have never heard of anyone "snaring" people.

80 people were present for the protest scheduled today at the Leeland Federal Building in Houston.

Bringing Integrity to our Immigration System

The day after Senator Robert Menendez gave his speech on immigration, ICE arrested another 42 people in Rhode Island. As the ICE spokesman stated in the press release - they are committed to restoring integrity" -- does that mean they will start using warrants instead of breaking down doors? Will they stop handcuffing pregnant mothers who are U.S. citizens? Will they stop drugging detainees - as they have been doing for transit?

In the following statement ICE drops the names of some organizations that assisted with the Rhode Island raid. Was this information given so we could say "oh, I guess what ICE is doing is ok because all these people are helping" -

This is the list: The Rhode Island State Police, the Middletown, RI Police Department, the United States Marshals Service, the Bristol County (MA) Sheriff's Office, and the Bureau of Diplomatic Security.

"ICE is committed to restoring integrity to our nation's immigration system, and one way to do that is to ensure removal orders are carried out," said Bruce E. Chadbourne, Field Office Director for ICE's Office of Detention and Removal in Boston..."
-----

Press Release from ICE

US Fed News

June 12, 2008 Thursday 12:28 AM EST

IMMIGRATION AND CUSTOMS ENFORCEMENT FUGITIVE OPERATIONS TEAM ARREST 42 IN RHODE ISLAND

BYLINE: US Fed News


DATELINE: PROVIDENCE, R.I.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security's U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement issued the following press release:

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrested 42 immigration fugitives and immigration violators during a law enforcement operation carried out by deportation officers assigned to the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Rhode Island Fugitive Operations Team.

This enforcement effort focused on fugitives in the Newport, RI and Middletown, RI areas over the past 2 days.

"ICE is committed to restoring integrity to our nation's immigration system, and one way to do that is to ensure removal orders are carried out," said Bruce E. Chadbourne, Field Office Director for ICE's Office of Detention and Removal in Boston. "The United States welcomes law abiding immigrants, but foreign nationals who violate our laws and who commit crimes against those in our communities will not be allowed to stay. Rest assured ICE will use all available resources to remove from the country, those not legally allowed to be here."

Of those arrested, 21 are immigration fugitives. ICE officers also arrested 12 individuals who illegally re-entered the U.S. after having been previously removed and 9 other illegal aliens.

An immigration fugitive is someone who has ignored a final order of deportation. Those fugitives have already been ordered deported and are subject to immediate removal from the United States. The individuals who have illegally re-entered the U.S. after deportation are also subject to immediate removal from the U.S. The other immigration violators arrested during this operation who have not already been ordered removed, have been charged with immigration violations and placed into removal proceedings. They await hearings before an Immigration Judge.

During the month of May alone, ICE Fugitive Operations Teams arrested over 3,400 fugitives and immigration violators across the country. Of that number, 164 were arrested by fugitive operations teams throughout New England.

The Rhode Island Fugitive Operations Team was put in place just one year ago in June 2007. The Rhode Island team is one of four teams assigned to the Boston Field Office and has contributed to the arrests of more than 1,283 fugitives and immigration violators so far this fiscal year in New England. Of that number, 992 were fugitives and 130 were illegal criminal aliens.

The Fugitive Operations Program was established in 2003 to eliminate the nation's backlog of immigration fugitives. Today, ICE has 84 teams deployed across the country and an additional 20 teams will be added by the end of September. Last year, the fugitive operations teams nearly doubled the number of arrests from 2006 " from 15,000 to more than 30,000. Additionally, in 2007, the nation's fugitive alien population declined for the first time in history and continues to do so " in large part due to the work of the fugitive operations teams and our Fugitive Operations Support Center, which helps to clear outstanding cases. Estimates now place the number of immigration fugitives in the United States at approximately 572,000, a decrease of nearly 23,000 since October 2007.

ICE's Fugitive Operations Program is an integral part of the comprehensive multi-year plan launched by the Department of Homeland Security to secure America's borders and reduce illegal immigration. That strategy seeks to gain operational control of both the northern and southern borders, while re-engineering the detention and removal system to ensure that illegal aliens are removed from the country quickly and efficiently.

Those arrested in this enforcement operation represent the following countries: Brazil, Guatemala and Mexico.

They will be detained at various state and county facilities where ICE has contracts for ICE detention.

