Coupeville mother of 5 seeks mercy for detained husband

By Jessie Stensland
WHIDBEY NEWS TIMES
October 16, 2011

By all accounts, Jaime Villicana-Campos is a wonderful husband and a beloved father to his children.

He held two physically demanding jobs and worked seven days a week to support his large family. He somehow still made time to spend with his little girls, especially 6-year-old Angelica who suffers from epilepsy. She is particularly close to her doting father and is known in the family as "Daddy's girl."

But because of the nation's sometimes vexing immigration laws, Villicana-Campos is sitting in a Tacoma federal detention facility. He was nabbed by immigration officials in June, a month before his fifth daughter was born. He still hasn't met baby Sophia.

In the meantime, his wife and five daughters languish without him in a Central Whidbey home that his brother-in-law rented for the family. His wife, Terra Villicana, is fighting for his freedom, but suffers from depression that's so debilitating that she had to be temporarily admitted to a psychiatric unit. Tears constantly stream down her cheeks as she discusses the untenable situation.

"This is beyond pain. This is torture," Terra said. "The hardest thing is to hear the kids cry at night. They just want their dad."

Jaime Villicana-Campos is married to an American citizen and has five children born in America. He has lived in America since he was 14. He worked hard and paid taxes. But still, he faces prison followed by deportation to Mexico because of a mistake he made in 1997.

Under federal law, Villicana-Campos can't become a citizen because he was convicted of a felony. His wife explains that he was hanging out with the wrong crowd when he was a young man in Skagit County. He drove some friends to what turned out to be a drug deal and was arrested by the police.

Villicana-Campos, who didn't speak English very well at the time, got some poor advice from an attorney. Terra said he was advised to plead guilty with the promise that he'd be sentenced to work ethics camp and then would be able to return home.

But instead, the Skagit County judge sentenced him to two years in prison. After he got out, he was deported to Mexico. As Terra explained, the other members of Villicana-Campos' family had become American citizens, but for some reason he was never naturalized.

Terra admits that her husband sneaked into the country twice. The first time was when he was 14. Then he again entered illegally after he was deported.

In a statement on the case, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement corroborates the details of Villicana-Campos' story, but adds that he was convicted of trafficking cocaine and methamphetamine. He was deported to Mexico "based on that aggravated felony conviction," according to ICE.

After returning to Skagit County, Villicana-Campos met Terra, who had grown up in Coupeville. They fell in love and were married in 1999. They had their first daughter, Jasmine, in 2001.

Jasmine now goes to Coupeville schools. Like her younger sisters, she's taken her father's absence hard and often cries herself to sleep, sometimes grasping her father's shirt.

"All I want is for my daddy to be home and for him to have his papers," she said. "If I could have that, I would be the happiest girl alive."

Terra said Angelica's seizures had been under control, but the stress of her father's absence has caused them to flare up. The doctors have had to increase her medication.

As Terra explained, immigration agents came to get Villicana-Campos at their home in Mount Vernon on June 23. They pounded on the door and claimed they were police officers. She answered the door and questioned them. They eventually admitted they were from immigration, but promised they just wanted to talk to her husband for a few minutes and then would leave. Terra was eight-months pregnant at the time and begged Villicana-Campos to hide, but he wanted to take responsibility for his actions. They took him away in handcuffs.

About a month later, July 28, Terra had her fifth baby while Villicana-Campos sat in federal detention. She said it's impossible to describe how difficult it was to have the little girl without her husband there.

"I'm miserable every day," she said. "It's so difficult to answer these kids' questions."

The statement from Immigration and Customs Enforcement, however, explains the government's case.

"On July 6, Mr. Villicana-Campos was released to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service after he was criminally charged with illegally re-entering the United States after deportation, a felony charge that carries a maximum penalty of up to 20 years in prison. Mr. Villacana-Campos remains in U.S. Marshals' custody at this time as he awaits sentencing following his conviction on the felony immigration charge," according to the statement.

While the family waits for answers, Terra has been fighting to bring her husband home. She's contacted attorneys, lawmakers, a civil rights group and even the White House. She's currently working with Sen. Patty Murray's office in hopes of helping her husband's case.

In addition, she's collected testimonials from people who know her husband. At the time of his arrest, he was a manager of a horse farm and also worked at a mobile home park for seniors. Terra said he was loved by the residents and was known for helping folks on his own time.

"They were crying because they miss him so much," she said.

Another one of her allies is Dr. Robert Prins, a well-known and respected OB/GYN physician in Anacortes. He delivered all five of her girls and has offered to help the family in any way he can. He described Villicana-Campos as "a fine father."

"I have known Terra now as you can see for over 10 years and she is a delightful young lady," Prins wrote in a letter of support. "She has taken great care of her children, loves her husband and has been an asset to our community and it is a real tragedy that immigration has what I would consider to be blinders on with regards to the circumstances here. I fully understand the issues of illegal immigration and am in agreement with the general attitude and approach, but this seems like a very exceptional circumstance and those of us in the community who know and love Terra, would very much like to see this resolved in her favor."

While immigration laws are rigid, there is some hope for Villicana-Campos. His fate is largely in the hands of judges. His attorney has petitioned the Skagit County Superior Court to have the conviction vacated because he wasn't properly advised about deportation. If the attorney is successful, it would open up a road to citizenship.

Villicana-Campos already pleaded guilty in federal court to entering the country illegally. His sentencing hearing is set for Dec. 8. He's facing a maximum of 20 years in prison, but Terra prays the judge will recognize the exceptional circumstances and have mercy. She plans to bring Sophia to meet her father.

"These children just need their dad," she said. "He's an amazing, wonderful, wonderful dad and it just doesn't make any sense that they are keeping him away from his kids."

http://www.seattlepi.com/local/sound/article/Coupeville-mother-of-5-seeks-mercy-for-detained-2221500.php#ixzz1bdYp7iVa

Exiled From America: One Student’s Deportation Story

by Sydney Bouchat
Campus Progress
August 23, 2011

Hector Lopez is arrested before he knows his crime. At the age of twenty, the Portland State University sophomore discovers he is an undocumented immigrant while sitting in a federal holding cell in Portland, Oregon. After spending ten days at the Northwest Detention Center in Tacoma, Washington, and before he could find a lawyer, he is deported to Mexico, knowing neither the people nor the language. This is only the beginning of what becomes a grueling four-month ordeal for Hector, away from his home, family, and friends.

You were arrested on August 23, 2010. What was that experience like? It must have been very difficult.

Absolutely, especially when you’re not expecting anything to happen, and with me not knowing anything about my legal status. At first, you’re kind of . . . you think it’s not real. Like, ‘Oh, you must have the wrong person.’ But after you realize that it is you that [the authorities] are after, it quickly puts you into a panic.

So you were not aware at the time that you were an undocumented immigrant?

No. I have a Social [Security number] and a driver’s license. And, you know, usually when you hear about people with immigration problems, you hear of them changing names or doing things to fit in, but I never had to do any of that. I figured if I was [illegal], my parents would have told me.

How exactly did the US immigration authorities go about taking you out of the country?

I thought that as soon as I talked to a judge, someone would come to their senses and realize that this shouldn’t be happening and everything would be okay. And then, [immigration] just said, ‘Hey you, you’re leaving today.’ And I said, ‘Well, I don’t know anyone. I don’t speak the language. What do you want me to do?’ They said, ‘Well, we can’t give you legal advice.’ At around 9 a.m. [September 1, 2010], I was taken from my cell. I was given my clothes back and then handcuffed at my waist, wrists, and ankles. Then I was put on a prison plane. It made three stops. It was a twelve-hour process. We landed in Brownsville, Texas, at about 9:30 p.m. that same day. From there, [the other deportees and I] were driven to the border and made to walk across.

You were made to transport yourself across international lines?

They kind of just drop you right off at the border. You can’t go anywhere because you’re immigrant of a federal area, so you only have one way to walk, and that’s toward Mexico.

At this time, where was your father? Was he with you?

