City Hall Plaza Rally Denounces ICE Raids, Demands Fair Immigration Policies

Aug-15-08
By Jason Pramas (Staff)
Open Media Boston (Massachusetts, USA)

BOSTON/Government Center - Over 150 advocates from immigrants rights organizations, unions, religious groups and allies held a rally at City Hall Plaza on Wednesday to demand fair immigration policies and denounce the ongoing raids against immigrant communities by U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement.

The centerpiece of the demonstration was an extended piece of political theater - meant to throw the plight of immigrants into bold relief - that involved dozens of performers divided into 3 groups: prisoners, police, and the community. The handcuffed "prisoners" - some with duct tape over their mouths - sat in a circle on the ground surrounded by "police" labelled POLI.C.E., in reference to the ICE officers that have led raids against immigrants. The two groups were partially surrounded by "community" members carrying signs with various pro-immigrant slogans.

The performance was narrated by Gladys Vega of Chelsea Collaborative and Patricia Montes of Centro Presente. Montes then led off a series of speakers, saying "We are denouncing the military-style practices of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency - ICE - who, in collaboration with local police departments, are terrorizing immigrant communities. Under the guise of apprehending “criminal aliens”, armed and uniformed officers are entering people’s homes in the wee hours of the morning, stopping people on the streets and at train stations, and raiding places of work. In reality, most of the immigrants detained and deported are people with deportation orders and legal permanent residents with misdemeanors. Yet, they are being treated worse than criminals. Detained without due process, denied a simple phone call, much less an attorney, and transferred in a matter of days to detentions centers across the country where anguished and greaving family members cannot easily locate them. The failure of the Congress to enact responsible immigration reform has given way to an inhumane de-facto polity of enforcement-only."

Several other speakers followed including Dimple Rana of Deported Diaspora, "All immigrant communities condemn the ICE raids, detentions, and deportations of loved ones and community members. There needs to be justice and due process. I have lived in Cambodia with 187 people deported from across the USA and don't want to see more of my friends deported. I had two friends this week deported to Cambodia. 4 friends who were detained by ICE last week.

"ICE should immediately stop all raids," Rana continued. "Raids instill fear in communities and instill mistrust in government institutions. They unnecessarily tear families apart. ICE should make information about those who have been detained in these raids easily available to the families of the detainees. For example, why were they detained, where were they taken, how long will they be there, what are the next steps planned for these individuals? Community members should contact their Senators and Representative in order to express their concern about these raids. Community members should also contact the local ICE office in order to continue to try to get more information about the raids and who has been impacted."

Montes summed up. "The current state of immigration policy and its harsh enforcement, are not only out of step with our current global economy and global interconnectedness, but they also violate the United States’ core foundational principles: All human beings are created equal and endowed with unalienable rights by the Creator. The gross inhumane treatment being perpetrated against immigrants is not acceptable. We are here to say enough! No more raids! No more ICE presence in our neighborhoods! Our main demand is the enactment of responsible and humane immigration reform, including legal permanent residency for all undocumented immigrants. We demand the humane treatment of immigrants. We demand the re-unification of our families."

There were no counter-protestors or ICE spokespeople present at the event.

Activists protest federal gang raids

Say sweeps are too broad and heavy-handed

August 9, 2008
By Milton J. Valencia
Boston Globe Staff

Community activists held vigils in Lowell and Somerville last night to denounce the recent federal raids against suspected members of international gangs, saying the sweeps were meant to target criminals but are hurting families.

In Lowell, which has one of the largest Cambodian communities in the country, more than 160 relatives and friends of people facing deportation signed a petition calling for authorities to investigate the sweeps, saying they have been heavy-handed and overly broad.

"This is not a black-and-white issue," said Gregg Croteau, of the United Teen Equality Center. "It's incredibly complex, and our concern lies with the way all of these people are being depicted."

He said one of the men who was arrested, Song Sao, 30, was not a gang member and that he has only been arrested once, seven years ago on an assault and battery charge. Sao has been working with community groups since, he said.

In Lowell's Cambodian community, 187 people have been deported since 2002, and 15 people are expected to be deported on Aug. 14.

Activists and family members of would-be deportees called on authorities to stop such sweeps.

They handed out fliers to inform people of their rights, which include the right to remain silent and not having their home searched without a lawyer.

And they blasted authorities' practice of transferring detainees to prisons out of state.

"There's a lot of family members who have been affected," said Dimple Rana of Deported Diaspora, a community agency.

The vigils were held after Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials announced that 80 people have been arrested in statewide raids in the last week, under a national Operation Community Shield initiative.