ICE was assisted in this enforcement operation by the Rhode Island State Police, the Middletown, RI Police Department, the United States Marshals Service, the Bristol County (MA) Sheriff's Office, and the Bureau of Diplomatic Security.

The Postville ICE Raid - Why weren't the Postville employers arrested?

The largest immigration raid in U.S. History did not include the arrests of any employers - Is ICE thinking that the only ones guilty are the immigrants? ICE is well aware that the companies generally know the immigration status of their employees - If an employer willingly hires someone with a false social security number, isn't that punishable by law? Why is the rule so stringently enforced for undocumented immigrants but not for their employers who are colluding with this so-called illegal job system?



Those wanting to send donations for Postville families, can send checks to

St. Bridget's Hispanic Ministry
St. Bridget's Church
P.O. Box 369
Postville, IA 52162


for information on donations call St. Bridget's Church at (563) 864-3138.

Video of Sister Mary McCauley at St. Bridget's discussing the Postville ICE raid



-----

Postville relief workers report families' greatest need is cash
Decorah, Iowa
May 20, 2008

from the Decorah Newspaper


Many Postville families torn apart by last Monday's federal government raid on a Agriprocessors meat packing plant are in dire need of money for rent, utilities, food, and medical bills.

That is the latest report from leaders of volunteer support groups who have rallied to the aid of families now sheltered at St. Bridget's Catholic Church in Postville. As of Friday afternoon, about 300 people, mostly women and children, many of whom are U.S. citizens, remained at the church.

Approximately 390 allegedly undocumented workers at Agriprocessors were arrested during the May 12 raid by agents of the federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency -- the largest single-site operation in the country.

Workers were transported to a makeshift detention center at the Cattle Congress grounds in Waterloo, and many family members are still without word of the arrested workers. Nearly 40 women have been released with GPS monitoring devices, attached to their ankles. And several minors have also been released with monitoring devices.

"Families are anxious to find their loved ones, and when fear does not keep them away from their own homes, they are accepting collect calls that cost $4.25 for the first minute and $1 for each consecutive minute. Children whose parents were detained are traumatized and dealing with issues of anxiety, grief and separation," explained Sister Mary McCauley of St. Bridget's.

Leaders of the relief effort reported the workers' paychecks have stopped, and their families' greatest need now is cash to pay basic household expenses and medical costs.

Donations may be sent to: St. Bridget's Hispanic Ministry, St. Bridget's Church, P.O. Box 369, Postville, IA 52162. Checks should be made out to St. Bridget's Hispanic Ministry.

Donations of non-perishable food items to the local food pantry are also greatly needed. For information about the types of foods most needed and how to make a donation, call St. Bridget's Church at (563) 864-3138.

"The church and area volunteers plan to continue arranging medical services and legal advice for the families while also trying to provide security and support. The goal is to help family members feel secure enough to begin to think about what lies ahead," McCauley said.

ICE takes 300 to National Cattle Congress Fairgrounds

Photo by Jeff Raasch, Cedar Rapids Gazette


The name of the new detention center in Iowa is symbolic of how undocumented people are being treated these days. Weren't cattle cars used to transport people to concentration camps in Germany during WWII?


The Gazette has a number of articles on the raid, including one on how the local fairgrounds were turned into a detention center:

"A sign on a chain-link fence near one entrance reads, "Consulate and Interpreter Entrance." A Federal Protective Service command center truck with satellites attached to the roof is parked on the site. The raid comes after immigration rights activists said they feared the National Cattle Congress fairgrounds in Waterloo may have been converted into a detention center. Those concerns were prompted by an announcement last week that federal officials have leased the fairgrounds through May 25."

The government said earlier this month that it leased the fairgrounds for a training exercise."

for complete article on the National Cattle Congress fairgrounds turned ICE detention center click here.

---

Postville raid is 'the largest of its kind in Iowa'

The Gazette

POSTVILLE - More than 300 people here have already been arrested in what is being called the largest operation of its kind in Iowa, federal officials said this afternoon.

At 10 a.m., Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents entered Agriprocessors, Inc., as part of an ongoing investigation and to execute criminal search warrants for aggravated identify theft, fraudulent use of Social Security numbers and other crimes, as well as a civil search warrant to find people living illegally in the United States.

At a 2 p.m. news conference in Cedar Rapids, ICE spokesman Tim Counts said most of the arrests so far are for administrative immigration violations, although more information about the identities and jobs of those arrests are not being released at this time.

