Flagstaff ICE Agents Served With Deportation Notice

Creative activism from allies in Coconino County. Members of Flagstaff Immigrant Rights Enforcement (FIRE) served the following notice of deportation to ICE agents:

Notice served on this, the 4th day of December, 2008 by Flagstaff Immigrant Rights Enforcement (FIRE) for the immediate deportation from the Flagstaff area of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers and officials.

FIRE charges ICE with the following activities deemed criminal and in violation of human rights. These activities include but are not limited to:

1. Terrorizing entire communities resulting in the destruction of over 34,000 families within the last year alone, including most recently, 16 persons within the immediate Flagstaff area.
2. Causing fear that has extended into the hearts of our community's children, who, due to your presence, live in constant trauma of returning to an empty home.
3. Taking no meaningful measures to ensure the well-being of those impacted by family members' deportation.
4. Perpetuating institutionalized racism and practicing racial profiling.
5. Aiding and abetting border militarization on both sides of the US- Mexico border.
6. Creating and upholding the myth of "illegal human beings".
7. Enforcing and benefitting from a global economic system that criminalizes labor and creates deathly low wages.
8. Enforcing immigration policies on borders drawn on indigenous lands.
9. Misappropriation of taxpayer funds for aforementioned terrorist activity while education, health care, and housing services

Video:

via National Network for Immigrant and Refugee Rights

More U.S. Citizens Being Targeted by ICE

Just another reminder that we did not make this a racial issue - they did, and have for centuries.

Washington — Marie Justeen Mancha was home alone in Southeast Georgia when four federal agents stormed into her house, shouting "police! Illegals!"

"My heart just dropped," she said. "When the tall man reached for his gun, I just stood there feeling so scared."

Mancha, a Mexican-American U.S. citizen from Reidsville, told her story Wednesday to members of a House subcomittee as it looked into reports that U.S. citizens had been questioned, detained and in one case even deported in federal Immigrations and Custom Enforcement raids.

Mancha was a 15 -year-old high school honors student at the time of the September 2006 raid on her home, which occurred in conjunction with an ICE raid at a poultry plant in nearby Stillmore. She and her mother, also a U.S citizen, are among plaintiffs in a lawsuit alleging that ICE targeted people based on their appearance.

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Operation Tamale

This is so offensive and vile that I can't even muster the words to convey an appropriate rant.

Apparently making tamales is a job that many Americans want. Monday in its continuing effort to insure that Americans can have Tamale making jobs ICE raided an American Tamale factory and deported twenty-one workers. To add insult to injury ICE agents named the raid “OPERATION TAMALE”.

More from Nuestra Voice

ICE Gestapo Strikes Long Island

Another workplace raid, another example in the endless list of examples of ICE agents shoving policies and procedures into the circular file.

GARDEN CITY, N.Y. - Federal agents displayed a "cowboy" mentality while running roughshod over local police officers _ at times pointing their weapons at cops _ and ensnared more suspected illegal aliens than targeted gangsters in raids on Long Island last week, officials said Tuesday.

"There were clear dangers of friendly fire," Nassau County Police Commissioner Lawrence Mulvey said. "We did have members that were actually drawn upon."

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Also, true to form, they racially profiled people as they cast their nets.

In one case, Mulvey said, "ICE sought a 28-year-old defendant using a photograph taken when he was a 7-year-old boy."

Any guesses on how they kinda sorta perhaps i think so maybe indentified their target? If skin color didn't have anything to do with it, then call me Pancho Clause and get me ready for La Navidad.

Another ICE raid in Cactus, TX

Here's a clip from Amarillo.com (subscription required):

CACTUS - Most days during the week, the Cactus Branch Library has 30 to 40 children reading books or playing on the computer.

But Tuesday, only about four children were inside the now quiet library.

It's usually not this quiet, said Lety Lara, the branch librarian.

This day, it was different.

Most people hid in their homes, keeping their children close to them, Lara said.

That's because Immigration Customs and Enforcement officials came to town, she said.

Their return to town came almost seven months after a December raid that led to the arrests of 295 undocumented immigrants.

ICE officials entered the Swift plant in Cactus before 9 a.m. and arrested at least two people. Government and company officials said Tuesday's raid was part of a continued investigation into illegal immigration and identity theft that spurred the Dec. 12 raid.

Lara, who was outside the plant early Tuesday, and other Cactus residents described seeing two white vans along with about 10 to 14 ICE officials at the plant. A plane circled overhead while agents were at the facility.

"Everybody is stopping everybody," Lara said. "Everyone is making sure the word is out."

Carl Rusnok, an ICE spokesman in Dallas, said Tuesday's action was part of an ongoing look into undocumented immigrants at the plant.

Rusnok did not say how many employees were detained, and no specific details on what spurred Tuesday's enforcement action were released. ICE officials said more details should be forthcoming today.

Sean McHugh, a spokesman for Swift, confirmed the two arrests but did not immediately know the employees' names. He said that there were no disruptions to the operations at the facility Tuesday.

ICE officials also descended on Swift facilities in Greeley, Colo., Marshalltown, Iowa, and Worthington, Minn., McHugh said. At least one person was arrested at the Marshalltown pork facility, McHugh said.

[snip]

Lara said the streets of Cactus have been noticeably quiet since the raids and a devastating tornado in April that destroyed at least 70 homes in the town.

"This morning it has been quiet, even the streets are quiet," said Lara, whose house and five cars were destroyed in the tornado.

"I am crying now that I know that they (the ICE officials) are gone. I hope they didn't take anybody."

At this point the story is still pretty fresh (I don't recall news coverage from yesterday evening, but have noticed televised coverage as of this morning). Last time ICE was in town, not only was the Swift meatpacking facility raided, but anyone looking even remotely Hispanic was being stopped and hassled by authorities. If you read through the rest of the article, you'll find that ICE officials are still using the same spin they used last time around.

As time permits I'll try to update y'all with any news that might make its way to me. Obviously, if by chance a person from Cactus is reading this blog and would wish to contact me with an account of what went down I'd be more than willing to help spread the word.

Paz.

Originally posted at The Left End of the Dial v2.0.