No, my dad was going to ask for asylum, but when I got deported before him for no reason, he gave up his right to fight for his case so he could be with me in Mexico. He was deported about two weeks after me because he gave up his case. But this whole situation when I was deported was by myself.

You were in Mexico for two-and-a-half weeks before your father gave up his right to asylum to be with you. Describe that experience.

That [first] night, I went to the bus station that was a little ways away from the border. There was a group of about 150 of us that had just been deported. My phone was dead, so I couldn’t call anybody. I couldn’t ask for a hotel. Three people had gotten murdered in that area a couple hours beforehand. I found a gentleman who spoke some English and he told me I probably shouldn’t be leaving the bus station because it was dangerous. So I slept at the bus station that night. The next day, I called my mom, who told me to get a bus ticket to Mexico City, where a lady who was my mom’s old neighbor was going to take me in for a while. I took about a sixteen-hour bus ride from the border to Mexico City. The lady picked me up when I got to the bus station in Mexico City. I stayed there for almost two months.

What was it like living in Mexico?

I saw moms and children sleeping on the street. They were homeless. And I thought, ‘You know, where I grew up, we don’t let that happen.’ I wasn’t used to seeing things like that. I didn’t want to be there, but I couldn’t leave. The majority of the two months I spent in my room by myself. It was almost like I didn’t even have a life. It was too much to handle, and you just kind of hide yourself and try to deal with it.

What brought about your returning to the border to seek asylum?

I can’t go too in-depth with the reasons of what happened, but after multiple incidents, and you start realizing that you’re the one being targeted, you just lose patience. I know two months doesn’t seem like that long, but every day I didn’t know when I was coming home. That’s what eats at you the most. Around the beginning of November, the panic started to sink in a little more and a little more, and I spoke to my lawyer. She said I could seek asylum. It was the thing I was trying to avoid in the first place, going back to jail, because I knew how horrible it was. But after we realized that [asylum] would probably be the quickest and safest way to get me back into the US, on November 17, I took a bus from Mexico City to Nogales, Sonora. I surrendered myself at the border at the walkthrough where people show their visas and passports. From there I was arrested and taken to the detention center, where I stayed for a little over a month.

What was the detention center like?

It’s not technically a prison, though I don’t know what the difference is. I’ve never been to prison, but I’m pretty sure it’s the same thing or almost the same thing. When I was detained in Seattle, I had my dad there. I had someone to talk to, someone who I knew, so it wasn’t as bad. I went to Arizona by myself because I didn’t really have a choice. I figured I’d rather be here than scared for my life. You get acclimated after a while. You get used to spending your whole day doing nothing. For the first couple days it was rough, and definitely a shock, but you start getting used to it.

At one point, you were allowed to go home to Milwaukee, Oregon, for Christmas. Did they do that special for you?

Yes, the [immigration] let me go home on December 23. It’s not something that they do too often. My case was a higher profile case, and there was an 1,800-signature petition sent in. There were hundreds of phone calls made. They took a little better care of me, I guess. They let me go sooner than most people. I got out without paying a bail. They do it, but it’s on a case-by-case situation, and it’s not very common.

Now you’re back with your mom and your brother in Milwaukee. What is your current legal situation?

I’m waiting for a court date. I should be receiving it in the mail soon. But right now, I’m, I think it’s called ‘out-of-status.’ I’m not really legally here, but I’m not illegally here. I’m in the middle. But hopefully I can get another start. I start school in the spring, my work application is pending to get a work permit, and I can get my license soon.

How difficult has it been for you to re-establish your American life?

I thought that was going to be a problem. I have a gentleman from Dallas who’s an advocate and he’s been helping me. His name is Ralph Isenberg. He and my mom and everyone were worried that I would suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder or something along those lines because it was pretty traumatic, what I went through. But I hopped into my life pretty quick. The first few days were a little groggy and weird, but right now I’m fine. I know it sounds weird, but right now I’m just waiting to get back to work, and that’s probably going to be before I get back to school. And then I’ll just pick up where I left off. What I told everybody is that I’m not going anywhere. I’ve been guaranteed multiple times by some of the best attorneys in the country that I’m not going anywhere. I’m not going back to another country. And that’s always reassuring. I’m going to stay here, so I might as well start my life again.

How do you think this experience has changed your opinion about being an American and living in the United States?

I think I’m an American. I may not be an American citizen, but I think I’m as American as baseball and apple pie. I grew up here. I only know one pledge of allegiance. I only know one president. For all accounts, in my eyes, I am an American, and I think a lot of people feel the same way. The reason I came back is because I believe in the American system. I knew I wouldn’t be in jail for years and years and years. I knew the right thing would be done, and the right thing was done. I’m not mad that I got arrested. A lot of people say, ‘You should be mad at the system. You should be mad at your parents.’ Well, I’m not mad at the system. They were doing their jobs. And now that things have been brought to light, they have done the right thing. They have been very helpful with everything, to release me and get me home. I guess it gives me even more admiration for the country and the American system and everything that it stands for.

Has this experience helped you grow at all, or has it only hindered you?

I don’t think it’s helped me too much, but it’s definitely opened my eyes. I now realize that when you’re talking about immigration, you have one idea of it, like what we see on the Discovery Channel or the news. But, being in it, being in jail and in the country, it’s a sad thing, and it’s not all murders and drug cartels. I saw a little four-year-old kid in a jail because someone had tried to smuggle him over. It’s a really sad thing to see. This isn’t right. So it definitely opened my eyes.

This article originally appeared in Ethos, a student publication that receives funding and training as a member of Campus Progress' journalism network.

http://campusprogress.org/articles/exiled_from_america_one_students_deportation_story/

Measure to hasten inmate deportations nears OK

By Mike Faulk
Yakima Herald-Republic
April 15, 2011

Legislation to reduce the state's prison population by making it faster and easier to deport immigrant inmates is nearing approval in Olympia.

House Bill 1547 would reduce the state's average daily prison population by 127 and save the $1.2 million in the 2012 fiscal year, said John Scott Blonien, assistant secretary for the state Department of Corrections, said.

The bill, which would send immigrant inmates directly to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, applies only to immigrant prisoners convicted of nonviolent and nonsexual crimes. The category represents a small share of the state's total inmate population of 16,000.

"These are individuals who without fail would have been deported anyway," Blonien said. "It's just a question of when the deportation takes place."

The bill has been overwhelmingly approved by both the House and Senate, but differences between the bill's two versions must be reconciled.

The House version says an arrest warrant would be issued for the inmate for the remainder of his or her sentence, a safeguard that would land offenders back in prison if they re-enter the country during that time. The Senate version calls for the warrant to remain in effect indefinitely.

Immigrants rights groups want language added to clarify how offenders facing deportation will be made aware of their rights under the newer and, theoretically, faster release and deportation process.

"While this bill is not directly dealing with deportation, it can affect people's means to contest a deportation order," Jorge Baron, executive director of the Northwest Immigrants Rights Project, said.

Baron said the legislation affects legal and illegal immigrants alike. Because those facing deportation have no right to an attorney in immigration proceedings, Baron said the legislation needs a requirement to keep inmates informed of the proceedings before they're carried out.

Baron said under the current process, inmates who could face deportation have time to contact immigrants rights groups such as his to arrange private counsel for immigration court.

"Without any indication they'll be turned over, they won't have time to pursue options under this bill," he said.

But Blonien says a process already exists in federal court for those facing deportation to be advised of their rights to contest it. He said it would be "extremely awkward" to require state- appointed defense council to advise people on federal immigration policy and state courts to verify it.

"Before the judge gives an offender the opportunity to stipulate or agree to a deportation, there's a full panoply of rights they're advised of," Blonien said.

The bill passed the House in March and passed the Senate April 5. It now heads back to the House for a vote on the two amendments added by the Senate.

http://www.yakima-herald.com/stories/2011/04/15/measure-to-hasten-inmate-deportations-nears-ok

ICE raids in Ellensburg commemorated, impact on family remains

KNDO/KNDU NEWS
Feb 27, 2011

ELLENSBURG, Wash. – More than a month after Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) conducted raids in Kittitas County, a vigil and rally were held Saturday to commemorate the event and remind the public of the impact it had on families.