Those arrested are being held in Estel Hall at the National Cattle Congress grounds in Waterloo, until at least Wednesday night, he said. Estel Hall, also known as Cedar Valley Expo, serves as the grounds’ merchant showroom...

for complete Gazette article, click here

Raid in Richmond, VA - For information 804-646-0145

Immigration Agents Arrest 33 Workers in Raid at Site of New U.S. Courthouse

By Pamela Constable
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, May 8, 2008; B05

Federal immigration agents raided the construction site of a new federal courthouse in Richmond on Monday, arresting 33 workers on charges of violating federal immigration laws and being in the United States illegally, officials said yesterday.

Ernestine Fobbs, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, said the 29 men and four women who were arrested were from El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua and Peru. All were found to lack documents that would allow them to live or work in the United States, Fobbs said.

Officials had received information that illegal immigrants were working at the site, Fobbs said. The investigation is ongoing, and no information was available about the employers, she said. Those arrested were being processed for deportation.

According to radio reports, federal agents and Virginia State Police officers surrounded the work site about 8 a.m. and rounded up about 50 workers while others attempted to hide inside the half-built complex. The reports said that officials were still searching the site hours later and that the remaining workers were required to wear wristbands showing that their IDs had been found valid.

Aaron Samsel, a representative of the Virginia Immigrant People's Coalition in Richmond, said his organization and others would be available to assist relatives and friends of the arrested workers if they contact the Hispanic Liaison Office in Richmond at 804-646-0145. He said the groups would provide food, day-care services and help in obtaining information about the detained workers.

The raid was the third roundup of illegal immigrant workers in Virginia in the past two months. On April 8, federal agents arrested 59 Hispanic workers at the Lansdowne Resort in Loudoun County on charges of immigration violations and said most would be deported. In March, immigration officials arrested 43 Latin American immigrants at a construction site in Manassas.

Lawsuit filed against ICE for inappropriate procedure during raids

A few days ago in a discussion in one of my classes, one student stated "they [ICE] won't pick up Latinos just because they have darker or have Spanish surnames. They only pick up people who look illegal." I told the class that this was not so. A number of recent cases attest to ICE being more indiscriminate about who they want to detain.

the following LA Times article states that a lawsuit has been filed on the Van Nuys raid that occurred in February 2008.

"Mike Whitehead, also born in the United States, said he was detained for about 45 minutes and had to answer a few questions and show his identification before being let go."


From the Los Angeles Times
L.A. civil rights attorney files claims over federal immigration raid
Peter Schey's legal action seeks damages for employees caught up in Van Nuys workplace immigration enforcement action.
By Anna Gorman
Los Angeles Times Staff Writer

April 25, 2008

A longtime Los Angeles civil rights attorney is trying a new strategy to push federal immigration authorities to change the way they conduct workplace raids.

Peter Schey filed 114 federal claims for damages late Thursday on behalf of U.S. citizens and permanent residents who were temporarily detained during a recent raid at Micro Solutions Enterprises in Van Nuys.

On Feb. 7, armed Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents went into the company, blocked the exits and prevented all the employees from leaving while they carried out federal arrest warrants for eight people and a search warrant as part of an ongoing criminal investigation. Those eight were arrested on criminal charges and 130 others were arrested on immigration violations.

Schey said immigration authorities treated U.S. citizens and green card holders like suspected criminals without any reason to believe they had broken the law.

"That group detention is completely unconstitutional," said Schey, head of the Center for Human Rights and Constitutional Law in Los Angeles. "They have no individual probable cause, yet they come in like the Gestapo."

Immigration authorities said the warrants were signed by a U.S. magistrate judge, and the search warrant was issued based on the "likelihood that evidence of criminal violations would be found at the location."

"The search was properly conducted in accordance with the warrant, federal rules of criminal procedure and ICE policies," ICE spokeswoman Virginia Kice said in a written statement.

Carl Shusterman, a private immigration attorney, said he had not seen the claims but that ICE's changing its practices seemed like "sort of a long shot."

"How can they possibly sort out the legal and illegal employees without questioning them?" he said. "How could they conduct these raids at all if they didn't hold people at least a little while?"

But John Ayala, Southern California chapter chairman of the American Immigration Lawyers Assn., said he believed the claims would force ICE to follow the letter of the law when conducting enforcement actions.