Bruce M. Foucart, special agent in charge of Immigration and Customs Enforcement's office of investigations in Boston, said the raids target known criminals and gang members who have contributed to the street violence that has rocked communities.

By working with local police, Immigration and Customs Enforcement can use federal law to deport known criminals.

"Every individual targeted as part of this operation has a criminal record," Foucart said.

The 80 arrested represent 24 gangs, including the Tiny Rascals, Bloods, and MS-13, he said.

Of those arrested, 55 were permanent residents who could be deported for their crimes; 14 lived here illegally; two were wanted on deportation warrants; and three were living here after being deported. Six others were arrested on local criminal charges.

US Policy, Not Khmer Rouge, Splits Family

By Nuch Sarita, VOA Khmer
Original report from Washington
23 June 2008

Nearly 1,500 Cambodians have been deported under a US law that allows illegal immigrant felons to be returned to their home countries after serving their sentences.

For people like Chea Sath, whose son was deported in 2004, the policy has meant the division of a family that strived to stay together through the Khmer Rouge.

Chea Sath's son, Mam Chhen, was four years old when he came to the US, joining an exodus that would eventually reach 100,000 Cambodian refugees in America after the collapse of the regime.

Chea Sath never wanted her family to split up, she said in an interview, but Mam Chhen found himself straddling two cultures as he grew.

"Chhen came to the US as a child, and quickly he assimilated into the street culture of the poor neighborhoods, and he got into trouble with the law," Chea Sath said.

Mam Chhen was convicted of a shooting and spent five years in jail. Following that, in December 2004, he was deported.

"My son faces a very difficult adjustment in a country he fled, and I support him with money every month," Chea Sath said, with worry on her face. "I have gone to visit my son three times in Cambodia since he left the US in 2004, and I'm not sure he'll have a safe life. He needs to adapt to a life and culture that is very different to his experiences in America."

Cambodian students protest

University of the Pacific students and sisters Chandra Chhin, left, and Caly Chhin attend a rally on campus Wednesday to protest what they call unjust deportation of some Southeast Asian immigrants in the United States. (Photo: Cliffors Oto/The Record)

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Rally meant to spotlight Southeast Asian immigrants' plight

April 24, 2008
By Jennifer Torres
Record Staff Writer (Stockton, California, USA)

"It's encouraging to see our young leaders ... exercising their voice. It's not just about cultural heritage. We're Americans, too" - Sondra Roeuny, president of United Cambodian Families

STOCKTON - A group of Cambodian students and their allies rallied at University of the Pacific on Wednesday to protest what they believe are unjust U.S. deportation policies and to call attention to the overall status of Southeast Asian immigrants.

The efforts, participants said, demonstrate that while groups such as Pacific's Cambodian Student Association work to preserve Southeast Asian culture, they also are participants in American civic life.

Wednesday's lunchtime rally was one of six held at campuses throughout California to protest the deportation of some Southeast Asian immigrants.

In 1996, the U.S. government expanded its list of deportable offenses to include crimes such as domestic violence and drunken driving. The change was retroactive so that noncitizens who had been convicted of those crimes in the past - even if they had since reformed - still could be deported.

In the case of many Cambodians, immigrants face deportation to a country where they might have little memory and to which they have no connection, said Caly Chhin, who leads the Cambodian Student Association.

"They were born in a different country, but they have lived here their whole lives," the 22-year-old history student said.

Chhin and other students at the rally said they want immigration judges to consider such deportations on a case-by-case basis.

Other organizations, meanwhile, have argued that immigrants who break laws give up their right to stay in the United States and shouldn't receive special consideration.

From 1975 to 1979, an estimated 1.7 million people - 21 percent of Cambodia's population - were killed when Khmer Rouge forces took over the country.

Thousands fled. Many of them came to the United States as refugees.

Over the past decade, San Joaquin County has received far more refugees from Southeast Asia than from any other region of the world. From 1995 to 2007, 1,203 refugees came to the county from Southeast Asian countries, including Cambodia.

The next highest number, 27, came from Afghanistan.

More than 10,000 county residents claim Cambodian ancestry.

Chhin said she hoped Wednesday's rally and future events would underscore challenges the community has faced. For example, education remains a struggle for many Cambodians, she said.

According to data from the California Department of Education, Cambodian children have earned lower standardized test scores than San Joaquin County's average, as well as Asian students overall.

"This is a way to highlight needs here," said Savong Lam of the organization United Cambodian Families, which advises the student group.

Sondra Roeuny, president of United Cambodian Families, said, "It's encouraging to see our young leaders ... exercising their voice. It's not just about cultural heritage. We're Americans, too."

Contact reporter Jennifer Torres at (209) 546-8252 or jtorres@recordnet.com.