"We remember and we're going to remember," said Jazmin Santacruz, the Eastern Washington Organizer for One America.

Speakers from the west side of the state along with members of the group from as far as the Tri-Cities came to the event. They were joined by the Ellensburg / Kittitas County Human Rights Coalition. The meeting of these two organizations comes a month after students protested outside the federal courthouse in Yakima.

Santacruz says its important to look to the future and understand the lasting impact.

"Those families are still suffering from the effects of what happened," she said. "Trying to piece their lives together as best as they could without their parents or brothers or sisters or, you know, whoever was taken by these raids."

I.C.E. charged 13 people with criminal offenses on Jan. 20 that included ID fraud and re-entering the country after deportation. The agency also said at the time that 16 others were accused of an administrative violation of being in the country illegally.

One America is advocating for changes to current laws and argues this is a humanitarian issue. Comprehensive immigration reform is the long-term solution, Santacruz said.

KNDO tried to contact a representative from I.C.E. but the agency does not have anyone available for media interviews on the weekend. In the past, staff have declined to comment on the Ellensburg raids.

http://www.kndo.com/Global/story.asp?S=14148861

TODAY: Kennewick forum to discuss immigration raid issues

By The Herald Staff
The Bellingham Herald
Feb, 15, 2011

Kennewick -- A Tri-City immigration action group will offer a community forum today discussing what to do if an Immigration and Customs Enforcement raid occurs.

The Tri-Cities OneAmerica committee’s “Know Your Rights” forum is at 7:30 p.m. in the St. Joseph Catholic Church's gym, 520 S. Garfield St., Kennewick.

The forum was sparked by a Jan. 20 ICE raid in Ellensberg, said Jazmin Santacruz, Eastern Washington organizer for OneAmerica.

ICE officials have said the agency was investigating the manufacture and purchase of counterfeit identity and employment documents and 14 people were arrested on criminal charges.

Nationwide, ICE has increased immigration raids, Santacruz said. Pasco immigration attorney Tom Roach will discuss what legal rights people have and what to do if approached by an ICE officer.

A representative from Child Protection Services will discuss what resources exist for families who take in their relatives' children when their parents are deported and what happens to children if there are not relatives to take them when their parents are deported.

http://www.bellinghamherald.com/2011/02/15/1868122/today-kennewick-forum-to-discuss.html

Children of immigration detainees protest outside federal building

KNDO/KNDU Tri-Cities, Yakima, WA
Jan 26, 2011

YAKIMA, Wash- Backlash continues from last week's ICE raids that put 30 people behind bars for immigration violations. Dozens of students from Ellensburg set up in front of the federal building in Yakima Tuesday afternoon. They were protesting the immigration raid that put some of their family members behind bars.

At about 11am the students walked out of their classrooms, and made the 45 minute drive to the federal building where their mothers, father, brothers, and sisters appeared in court for immigration violations.

Both of seventeen-year-old Ricardo Gonzalez' parents were taken. He and his younger brother are living with his nineteen-year-old brother. "It's really hard for him because he just graduated from high school", says Gonzalez.

Ricardo says he's been going to school to take his mind off of what's happening, but he finds it hard to focus. "This week we have finals and I felt stressed because I don't have time to do my homework" Gonzalez laments. "It don't know, it's too much, it's too much".

After Thursday's raids in Ellensburg 13 people were charged with criminal offenses ranging from with visa and government ID fraud, to re-entering the country after deportation. 16 more are accused of the administrative violation of being in the country illegally.

Job Avila is the regional director for the United Farm Workers of America and organized the protest. "It's real heartbreaking what's been going on out there. People want answers and it's been difficult for people to track family members who are in detention", says Avila.

According to him, many kids who's parents were taken are afraid to come forward for fear of being taken by social services. Ricardo's father is already awaiting deportation. His mother is scheduled to appear in Yakima federal court tomorrow. "We were really attached to my mom. It's like hard because the house is lonely now that she left", says Ricardo.

The protesters criticized President Obama for not addressing the immigration issue. During Tuesday night's state of the union address, the president said he was committed to immigration reform but did not give any details on his plans.

http://www.kndo.com/Global/story.asp?S=13909212

Immigration raid shakes up Ellensburg

By SHANNON DININNY
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
January 22, 2011

YAKIMA, Wash. -- The Latino community in a small central Washington college town nervously hid behind closed doors Friday following an immigration raid a day earlier that resulted in more than two dozen arrests and left relatives scrambling to find child care for the children left behind.

Residents in Ellensburg, about 90 miles east of Seattle, reported raids at several mobile home parks early Thursday. Ellensburg has about 17,000 residents and is home to Central Washington University.

Fourteen people - 13 of them women - made initial court appearances Friday on charges of using false documents or falsely claiming U.S. citizenship, according to the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. One was charged with re-entry into the United States after deportation.

Sixteen others were being held on immigration violations at a detention center.

In a statement, ICE officials said the investigation centered on the manufacture and purchase of counterfeit identity and employment documents.

However, as of Friday, none of those arrested faced those charges, Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas Rice said.

"Those who create and sell fraudulent documents compromise our nation's legal identification system and provide counterfeit identities to those who may otherwise be ineligible to live or work legally in the United States," said Leigh Winchell, special agent in charge of the agency's Homeland Security Investigations in Washington state.

Tearful relatives, some holding sleeping babies, looked on in court in Yakima, as a toddler happily crawled on the floor.

"All of our friends are in there, our families, our extended families," said Helen Lopez. "It's our whole community. And it's all of our women - mothers."

Lopez and her husband, Armando, were still searching for his sister, who had not yet appeared in court. They now are caring for the sister's two young children along with their own four children.

Silvia Barrientos said the trailer park where the raid happened is now empty.

"Very few are left," she said. "They know Mexicans live in the trailer park, and here the agents came."

Barrientos' husband was preparing to go to work around 6 a.m. Thursday when police and immigration agents arrived at the trailer park with guns drawn. She said they were shouting orders and knocking down doors, including her brother-in-law's.

"They're saying they're criminals. They're not criminals," Barrientos said.

Barrientos said her brother-in-law, Gilberto, and his wife were arrested and authorities didn't tell her why. Gilberto Barrientos, she said, has been a pastor at a local church for more than 10 years.

Barrientos said she was asked to take in Gilberto's 15-year-old son and 11-year-old daughter, who she described as being petrified. On Friday afternoon, a family friend had taken them out to distract them. She said they were afraid to go to school.

Michelle Bibich, principal at Morgan Middle School, said no agents showed up at the school Thursday, but that word spread quickly about the raids, worrying the students. About 13 percent of the school's 700 students are Hispanic.

"Our kids, regardless of race and ethnicity, were concerned for their friends and their friends' families," Bibich said. "It was pretty traumatic."

---
Associated Press writer Manuel Valdes contributed to this report from Olympia, Wash.
---

http://www.seattlepi.com/local/6420ap_wa_immigration_raid.html?source=mypi

Judge Orders Woman Adopted from Mexico at 5 Months Old to be Deported

Hispanically Speaking News
December 11, 2010

This week a federal immigration judge has ordered a 38 year old woman who was adopted from a Mexican orphanage by US citizens at 5 months old to be deported back to Mexico.

Tara Ammons Cohen, who has been in the Northwest Detention Center in Tacoma since July 8, 2009, has lost her argument that she would be in danger if she were deported to Mexico. Immigration laws do not recognize adoption as a special circumstance in deportations.

After bring the 5-month-old baby to the US, Cohen’s parents failed to get her nationalized. By the time that Cohen tried to straighten out her citizenship issues, she was already in trouble with the law.

The married mother of two was arrested in 2008 on theft and drug trafficking charges. She pleaded guilty to stealing a purse containing two bottles of prescription pills and to the trafficking charge, though she never sold a pill.