"It's very important to remind ICE and Department of Homeland Security that the Constitution is at play and people have rights," Ayala said. "They should go in there looking for those eight workers. They shouldn't go in there on a fishing expedition."

The 114 legal workers, including Clare Cox, are each seeking $5,000 in damages.

Cox, a U.S. citizen, said she heard the agents before she saw them. Without identifying themselves, the agents told everyone to line up against the wall, she said. For about 35 to 40 minutes, Cox said, she was prohibited from leaving.

"I felt like we were being arrested," said Cox, who distributes inventory at the company. "I felt like we had no rights."

Cox said immigration authorities could have handled the arrests in a more diplomatic and less theatrical way.

"I believe in immigration laws. I believe in everyone being documented," she said. "I don't believe in these scare tactics."

Mike Whitehead, also born in the United States, said he was detained for about 45 minutes and had to answer a few questions and show his identification before being let go. The whole experience was scary and intimidating, he said.

"It was degrading. I was born in this country," said Whitehead, a sales representative for Micro Solutions. "It could have been handled completely differently. It could have been handled with dignity."

anna.gorman@latimes.com

Protest Shipley Donuts Today ( Right Now- Fed Bldg 1919 Smith) ICE Raids in Houston

What is going on in this world? Families woke up this morning to go to work and now they wont come back to their homes. ICE arrested working immigrants in Houston.

I don't understand... why not worry about global warming and in implementing measures to combat this instead of combating working people?

April 16, 2008, 10:28AM
Immigration raid nets 20 arrests at Houston Shipley Do-Nut plant


View more pictures and coverage from Houston Indy Media

By JAMES PINKERTON
Copyright 2008 Houston Chronicle

Federal agents are at a large Shipley Do-Nuts facility on Houston's north side, where they have arrested 20 workers suspected of being illegal immigrants.

Agents from Immigration and Customs Enforcement executed a search warrant about 5 a.m. at the Shipley manufacturing process center in the 5200 block of North Main.

Harris County sheriff's deputies are assisting in the raid, which took place after a caravan of about 50 federal and county vehicles drove to the center.

An ICE helicopter hovered over the site while sheriff's deputies guarded the perimeter and federal agents went inside. A number of workers were brought out in handcuffs while agents sorted through company documents and interviewed other employees.

"It's a worksite enforcement operation," said Robert Rutt, agent in charge of the ICE office in Houston.

He said the number of suspected undocumented workers arrested at the complex is include some who lived at the facility. Those arrested includes one juvenile.

A Shipley official at the site declined to comment.

The center, a four-block compound where dough is processed for use in Shipley's local shops, includes a residential facility for workers.(More)

Image

ICE Raid in Manassas Area

A few questions about the PWC ICE raid that occurred today. Were the owners or administrators of the company arrested? Have the families of those detained been advised of their where abouts? Or will these men disappear for a few weeks or months until the ICE bureaucracy catches up with it's paperwork?

I have mentioned this before - if Obama or Clinton are really serious about Latino voters, they should promise to stop the raids. At the least they should offer hope that people who are arrested will be able to contact their families in addition to obtaining legal representation. Obama and Clinton have said that the U.S. needs fair immigration reform, why can't they go further and make promises that will convince Latinos they would be leaders of "all" the people?
---

Immigration Agency Arrests 34 Workers At Construction Firm

By N.C. Aizenman
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, March 25, 2008; B05

Federal immigration authorities converged on a Prince William County construction company just before sunrise yesterday, arresting 34 Latin American nationals for being in the country illegally.

Workplace raids are rare in the Washington area, and the roundup at CMC Concrete Construction in the Manassas area appears to be the largest in the region in nearly two years, according to a review of news releases on the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Web site.

The workers -- who come from Guatemala, Mexico, Honduras, Costa Rica and El Salvador -- are being charged administratively and are in ICE custody undergoing deportation proceedings, said Ernestine Fobbs, a spokeswoman for the customs agency.

News of the arrests spread quickly through an immigrant community already on edge after a county law took effect this month allowing Prince William police to check the immigration status of people stopped for other infractions.

Fobbs said the agency had executed two search warrants in connection with the operation. Because those warrants were under seal, Fobbs said, she could not discuss how or why the company had drawn federal attention, nor confirm that CMC Concrete Construction was the agency's target.

