Wayne County activists protest federal raids on migrants
Stephanie Veale
November 6, 2008
Rochester Democrat and Chronicle
Some community activists in Wayne County believe that raids on local migrant worker families have become incessant and aggressive, but a spokesman for Immigration and Customs Enforcement says federal agents are just doing their job.
John and Nancy Ghetner of Sodus, who spoke Wednesday night at the monthly meeting of the Rochester Committee on Latin America, say methods used by immigration agents are dishonest and illegal.
They pointed to a Sept. 28 raid that led to the arrest of 14 people. Two had previous arrest warrants for failing to leave or stay out of the country after deportation, according to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and 12 were arrested and charged with being in the United States illegally.
John Ghetner criticized the methods he says were used in that raid, as did Sister Luci Romero and Padre Jesus Flores, who work closely with the migrant worker community. They said agents showed up to a mobile home park at 6 a.m. on Sunday dressed in civilian clothing. Sister Luci said the occupants of the homes were too scared not to open the door for the agents, since they were shining flashlights through the windows and pounding on the doors.
"The raids are destroying the community," she said through a translator. "Every (migrant worker) family is missing at least one person. ... They're either back in Mexico, in jail, or somewhere else."
Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokesman Mike Gilhooly says no houses were broken into and no children were arrested during the Sept. 28 raid. Agents do not need search warrants when they carry out fugitive operations, because they are required to ask permission before entering any building, Gilhooly said.
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