Cohen’s legal challenge pointed out that her particular circumstances – white, a woman, poor – would make her like an immigrant and subject to abuse and violence in Mexico. She also suffers from a bipolar disorder and has been diagnosed with posttraumatic stress disorder stemming from an assault when she was a teenager.

“Six out of 10 migrant women and girls experience sexual violence in Mexico and all such women face this serious risk of trafficking,” Her attorney said in his legal brief. “... Kidnapping of migrants for ransom reached almost 10,000 in 2009. ...“Additionally, there is documentary evidence that (Cohen) would be persecuted in Mexico on account of her mental illness.”

Judge Tammy Fitting’s ruling essentially denied every aspect of Cohen’s appeal except to agree that a drug conviction that led to her deportation problem was not a serious crime requiring her automatic removal.

http://www.hispanicallyspeakingnews.com/notitas-de-noticias/details/judge-orders-women-adopted-from-mexico-at-5-months-old-to-be-deported/3468/

Northwest deported fewer in fiscal year

Anchorage Daily News
11/20/10

SEATTLE -- New federal data shows that the number of deportations of illegal immigrants from Washington, Oregon and Alaska dropped by nearly 9 percent during the last fiscal year.

But deportations of immigrants whom the government considered convicted criminals continued to rise.

The new data released by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement shows spans from Oct. 1, 2009, to Sept. 30, 2010. It shows that 9,833 people were deported from the Pacific Northwest -- the second year in a row overall removals have dropped in the region.

Forty-eight percent of the immigrants removed were considered convicted criminals by the government. Since 2007, the number of deportations in the Pacific Northwest of immigrants with criminal records has doubled, from 2,302 to 4,714 in 2010.

Nationwide, more than 392,000 people were removed from the country.

http://www.adn.com/2010/11/20/1564998/northwest-deported-fewer-in-fiscal.html

Deportations down

IMMIGRATION AND CUSTOMS ENFORCEMENT DATA: More criminals being sent away, Northwest study shows
By MANUEL VALDES
The Associated Press
Nov, 12, 2010

SEATTLE - The number of deportations of illegal immigrants from Washington, Oregon and Alaska dropped by nearly 9 percent during last fiscal year, while deportations of immigrants considered convicted criminals were on the rise, according to new federal data.

It was the second consecutive year that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement showed overall removals of immigrants dropped in the Northwest, where 9,833 people were deported between Oct. 1, 2009, to Sept. 30.

By contrast, deportations had increased from more than 4,000 in 2005 to nearly 11,000 in 2008.

It’s “evidence that we’re meeting our stated goal,” said Lorie Dankers, ICE spokeswoman for the Northwest. “Our stated focus is on convicted criminal aliens. That part of removals did have an increase. The fact that the overall numbers were down was not a huge concern.”

Nationwide, the number of deportations again had risen, although the latest figures showed there was an increase of just more than one percent in the last year, with some 392,000 people removed from the country.

That figure falls just below the 400,000 goal ICE had set for itself. Still, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano called this past year “record-breaking.” Deportations have nearly doubled since 2006.

In the Northwest, 48 percent of the immigrants removed were considered convicted criminals by the government. That share of deportations saw a marginal increase, while deportations of people with no criminal record dropped by more than 1,200 people.

Since 2007, deportations in the Northwest of immigrants with criminal records have doubled. Crimes under which a person may be deported can range between a misdemeanor and a felony. Also immigrants with permanent residencies or refugees can be face deportation if convicted of a crime.

Congress has pressured Homeland Security to emphasize deporting and removing people considered dangerous to communities or threats to the country.

David Ayala, organizing director for Seattle-based OneAmerica, said his organization has asked ICE for a breakdown of the types of crimes that have prompted deportations. He said they haven’t received any data. He suspects a large percentage of those deported are removed because of petty crimes.

An analysis of the use of Secure Communities in 16 states by the Center for Constitutional Rights showed that about 80 percent of the people deported were non-criminals or arrested for lower level offenses.

“It’s not good for the overall perception,” Ayala said. “Most (immigrants) are law-abiding people who contribute to the economy of this country.”

For Craig Keller, a proponent of stricter immigration enforcement at the organization Respect WA, the new numbers show the Obama administration, like Bush’s, is not doing enough.

“I’m for the deportation of anyone who violates immigration law,” Keller said.

http://www.bellinghamherald.com/2010/11/12/1718091/deportations-down-overall.html

Most Mexican nationals arrested in '06 Bellingham raid have left U.S.; Feds still won't release names of arrestees

By SAM TAYLOR
The News Tribune
August 23rd, 2010

Nearly four years after the federal government raided a Bellingham business and arrested 26 alleged illegal immigrants, who they are remains a mystery to the public.

But the U.S. Department of Homeland Security has finally provided basic details about what officials say are Mexican nationals who shouldn't have been in the country working at Northwest Health Care Linen. Most of them returned to Mexico - either voluntarily or by deportation - but the status of the other eight is unclear.

The lack of detail is a common back and forth debate between the media and federal officials, who spar over the right to information in a time when illegal immigration is at the forefront of national discourse.

At least one journalism advocacy group has called U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement an extremely difficult organization to get information from, and that courts have been of little help to shine light on who is being arrested in immigration raids.

The local issue stems from an Aug. 30, 2006, immigration raid by ICE. At the time, officials refused to identify who had been arrested, saying they were "administrative arrests."

Homeland Security lawyers notified The Bellingham Herald in late July 2010 that a federal Freedom of Information Act request for the identities of those arrested - a request made Sept. 8, 2006 - was being finally and officially denied.

But after more questions from a reporter, Homeland Security spokeswoman Amy Kudwa worked to provide more information, saying the records request was processed under a previous White House administration with different policies regarding requests.

There is information, Kudwa said, that could be released, but The Herald didn't ask for it. The previous policy would have been to respond only to the very specific information sought, she said.

The new administration, however, would work to provide related information that could be released.

Department officials have now provided the nationalities, ages, genders and immigration status of those who were arrested. No names will be provided, Kudwa said, because those are protected by federal privacy laws.

The details released still would not allow anyone to independently verify the status of the people arrested, if they're actually illegal immigrants, or if they're still in the country.

But they provide a snapshot into who was arrested that day, according to the federal government.

Sixteen women between the age of 20 and 50 who were citizens of Mexico were arrested. The majority returned to Mexico, either voluntarily or by deportation, the records indicate. One third of the women have not been deported, but it's unclear exactly where they are.

"Subject is out on bond and is not in ICE custody," the record say of one woman. The other five simply state "Subject is not in ICE custody."

Of the 10 men between the ages of 19 and 53 who were arrested that day, eight returned to Mexico, either voluntarily by deportation, according to Homeland Security. The other two are "not in ICE custody."

The federal government will not disclose to the media or the public what happens in immigration cases, said Lucy Dalglish, executive director of the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press.

"They're never going to tell you who they got, no matter what, no how," Dalglish said. "They're going to throw everything they can at you. They're going to deny it under FOIA, they're going to deny it under any law they can, particularly because these folks aren't U.S. residents."

Dalglish said the issue isn't only about holding immigrants accountable, it's about the federal government, as well.

"It's an abomination," she said. "It allows for no public oversight of the immigration process whatsoever. We have no idea what the federal government is doing to these people, and they're hiding under federal laws under the guise of 'We're trying to protect these people's privacy.' They don't give a rat's butt about these people."

http://www.thenewstribune.com/2010/08/20/1308623/feds-still-wont-release-names.html

Massive firings in Brewster, and a big debate about illegal immigration

By Melissa Sanchez
The Seattle Times
Sunday, February 14, 2010


Janeth Hernandez opens another bill she is unable to pay after her husband was fired from Gebbers Farms in Brewster. Like many in the same situation, the couple don't know what they are going to do next.

BREWSTER, Okanogan County -- The letters came on a Wednesday, hand-delivered to hundreds of field and warehouse workers two days before Christmas.

Each contained a four-sentence explanation beneath the company's letterhead.

Federal immigration authorities had alerted Gebbers Farms that a number of its employees' hiring forms were suspect. Unless those employees could prove they were in this country legally, the company would let them go.