James Rybicki, a spokesman for the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, said no employers had been charged. But he added, "Obviously, we'll be reviewing the case for possible criminal charges."

Public records identify Felisberto J. Magalhaes as the president of CMC and Maria Brandao Magalhaes as its secretary and treasurer. A relative of the owners who entered the company's administrative suite in a Manassas office complex yesterday afternoon to meet with several ICE agents declined to comment.

A few miles away, at a large lot where CMC workers come to pick up equipment before heading out to job sites each day, about a dozen remaining workers stood in groups discussing the morning's events.

A 32-year-old Mexican man, who asked that his name not be published for fear of retaliation from his bosses or the government, said he and three others had driven off the lot in one of the company's pickup trucks when they noticed a silver van behind them flashing police lights.

"We thought maybe we had run a light or there was something wrong with the plates -- we figured at worst we were going to get a traffic ticket," he said.

Instead, the man said, an armed immigration agent leaned in the window and demanded identification.

"Everyone grew very quiet. We were horribly sad, but more than anything, resigned," the man said.

He said agents were able to retrieve records demonstrating that CMC had successfully sponsored him for legal permanent residency years ago. But he said two colleagues in the truck had no such proof to offer and were handcuffed, along with five workers riding in a pickup behind them.

Minutes after the roadside detentions, other workers said, immigration agency vehicles entered the lot and more than a dozen agents fanned out in pursuit of several fleeing workers.

When the Mexican worker finally reached the lot, he learned that his younger brother was among those taken away.

"You feel so impotent, to see someone you know, who is just trying to work, go through this and to not be able to help him," he said.

for link to WP article click the title of this post

ACLU warns detainees: don't give out any information besides your name!

ICE raid in Van Nuys - ACLU calls it a nightmare

100 ICE agents raided Micro Solutions Enterprises in Van Nuys on Thursday (Feb. 7) afternoon. Approximately 90 undocumented workers were detained.

One of the workers, María Eufracia Tabares arrived in 1987 from Jalisco and has worked at Micro Systems for eight years. She is a single mother with three American born children, ages 17, 14, and 11. The oldest, Cristina, who is a senior in high school is now responsible for her younger siblings.

Cristina told reporters: "I am waiting to see what ICE says, at the moment I am trying to contract an attorney; find some money to pay him/her, so they won't take my mother to Mexico. She is the only one that brings food and money home, my brothers and I depend on her...even though they took my mother, we will continue with our heads held high, and I assure you that she will return, not as an undocumented immigrant, but a as someone with proper papers, because my brothers and I are citizens of this country"

Witnesses say the detainees were not allowed access to any legal advice. ACLU staff were only able to yell "que no firmaran nada, que no dieran más información que su nombre" (do not to sign anything, don't give information besides your name).

Families of detainees can call the ACLU at (213) 977-5223.


-----
Masiva redada en Van Nuys

Cerca de un centenar de trabajadores indocumentados fueron arrestados

Claudia Núñez y Mary Ballesteros
La Opinión -Los Angeles
08 de febrero de 2008

La Oficina de Control de Inmigración y Aduanas (ICE) realizó ayer una sorpresiva redada en una fábrica de Van Nuys arrestando a docenas de trabajadores indocumentados.

Aunque La Opinión no logró verificar la cifra oficial de arrestados por los agentes del ICE, familiares de los detenidos que se congregaron afuera de la fábrica Micro Solutions Enterprises para obtener información, indicaron que el número se acerca a los 90.

La Oficina de Control de Inmigración y Aduanas (ICE) informó que más de cien de sus agentes realizaron la redada bajo orden judicial.

Virginia Kice, portavoz de ICE, detalló que la redada Micro Solutions Enterprise inicio cerca de las 3:30 de la tarde del jueves y aunque no determinó el número de personas detenidas, indicó que se arrestó a varios empleados y directivos acusados de proveer documentos fraudulentos para la obtención de trabajo.

"Llegaron y alinearon a todos los trabajadores, sin dejarlos ir a ningún lado, y los esposaron. Sólo dejaron salir a unas 40 personas, supongo que eran las que tenían los papeles", indicó Adriana (optó por emitir su apellido), compañera de Armando Eguía, uno de los arrestados, quien le llamó antes de que lo subieran al autobús donde se los llevaron. Entre los trabajadores que pudieron salir estaba una mujer embarazada.

