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Homeland Security Deports Undocumented Workers
25 April 2006
by Anai Rhoads
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AnaiRhoads.org - Homeland
Security and local police in 26 States have stepped up raids and
deportations in the recent weeks.
What is being called the largest raid on immigrant workers began
on the morning of April 20th. Nearly 1200 workers were removed from their
workplace and arrested for failing to provide legal documents. A
total of 275 were deported back to Mexico so far, with the rest
currently under investigation.
The international German-based corporation, IFCO Systems North
America, was among the targeted companies. Agents armed and dressed in
bulletproof vests invaded a total of 40
suspected factories early that morning in effort to catch the workers
offguard.
The agents then rounded up the workers and loaded some into buses while others were put in vans for later questioning.
Managers were not exempt to the raid. A total of 7 company managers
are also facing serious charges relating to immigration.
Among the States listed for the incursion were Arizona, Illinois, Indiana,
Massachusetts, New York (mainly upstate), North Carolina, Ohio,
Pennsylvania, Texas, and Virginia.
Many see this roundup and deportation as the Bush Administration's way of
squelching the ever-growing protests against U.S. immigration policies, while others believe
it is the government's way of warning those who plan to attend May
1st's National Day of Action protests.
In recent weeks over a million people, spanning over 100 cities and towns across America, have demonstrated against upcoming policies that affect
immigrants.
The protests mark the 60th anniversary of the signing of Franklin
D. Roosevelt’s Executive Order 9066, which led to the detention of
thousands of Japanese Americans during the Second World War. Also during
that process, 3,200 resident aliens of Italian background and more than 11,000 German
residents, including several who were naturalised residents, were
arrested while some were interned.
"President Bush who stood by quietly as Republican Senate Leader Bill
Frist gave in to extremist anti-immigrant Republicans and stood in
the way of the reform Americans needed," Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Oakland)
said.
On May 1st, the "El Gran Paro Americano 2006" (The Great American
Boycott 2006), "Un dia sin immigrante" (A day without an immigrant)
people are asked not to attend school, go to work, not to buy or sell
anything, and to show solidarity by wearing a white t-shirt or white
band arm bands.
It is said that neo-liberal economic policies, like NAFTA and CAFTA, have pushed millions of people into abject poverty - forcing immigrants to seek out work in the U.S.
Over 11 million undocumented men, women, and children are currently
residing and working in America. If the U.S. enforces new immigration
laws, agriculture in particular will collapse without the
immigrant-based work-force to sustain it.
Immigrants earn an estimated 240 billion dollars annually and
contribute 7 billion dollars to Social Security per year.
Their assistance was and is invaluable. Immigrants assisted in the clean-up effort after 9/11, and are still helping those in New Orleans recover from the aftermath of Hurricane
Katrina.
The upcoming rallies hope to put a stop to HR 4437, establish a temporary guest worker programme and provide immigrants with a path to citizenship.
Homeland Security hopes to increase immigration enforcement and border security by reinforcing the fence along 698 miles of the U.S.-Mexico border and will make illegal entry a felony and penalise anyone who aids undocumented workers.
By not allowing immigrants the same rights as citizens, they may fall prey to abuse in the workplace.
©2006 Anai Rhoads. Reproduction must be
authorised in writing
by author only. Altering, redistributing, or selling this material is
strictly prohibited.
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