Many couldn't. Like the vast majority of America's agricultural work force, they were illegal immigrants who used fake documents to get jobs picking and packing fruit, in this case in and around this small town on the Columbia River north of Wenatchee.

Five days later, the company dismissed an estimated 550 workers -- equal to about a quarter of Brewster's population. It was the biggest firing of its kind ever seen in Washington. And former workers say the letters and firings are still coming.

What's happened at Gebbers Farms has been felt far beyond this shaken community. It's raising worries about more audits and firings across Central Washington, where much of the agricultural economy depends on an illegal work force.

"If the entire industry was audited it'd be impossible to fill all of the jobs," says Mike Gempler, executive director of the Washington Growers League.

With the firings, the complexity of illegal immigrants in the work force becomes starkly clear.

Other immigrants--some legal and some not--have learned of the sudden job openings and are arriving to fill the void. Some of the applicants may not be new at all.

"I was thinking about changing the Social Security number I use and reapplying," says Antonio Sanchez, a 51-year-old former Gebbers orchard worker. "I don't know what to do."

Five generations of the Gebbers family have farmed here along the Columbia River. The company runs more than 5,000 acres of apples and cherries, including one of the world's largest contiguous orchards. Its products are marketed internationally.

"This town exists because of them," says Esteban Camacho, who manages a local bakery and like most Mexican immigrants here has worked for Gebbers.

By most accounts, the company is well thought of. It built housing and soccer fields for its workers and, unlike many other growers, provides stable year-round work.

Rumors about the firings abound in Brewster, but details remain scarce.

Lorie Dankers, spokeswoman for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in Seattle, says she can't say anything about the incident at Gebbers or even confirm her agency conducted an audit.

Industry officials say ICE has audited a half-dozen smaller Washington growers in recent years. The only other known massive firing prompted by an ICE audit was last year at American Apparel, a Los Angeles-based garment company.

ICE first notified Gebbers in 2008 that it had been audited and that it needed to take action, according to industry officials. Gebbers acknowledged the audit in a brief statement dated the day of the firings. The statement closed with: "Gebbers Farms will continue to welcome workers of all backgrounds with proper work authorization."

Since then, company officials have declined to speak publicly about the situation. Even Brewster's mayor says he's had trouble finding out what happened.

Obama shift to audits

What happened at Gebbers reflects a change in strategy under President Obama's administration, which is shifting ICE's focus away from targeting illegal immigrants and instead focusing on those who hire them.

The Federation for American Immigration Reform, which favors tougher enforcement, sees Obama scaling back efforts to crack down on illegal immigration by emphasizing audits instead of workplace raids.

Immigrant-rights advocates call audits the more humane of the two approaches.

"This is not to say this new approach does not create hardship," says Matt Adams, legal adviser for the Northwest Immigrant Rights Project in Seattle. "But I think if the government is going to enforce the laws that are on the books, they should be given credit for doing it in a way that is not tearing families apart."

Thirty-three Washington companies were audited last year, and ICE spokeswoman Dankers says employers can expect more to come.

"We know that changing the behavior of employers to ensure they hire a legal work force doesn't happen overnight," she says. "We want employers to know that regardless of size and industry or your location and the type of business you have, the federal government expects these businesses to comply with the law."

Few growers will speak openly about the issue. Bob Brody, who owns King Blossom Natural, a 344-acre organic apple orchard in Brewster, is one of them.

"What happened at Gebbers--it fries my brain sometimes," says Brody, adding that he shouldn't have to verify whether a worker's status is legitimate.

He says every one of his employees, except for his office manager, is Latino. "Americans don't stop by and ask for jobs right now," Brody says. "There is a 10 percent unemployment rate. And I've not had a single U.S. American stop by and ask for a job."

On many evenings, the conversation between Daniel and Angelica Aguilar turns to just that. The recently dismissed couple and their toddler daughter live in a tiny one-bedroom apartment near the center of Brewster.

"During the cherry-picking season, there's maybe 2,200 of us working in the orchards," says Daniel Aguilar, 26. "Of those, there wasn't a single white American.

"Why does it bother them that we're doing the work they don't want to do?"

In part, the Gebbers firings have produced the desired effect. Of the dozen or so families in Brewster interviewed by the Yakima Herald-Republic, about half say they plan to return to Mexico. And everybody knew someone who had already left.

"What's the point of staying? There are no jobs," says one woman, who identified herself only as Mariela in fear of being deported.

"Fight the good fight"

But for every illegal immigrant who leaves, there seems to be another one willing to risk his luck.

Before dawn one recent foggy Tuesday, groups of men waited in the cold for Gebbers vans to pick them up for work pruning apple trees.

"I just got a job here," says one young man who came from Los Angeles after learning about the sudden openings. He would not identify himself.

The others laughed nervously. "Are there supposed to be more audits?" one called out, before saying he needed to find a better Social Security number.

The presence of new workers who are here illegally has created some resentment among those who were laid off. But some have a hard time blaming their fellow countrymen.

"It's not their fault they're working," says Janeth Hernandez, who doesn't know how her family will make the rent this month. "They have to fight the good fight, too, just like us."

The December firings clearly disrupted the Gebbers operation, says Dan Fazio, the Washington State Farm Bureau's director of employment services.

"It's wrong for the administration to be doing raids or ... audits without investing time and energy into a functional guest-worker program," says Fazio, noting that growers can't compete with lower wages in Chile and China.

ICE encourages the companies it audits to use the federal E-Verify system, which allows employers to check whether new hires are legally authorized to work, Dankers says.

A spokeswoman for U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, which operates E-Verify, says no companies in Brewster use it. Industry leaders say most growers are reluctant because the program won't give them an answer they like.

And in politically conservative Eastern Washington, that doesn't gain them many supporters. Some people, including the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps and Grassroots on Fire, blame the growers for attracting illegal immigrants.

"They want the illegals to disappear and they want the employers that hire illegals to be put in jail," the farm bureau's Fazio says. "We want to assure these people that farmers don't want illegals more than any other citizen ...

"But when you ask these people, 'Do you want to have your apples from China?' they always respond, 'No, we'd like American apples.' "

U.S. Rep. Doc Hastings, R-Pasco, says it doesn't have to be an either-or issue.

"First we have to realize that we have to secure our borders," Hastings says. "The nature of our agriculture industry requires a migrant labor force, and ... the best way to address that is with a workable guest-worker program."

Few Washington growers use the current guest-worker program, which they consider expensive and cumbersome.

The Growers League, meanwhile, supports a bill that would create a path toward legal status for agricultural workers as well as revise the guest-worker program.

"Most difficult times"

In Brewster, the next six weeks will see a tense waiting game for former Gebbers employees. The company has given those who live in a series of camps deep inside its orchards until the end of March to vacate. School officials are bracing for the loss of state funding that comes with each of the children of the fired workers. Food-bank volunteers say they're seeing plenty of new faces.

Despite what happened, few former employees complain about the company. They just want their jobs back. The rumor these days is that in March they'll be rehired.

"Fifteen years I've worked for this company," says one man, who declined to give his name for fear of losing his housing. "I still have some hope that maybe by March everything will get sorted out. In the meantime, these are the most difficult times."

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2011069760_brewster14.html

Planned ICE building gets chilly reception

By MARK MOREY and TIM KELLY
Yakima Herald-Republic
January 10, 2009

YAKIMA, Wash. -- To the displeasure of neighbors, a federal facility to hold immigration detainees is being proposed for a Yakima industrial area.

A 4.3-acre site at the end of Presson Place is proposed for a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement office complex that could include two guardhouses and cells for federal detainees.

The plan, which is under review by the city of Yakima, could result in immigration detainees there within two years.

"I call it a prison," said Neill Hauff, whose company makes wind machines and orchard sprayers and has been located on Presson Place since 1996.

ICE spokeswoman Lorie Dankers describes it instead as an office building and temporary holding facility for detainees.

"There's no capacity or interest in holding anyone there for any period of time," she said this week.