Eguía, originario de Cuernavaca, México, tenía ya tres años trabajando para Micro Solutions Enterprises, empresa que se dedica a fabricar cartuchos para impresoras. Según datos de los empleados, la empresa labora en dos turnos con unos cien y 150 empleados en cada uno de estos.

"Es muy triste esta situación, ojalá se pueda hacer algo. Son personas que vienen a este país a trabajar. Espero que los agentes de Inmigración al menos no sean rudos con ellos", agregó Adriana.

Cristina Gómez, de 17 años de edad, quien desde ahora se siente responsable de sus dos hermanos, de 14 y 11 años, relató que como a eso del mediodía recibió una llamada de su mamá diciéndole que la habían agarrado de Inmigración y que estaba todo bien, que cuidara a sus hermanos y que no se preocuparan.

Gómez cuenta que su madre había ya hablado con ellos de que algo así podría ocurrir dado el ambiente antiinmigrante que prevalece, sin embargo, dice "nunca pensé que podía pasar en realidad".

"Estaba preparada mentalmente, pero no emocionalmente", señaló la joven estudiante en el último año de preparatoria, tratando de contener el llanto y asumiendo el rol como jefe de familia agregó "ahora estoy esperando a ver que dice inmigración, por lo pronto estoy tratando de contratar a un abogado, a ver con qué dinero, para que no se lleven a mi mamá a México".

María Eufracia Tabares, madre de Cristina, quien llegó desde 1987 a Estados Unidos procedente de Jalisco, México, tenía ya ocho años trabajando para esta empresa donde fue arrestada por los agentes de Inmigración.

"A mi papá no lo veo desde hace nueve años. Ella es la única que trae comida y dinero a la casa, mis hermanos y yo dependemos de ella", dijo Cristina, cuya meta es graduarse como arquitecta.

Para los agentes de Inmigración Cristina tuvo un mensaje: "aunque se llevaron a mi mamá, nosotros seguimos con la frente hacia arriba, y les aseguro que ella va a regresar, pero no como indocumentada, sino con papeles, porque yo y mis hermanos somos ciudadanos de este país".

Organizaciones pro inmigrantes expresaron su preocupación ante la implementación de futuras redadas a otros centros de trabajo por lo que pidieron a la comunidad que se mantengan alertas.

"Son golpes planeados para aterrorizar a la comunidad y tenemos noticias de que estas redadas podrían continuar por eso le advertimos a la comunidad que no se deje llevar por el pánico, al contrario debe estar preparada y no dar ninguna información", indicó Antonio Bernabé director de CHIRLA.

El activista indicó que hasta la escena del lugar se trasladó y consejero legales, a quienes según testigos les fue negado el acceso a los detenidos.

"Los abogados de UCLU le alcanzaron a gritar a los detenidos que no firmaran nada, que no dieran más información que su nombre, eso es todo lo que deben hacer", indicó

Entre las recomendaciones indicadas por los abogados también se le pidió a los familiares detenidos que cuando éstos traten de comunicarse con ellos pregunten antes que todo por el alien number ("A" number) pues a través de este numero podrán investigar a cual centro de deportación fue enviado su familiar.

"A lo largo de todas las campañas electorales hemos escuchado que la solución al problema migratorio no es la deportación sin embargo los casos siguen surgiendo y con ello la desintegración de la familia. Este día decenas de niños se han quedado sin sus padres y casi un centenar de familias han sido quebrantadas. Esto es una pesadilla", indicó Anike Toursc portavoz de ACLU.

Para recibir asesoría los familiares de los detenidos pueden llamar a ACLU al (213) 977-5223.

No Warrants Needed in ICE Raids

No Need for a Warrant You're an Immigrant
New York Times
By JULIA PRESTON
Published: October 14, 2007

LONG ISLAND officials protested when federal agents searching for immigrant gang members raided local homes two weeks ago. The agents had rousted American citizens and legal immigrants from their beds in the night, complained Lawrence W. Mulvey, the Nassau County police commissioner, and arrested suspected illegal immigrants without so much as a warrant.

“We don’t need warrants to make the arrests,” responded Peter J. Smith, the special agent in charge in New York for Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, the agency that conducted the raids.