Presson Place is a private dead-end street that runs about a quarter-mile north from Washington Avenue, a short distance east of the main Yakima post office.

A city notice sent to Presson Place property owners said the facility would see 41 people either "reside or work" at the nearly 24,000-square-foot facility, which would have 135 parking spaces. The center would roughly equal the size of the Catholic Credit Union building at the corner of Fifth Avenue and Martin Luther King Boulevard.

ICE does not disclose current employment numbers for a specific location, and Dankers would not speculate on whether local jobs might be added to support the new office building.

The now vacant property is between HF Hauff Co. and the Carpenters Training Center, and Hauff doesn't think it's a suitable location for an ICE facility.

Hauff said his primary concern is increased traffic.

He pointed out that the plan calls for putting bus shelters on both sides of Washington Avenue by Presson Place, and for installing sidewalks along the street, which is regularly used by trucks loading and unloading at his business and others on the street.

"This would be a huge impact on us in here," agreed Shane May, plant manager at Wrap Pack, which is across the street from Hauff. The
company manufactures tissue for wrapping produce and wine bottles.

Spokesman Ross Buffington from the General Services Administration in Seattle, which manages federal property, said his agency has been seeking space for ICE in the Yakima area for several years.

The first effort, on Ahtanum Ridge Road in Union Gap, fell apart when the Texas contractor encountered financial difficulties, forcing GSA to terminate the lease contract in 2007.

GSA is now again soliciting bids for a building to lease.

The land-use application for the proposed facility was submitted to the city by Jundt-Eglin LLC, which owns the Presson Place property and whose corporate officers are Jake Jundt, who was a key player in the construction of Yakima County's jail by the fairgrounds, and Charlie Eglin, owner of Tri-Ply Construction in Yakima.

Hauff and May worry that the ICE center would bring vehicle traffic and pedestrians to the industrial street, where big trucks are regularly pulling in, turning around and sometimes idling in the street while waiting for an open loading ramp.

Hauff also expressed concern about locating a detention facility next to the Carpenters Training Center, where high school students come for a construction technology program.

The only residential area nearby is the Broadmoor Senior Citizen Park, to the west between Presson Place and the post office.

Hauff said other locations in Yakima are more suitable for an ICE detention center, suggesting the Ahtanum View correctional facility on 64th Avenue that the state is planning to close, the county jail complex next to State Fair Park, or land near the county landfill in Terrace Heights.

Buffington said the building would include four holding cells, two large and two small. Dankers did not disclose their capacity.

Holding cells are typically designed for short-term confinement of prisoners during investigative interviews, for example. ICE holds longer-term immigration detainees at local jails before they are taken to the agency's regional detention center in Tacoma for deportation hearings.

The permit application states that ICE wants to be able to bring vans, buses and semi tractors onto the site for transporting detainees.

Under the current GSA proposal, two ICE operations would move to the new location from their current space in Yakima -- the Office of Investigations, now at the Chinook Tower in downtown Yakima, and the Office of Detention and Removal Operations on River Road.

ICE is responsible for a wide range of immigration, customs and domestic security duties.

Dankers said ICE already has temporary detention space available in Yakima.

Although she did not confirm whether a Jundt-Eglin site plan drawing matches the intended final facility, she said that improvements would be meant to improve security for both officers and detainees.

She said the agency functions within its current locations, but a move would be consistent with a continuing effort to bring immigrations and customs functions under one roof wherever possible.

Dankers discounted the idea that a move to a more secure facility might foretell an increase in workplace raids or similar enforcement activities.

"I wouldn't draw any conclusions based on that. I don't think there's any basis for that," she said.

Because the Yakima facility would not be a full-time jail -- detainees would stay less than 24 hours, according to the Jundt-Eglin application -- it does not require a public hearing to be located there, assistant city planner Christine Wilson said.

The city has recommended changes to ensure that the project meets environmental standards and is compatible with surrounding property uses. Those include a dust control plan, installation of sidewalks from Presson Place to Washington Avenue and erecting two bus stops on both sides of Washington Avenue.

If no appeals are filed, building permits could be issued as soon as mid-February.

Jundt-Eglin's permit application states the property would be sold to I.G. Management, a La Jolla, Calif., company.

Messages left this week for Eglin and I.G. representative Glenn Dugan were not returned.

City planners said they have mailed notices to the fewer than two dozen property owners within 500 feet of the proposed federal office.

http://www.yakima-herald.com/stories/2010/01/08/01-09-10-ice-building

Workplace raid, deportations displease both sides of issue

By Manuel Valdes
Associated Press
December 5, 2009

BELLINGHAM, Wash. — First they were arrested and faced deportation under what has proven to be the Obama administration's only workplace raid. Then they were given work permits, and told they could stay in the United States while their employer was being prosecuted.

Now, the more than two dozen undocumented workers arrested during the February raid here at Yamato Engine Specialists Ltd. are again facing deportation.

"Well, what can you do? You can't run, that'd be worse," Gerardo Arreola Gonzalez, one of the 28 workers arrested, said about the raid. "I had to face it. Yes, I felt fear, thinking, 'The dream is over.'"

Gonzalez's unusual journey through the immigration system symbolizes just how much immigration policy has changed under President Barack Obama — and how it's still a work in progress.

The deportations and likely removals are a conclusion to a case that displeased both advocates for illegal immigrants and those who lobby for stricter immigration enforcement.

In this case, the company, the workers, and even the Seattle U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) office that conducted the raid came in for some sort of punishment or special scrutiny.

Two days after the raid, ICE officials traded urgent e-mails going over answers to questions sent by an apparently miffed White House, according to e-mails obtained by the Associated Press through a federal records request.

In all, 28 men and women — mostly from Mexico — were arrested that February morning. One man opted to leave the country shortly after the raid. The 27 who remained were given work permits until the case against Yamato ended.

Now, five of the 27 workers have been deported. Seven have been allowed to leave the country voluntarily and 15 await court dates with an immigration judge, said U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokeswoman Lorie Dankers.

Dankers declined to comment further on the case.

"We're disappointed. We really did think that things would be different under the Obama administration," said Pramila Jayapal, executive director of OneAmerica, a Seattle-based immigration advocacy group. "It's very mixed signals ... we thought we were getting an administration that was supportive."

Immigration advocates were elated when Obama took office, thinking he'd bring immigrant-friendly enforcement policies. The raid shocked them, and they protested loudly.

Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano then ordered an internal review of the raid. The workers arrested were given work permits, and the company became the focus of the investigation.

But those who favor strict immigration enforcement saw Napolitano's review as a signal for lax enforcement, and a rebuke to the Bush administration's immigration policy.

For William Gheen, president of Americans for Legal Immigration PAC, Obama's approach to targeting involved employers is no better than the Bush administration's targeting of those here illegally. Both are incomplete policies, he said.

"I am for the actual enforcement against all parties involved in illegal immigration," Gheen said. "Obama is an arbitrary enforcer, just like Bush, on immigration."

The Obama administration's approach became clearer in the months after the raid: a focus on employers. Hundreds of audit forms were sent out to businesses nationwide, notifying employers to certify that their workers have valid Social Security numbers and other forms of identification proving eligibility to work in the U.S. The administration has also sought to maintain workable enforcement agreements between ICE and local police agencies, and has sought to improve conditions for immigrants detained by the government.

The government's audits of employment status have led to significant job losses. In Los Angeles, American Apparel fired 1,500 workers in September. In Minneapolis, another 1,200 janitors were cut in November.

In order to level charges against employers who hire illegal immigrants, federal prosecutors need the testimony of those workers, and that requires the arrest, confinement and questioning of employees to obtain evidence.

"The most convincing part of that proof comes from illegal aliens," Assistant U.S. Attorney Don Reno said after the Yamato case. "It's going to be just as disruptive to the illegal aliens. That's not going to change."

That new reality doesn't sit well with either side of the immigration debate.

"How could you trust their testimony if you bribed them for it? These people will say anything you want them to say," Gheen said.

"They're saying they're not actively going after the worker, but the workers are a casualty when they have lost their jobs," Jayapal said.

Meanwhile, ICE officials were heartened by some of the response they received to the raid, according to the e-mails obtained by the AP.

Seattle-based Special Agent in Charge Leigh Winchell forwarded an e-mail to his staff from Rep. Lamar Smith of Texas, a vocal immigration enforcement advocate, who said Napolitano's call for a review was "backwards."

"I cannot control the politics that take place with these types of situations, but I can remind you that you are great servants of this country and this agency," Winchell wrote to his troops.

Days after the raid, Winchell told his office to convey that ICE is going after the employer, not the workers, according to the e-mails.

The case against Yamato concluded in September with a $100,000 fine being leveled. Members of the immigrant family that owns the company issued a public apology. Yamoto's owners fled Uganda four decades ago when dictator Idi Amin's regime drove out the country's entrepreneurial Indian minority.

Messages left with Yamato management for this story were not returned.

With the case wrapped up, notices of court appearances for the workers began to appear. ICE agents had warned the workers of it.

Gonzalez, who is from Mexico, had entered the country in 1998 at the age of 19, first living in Arizona, where he started his family. He came to Washington seeking a better job, becoming a welder at Yamato, making $10 an hour. For now, a local lawyer is helping him, but he knows he could face deportation.

"If I have to go to my country, I have to go to my country," Gonzalez said. "It'll be a challenge for (my family)."

At Yamato, under a basket of employment applications, a poster now warns that Yamato is a company that uses E-verify — the federal program that checks a worker's eligibility to work in the United States.

http://www.deseretnews.com/article/705349508/Workplace-raid-deportations-displease-both-sides-of-issue.html

Washington raid brings deportations, mixed signals

Washington raid brings deportations, mixed signals
By MANUEL VALDES
Associated Press
12/5/2009

BELLINGHAM, Wash. — First they were arrested and faced deportation under what has proven to be the Obama administration's only workplace raid. Then they were given work permits, and told they could stay in the United States while their employer was being prosecuted.

Now, the more than two dozen undocumented workers arrested during the February raid here at Yamato Engine Specialists Ltd. are again facing deportation.

"Well, what can you do? You can't run, that'd be worse," Gerardo Arreola Gonzalez, one of the 28 workers arrested, said about the raid. "I had to face it. Yes, I felt fear, thinking, 'The dream is over.'"

Gonzalez's unusual journey through the immigration system symbolizes just how much immigration policy has changed under President Barack Obama — and how it's still a work in progress.

The deportations and likely removals are a conclusion to a case that displeased both advocates for illegal immigrants and those who lobby for stricter immigration enforcement.

In this case, the company, the workers, and even the Seattle U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) office that conducted the raid came in for some sort of punishment or special scrutiny.

Two days after the raid, ICE officials traded urgent e-mails going over answers to questions sent by an apparently miffed White House, according to e-mails obtained by the Associated Press through a federal records request.

In all, 28 men and women — mostly from Mexico — were arrested that February morning. One man opted to leave the country shortly after the raid. The 27 who remained were given work permits until the case against Yamato ended.

Now, five of the 27 workers have been deported. Seven have been allowed to leave the country voluntarily and 15 await court dates with an immigration judge, said U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokeswoman Lorie Dankers.

Dankers declined to comment further on the case.

"We're disappointed. We really did think that things would be different under the Obama administration," said Pramila Jayapal, executive director of OneAmerica, a Seattle-based immigration advocacy group. "It's very mixed signals ... we thought we were getting an administration that was supportive."

Immigration advocates were elated when Obama took office, thinking he'd bring immigrant-friendly enforcement policies. The raid shocked them, and they protested loudly.

Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano then ordered an internal review of the raid. The workers arrested were given work permits, and the company became the focus of the investigation.

But those who favor strict immigration enforcement saw Napolitano's review as a signal for lax enforcement, and a rebuke to the Bush administration's immigration policy.

For William Gheen, president of Americans for Legal Immigration PAC, Obama's approach to targeting involved employers is no better than the Bush administration's targeting of those here illegally. Both are incomplete policies, he said.

"I am for the actual enforcement against all parties involved in illegal immigration," Gheen said. "Obama is an arbitrary enforcer, just like Bush, on immigration."

The Obama administration's approach became clearer in the months after the raid: a focus on employers. Hundreds of audit forms were sent out to businesses nationwide, notifying employers to certify that their workers have valid Social Security numbers and other forms of identification proving eligibility to work in the U.S. The administration has also sought to maintain workable enforcement agreements between ICE and local police agencies, and has sought to improve conditions for immigrants detained by the government.

The government's audits of employment status have led to significant job losses. In Los Angeles, American Apparel fired 1,500 workers in September. In Minneapolis, another 1,200 janitors were cut in November.

In order to level charges against employers who hire illegal immigrants, federal prosecutors need the testimony of those workers, and that requires the arrest, confinement and questioning of employees to obtain evidence.

"The most convincing part of that proof comes from illegal aliens," Assistant U.S. Attorney Don Reno said after the Yamato case. "It's going to be just as disruptive to the illegal aliens. That's not going to change."

That new reality doesn't sit well with either side of the immigration debate.

"How could you trust their testimony if you bribed them for it? These people will say anything you want them to say," Gheen said.

"They're saying they're not actively going after the worker, but the workers are a casualty when they have lost their jobs," Jayapal said.

Meanwhile, ICE officials were heartened by some of the response they received to the raid, according to the e-mails obtained by the AP.

Seattle-based Special Agent in Charge Leigh Winchell forwarded an e-mail to his staff from Rep. Lamar Smith of Texas, a vocal immigration enforcement advocate, who said Napolitano's call for a review was "backwards."

"I cannot control the politics that take place with these types of situations, but I can remind you that you are great servants of this country and this agency," Winchell wrote to his troops.

Days after the raid, Winchell told his office to convey that ICE is going after the employer, not the workers, according to the e-mails.

The case against Yamato concluded in September with a $100,000 fine being leveled. Members of the immigrant family that owns the company issued a public apology. Yamoto's owners fled Uganda four decades ago when dictator Idi Amin's regime drove out the country's entrepreneurial Indian minority.

Messages left with Yamato management for this story were not returned.

With the case wrapped up, notices of court appearances for the workers began to appear. ICE agents had warned the workers of it.

Gonzalez, who is from Mexico, had entered the country in 1998 at the age of 19, first living in Arizona, where he started his family. He came to Washington seeking a better job, becoming a welder at Yamato, making $10 an hour. For now, a local lawyer is helping him but he knows he could face deportation.

"If I have to go to my country, I have to go to my country," Gonzalez said. "...it'll be a challenge for (my family)."

At Yamato, under a basket of employment applications, a poster now warns that Yamato is a company that uses E-verify — the federal program that checks a worker's eligibility to work in the United States.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5g3awaFEMnpJDBLrqZUDjoEoa3WGwD9CDB0QG0

Kennewick declines to ban illegal immigrants

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
October 21, 2009

KENNEWICK, Wash. -- Citing lack of authority, the Kennewick City Council declined Tuesday to ban illegal immigrants from the city limits.

The Tri-City Herald reports the council was responding to a request by resident Loren Nichols, who asked the council last month to evict illegal immigrants from the city.

City Attorney Lisa Beaton told the council that immigration is a federal issue, beyond the city's legal reach.

"We have no authority to prosecute criminal violations of (that) act," Beaton said.

She added that for the city to do that, the state would have to change laws allowing city police to arrest someone without having observed the violation.

Kennewick, like many Eastern Washington cities, has a significant Latino population, who initially came to the area to work in the region's agricultural industry. The bulk of farm workers in the area continue to be Latinos.

At the meeting, councilman Steve Young said banning illegal immigrants would raise constitutional issues.

"It is unconstitutional to chase anybody based on race or nationality. This has gone on long enough," he said.

Nichols didn't buy it.

"This council doesn't have the will. They just have excuses for not doing the right thing," he said. "Illegal aliens don't have rights. That's the bottom line."