His concise answer helps explain the friction that the Bush administration’s recent campaign of immigration enforcement has caused. Last week, immigration officials announced that they had made more than 1,300 arrests across the country over the summer when they went looking for gang members. Since the raids were carried out under immigration law, many protections in place under the American criminal codes did not apply. Foreign residents of the United States, whether here legally or not, answer to a different set of rules.

Immigration agents are not required to obtain warrants to detain suspects. The agents also have broad authority to question people about their immigration status and to search them and their homes. There are no Miranda rights that agents must read when making arrests. Detained immigrants have the right to a lawyer, but only one they can pay for.

While criminal suspects are generally sent to jails near the courts that hear their cases, immigration agents have discretion in deciding where to hold immigrants detained for deportation. Many suspected illegal immigrants who were detained in Nassau County, for example, were quickly moved to York, Pa., distant from family and legal advice.

This parallel course for noncitizens is not new. But it has come into fuller view as the enforcement drive has swept up record numbers of illegal immigrants, also reaching legal immigrants and citizens. In answer, a barrage of lawsuits is challenging both the laws and their enforcers.

“Buried within the proud history of our nation of immigrants, shrouded but always present, there exists a distinct system,” wrote Daniel Kanstroom, a law professor at Boston College, in his book “Deportation Nation: Outsiders in American History,” which traces the history of the immigration code. To begin with, he writes, the Constitution does not specifically address the government’s power to control immigration. This is “not a small problem for a nation of immigrants,” he notes.

Immigration law remains founded on the notion that immigrants are not full members of American society until they become citizens, writes Professor Kanstroom, who is also a practicing immigration lawyer. The reduced protections in modern-day law were shaped by some of the darker episodes of the 20th century, he writes, including the prosecution of immigrant dissidents, like the Australian union leader Harry Bridges, in the 1930s; and the mass roundups of Mexican workers in the 1950s.

Arising from that landscape, the courts that handle immigration cases are part of the Justice Department, not the judiciary. Even immigrants who have lived here legally for many years, lawyers said, can run afoul of the immigration laws with minor infractions or misdemeanors. A late filing of visa renewal papers or a shoplifting citation can quickly spiral into an order for the ultimate penalty: deportation. Immigrants who fight the orders have more limited bail rights than American criminals and can spend years behind bars while their cases inch through the overburdened court system.

The immigration laws have gained new influence in everyday life because of the record number of immigrants — 37.1 million, according to census figures — now living in the United States. Of those, more than 22 million are not naturalized citizens and remain subject to the immigration system, including about 10 million legal residents and 12 million illegal immigrants, by estimates from the Pew Hispanic Center in Washington. Increasingly, immigrants live in mixed-status families that include illegal and legal residents as well as citizens.

Over the last two years, ICE has grown more aggressive, entering factories and communities, hunting down foreign fugitives ranging from convicted criminals to workers whose visas have expired. Last year, the agency deported 195,000 people, another record. After President Bush’s immigration overhaul failed in Congress in June, the administration has vigorously pursued the enforcement-first policy that Republicans demanded.

There are sharp differences among legal experts and law enforcement officials about the limited protections in the immigration laws, many of which have been upheld over the years by the Supreme Court. Officials point out that the majority of the people deported last year entered the country illegally or plainly had lost any claim to legal status, including thousands of convicts.

“Immigration law enforcement is all about getting you to where you belong, which is outside the United States,” said Jan C. Ting, a law professor at Temple University who is a former assistant commissioner of the Immigration and Naturalization Service, the precursor to ICE. He pointed out that immigration laws are civil codes, not criminal. “A lot of constitutional protections that one would normally expect in a criminal case do not necessarily apply,” he said.

Professor Ting says ICE agents are well within their authority to question people they come across in the course of a raid, even if they are not its targets, and detain them as suspects.

But new legal challenges are seeking to restrain ICE’s powers. A lawsuit in Tennessee challenges raids where agents teamed up with a county sheriff to search trailer parks, forcing their way without warrants into Hispanic immigrants’ homes. In a suit against ICE in Texas, seven citizens and legal immigrants contend their rights were violated in raids last year at Swift & Company meatpacking plants.

These cases are spurred by people like Peggy Delarosa-Delgado, a naturalized citizen born in the Dominican Republic whose Long Island home was raided twice. She described the shock of having a dozen ICE agents march into her living room, terrifying her children. As the laws governing immigrants have left American citizens increasingly vulnerable as well, more legal challenges can be expected.

for link to article click title to this post