Nichols was not allowed to speak at the Tuesday night meeting. His proposal to the council did have support from at least one council member - Bob Parks.

Parks has said he is concerned about illegal immigrants in the Tri-Cities area and would support an English-only language policy in the city.

http://www.seattlepi.com/local/6420ap_wa_kennewick_immigrants.html

OneAmerica says that ICE raid will not improve broken immigration system

Posted on 01 October 2009
Vol 28 No 41 October 3-October 9
Northwest Asian Weekly

In February, immigration officials from the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency raided the Bellingham-based Yamato Engine Specialists, arresting 28 illegal immigrants and processing them for deportation.

The auto manufacturing plant was charged with encouraging undocumented immigrants to remain in the United States between 2006 and 2009 by allowing workers to file false employment forms with the government.

For many, the first ICE raid under the Obama administration is seen as a return to the failed enforcement policies of the Bush era.

Many believe the charges against Yamato failed to address the core issues that contribute to the 12 million undocumented workers in the United States.

OneAmerica, along with partners in the Reform Immigration For America campaign, supports a comprehensive approach to reform that includes the following principles: enhancing the nation’s security and safety with a sensible enforcement policy, protecting fundamental rights for all, and allocating sufficient visas to close unlawful migration channels.

“The real issue is the immigration system doesn’t work for our economy. Going after employers before we fix the entire broken visa system is like cutting off the tree branch instead of the diseased root,” says OneAmerica Organizing Director David Ayala.

http://www.nwasianweekly.com/2009/10/oneamerica-says-that-ice-raid-will-not-improve-broken-immigration-system/

No prison for business owners in immigration case

By TIM KLASS
Sep 21, 2009
Associated Press

SEATTLE — Two owners of a Bellingham, Wash., company won't have to go to prison for hiring undocumented workers, but the business must pay a $100,000 fine.

A guilty plea was entered Monday in U.S. District Court on behalf of Yamato Engine Specialists 1990 Ltd.

The two owners — Shafique Amirali Dhanani and his sister, Shirin Dhanani Makala — pleaded guilty last month and were sentenced to a year of probation.

They could have faced at least five years in prison and fines of $250,000, and the company could have been fined $500,000.

Yamato was the first workplace to be raided by immigration agents after President Obama took office. Obama had called for less emphasis on prosecuting undocumented workers and more on prosecuting the businesses that hire them.

Copyright © 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5h3DevbOqZibmHXCxBZNc5_mDlveAD9AS1F2O2

Deportations up 10 percent in Pacific Northwest

By MANUEL VALDES
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
July 17, 2009

SEATTLE -- Deportations from Washington, Oregon and Alaska jumped nearly 10 percent from a year ago, according to new figures from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Illegal immigrants with criminal records comprised 60 percent of the total - a significant jump from recent years when that figure hovered around 40 percent. ICE attributed the jump to its emphasis on deporting those with records.

For the first nine months of the federal fiscal year - October through June - more than 8,000 deportations originated from the Pacific Northwest, compared to 7,345 in the same period last year.

The new figures were a mixed bag for Pramila Jayapal, executive director of OneAmerica, a Seattle-based immigrant advocate group.

She has been encouraged by the actions of the Obama administration but would like to see more accountability from ICE, such as breaking down the types of crimes that prompted deportations.

"I'm very troubled, it is really important to distinguish who these criminal immigrants are ... distinguishing violent criminals from people who get picked up for misdemeanors," Jayapal said.

ICE does not release breakdowns of the crimes involved in deportations.

Meanwhile, proponents of stricter immigration rules said focusing on just those with criminal records is an incomplete approach.

The immigration issue has taken new spins as the Obama administration introduces new policies on enforcement, and Congress wrestles with writing a comprehensive immigration bill.

A work site raid in Bellingham, Wash., in February became a national issue after Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano ordered a review of the operation.

It was the first raid of the Obama administration, which had signaled that it wanted to move away from raids to focus on scrutinizing employers who hire illegal workers.

Earlier this month, Homeland Security released a list of 652 businesses nationwide that will receive audits of their work force - 26 are in the Pacific Northwest.

Neil Clark, field office director for ICE detention and removal operations in Seattle, said the agency will soon launch a program in the region called "Secure Communities" that works with local police to identify illegal immigrants with criminal records using fingerprint technology.

ICE has already opened a 24-hour command center in Washington where local law enforcement can check a person's background.

Ira Mehlman, a spokesman for the Federation for American Immigration Reform, a Washington, D.C., group that lobbies for stricter immigration rules, said focusing on people with criminal records does not serve as a deterrent to others who want to come to this country illegally.

"The administration is sending a signal, if you're not a serious criminal we're not going to be looking for you," Mehlman said.

Mehlman believes enforcement efforts also should include employers who hire undocumented workers and work site raids and other tactics to remove incentives for people to migrate to the United States.

"Deportation is a legitimate component (of immigration reform), but we're not going to solve this problem through deportation alone," he said.

http://www.seattlepi.com/local/6420ap_wa_deportations_nw.html?source=mypi

Deportations up 40 percent in Pacific Northwest

By MANUEL VALDES
Associated Press Writer
Friday, July 11, 2008

Deportations from Washington, Oregon and Alaska have spiked by nearly 40 percent, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials said Friday.

Immigration officials said the number of illegal aliens deported from those three states was 7,345 for the first nine months of the fiscal year. That number was up from 5,256 for the same period last year.

If the monthly average continues, the agency is on pace for a record-breaking year in the region, said Neil Clark, field office director for ICE detention and removal operations in Seattle.

Officials credit the increase in part to expansion of the Criminal Alien Program, in which immigration officers hone in on illegal aliens with criminal records and work with local law enforcement to process them. Those deportations increased by 26 percent in the same period. Of the more than 7,300 deported, more than 2,000 had prior criminal convictions.

"If you think of ICE's mission being public safety, the Criminal Alien Program really goes at the heart of that," agency spokeswoman Lori Dankers said.

The number of immigration officers visiting jails throughout the three states has increased.

"I think the message from this is if you're committing crime and you're foreign born, you're going to be found and be removed," Clark said.

Immigration investigations and work-site raids have also helped increase deportations, Clark added.

Last month, 32 illegal aliens were arrested at a manufacturing plant in Arlington, Wash., that supplies parts for commercial and military aircraft, including some made by Boeing. In 2007, 51 people were arrested at a United Parcel Service warehouse in Auburn, Wash., and more
than 165 workers were detained at a Del Monte processing plant in Portland, Ore.

The latest numbers reflect the continuing crackdown on illegal immigration by ICE and other federal agencies. Nationwide, the number of deportations in the period increased from 210,000 to more than 234,000, about an 11 percent increase.

Between June 2007 and June 2008, nearly 6,000 people have been added to the Criminal Alien Program in Washington. That means ICE will monitor those who are in jail and deport them after the sentence is served. More than 4,500 people were added in Oregon.

ICE officials said they did not have specific breakdowns of the number of aliens convicted of felonies rather than less-serious misdemeanors.

Pramila Jayapal, executive director of OneAmerica, a Seattle-based immigrant advocate group, said the increase in deportation makes her worry about the protection of due process rights.

A surge in deportations, Jayapal said, means more overcrowding and medical risks for illegal immigrants at detention centers.

"The whole thing requires a call on Congress to stop the surge of deportation until we can make sure we can protect the rights of people that are being picked up," Jayapal said.

OneAmerica is scheduled to release a report next week that alleges human rights have been violated at the detention center in Tacoma, which serves the Northwest.

Backers of illegal immigration enforcement said the increase in deportations is a good sign, but they add that more penalties are needed for employers who hire illegal immigrants.

"Immigration authorities are out looking, that serves as discouragement for people coming here in the first place," said Ira Mehlman, a spokesman for the Federation for American Immigration Reform.

Nationally, Mexico remains the leading country of origin for deported illegal immigrants, followed by Honduras and Guatemala.

Copyright © 2008 The Seattle Times Company