This is not change we can believe in

by Pramila Jayapal

Yesterday, at approximately 9 AM, more than 70 Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents dressed in riot gear raided the Yamato Engine Specialists in Bellingham, Wash. ICE agents entered the facility with buckets of handcuffs and ankle chains.  28 employees were arrested, processed, handcuffed and questioned; 3 women were later released on humanitarian grounds.  The remaining 25 employees—all immigrants from Latin America—were put (still handcuffed) on buses and taken to an undisclosed location.  According to Rosalinda Guillen of Community to Community Development in Bellingham, attorneys who tried to communicate with ICE to provide legal assistance to arrested workers were not able to receive any information from ICE.

Yamato has a workforce of approximately 125 employees. 

Yesterday, the lives of 28 families were devastated, sending a community reeling.  Attacking workers, taking away the primary breadwinner, destroying a local business and leaving families torn apart is simply un-American and unjust.

And expensive. In previous raids such as the one in Postville, Iowa ICE spent $5.2 million or about $14,000 per immigrant. Yesterday, no immigrant worker resisted arrest. They filed peacefully onto the bus, their hands and ankles chained. There was a 3:1 ratio of ICE to workers. In this economy, it cannot be a government priority to spend $14,000 per person on a military raid. We ask that the government use its dollars in ways that build up our communities, businesses, and families, not in ways that tears them down.

Hauling off hardworking men and women in chains is not the way to solve our immigration crisis and is not going to help with our economic crisis. In this time of economic hardship, OneAmerica believes it is completely unacceptable for the Obama Administration to be executing raids on our workforce, businesses, and communities.

This was the first workplace raid under the Obama Administration and is a far cry from President Obama’s promise to declare a moratorium on raids.  As the President said last night, ‘Living our values doesn't make us weaker. It makes us safer, and it makes us stronger.’ We urge President Obama to act on our values. We need reform, not raids.”

Our immigration system is broken. We are calling on President Obama and our 111th Congress to first have the courage to enact a moratorium on raids and then to fix the system fully—in a way that considers the clear contributions immigrants make to the U.S. economy and society in all sectors. We need comprehensive reform that recognizes the crucial contributions immigrants make to our nation, considers the demand for labor, and enables employers to legally hire needed immigrant workers. We need reform that gives a path to legalization, sets a minimum wage for all workers, and provides all workers with rights. We need reform that keeps families together. No child deserves to wave goodbye from the school bus and not know whether their mom or dad will make it home that night—or whether their parent will end up on a school bus of their own in chains, unable to support their family. No one wants to live in the shadows.

Media Questions & Pramila’s Answers after the News Conference at Immanuel Lutheran Church in Seattle, WA February 25, 2009

Q: There are some who are going to say, “What do you want us to do, open up the borders?” These people violated employment laws by using counterfeit social security numbers. What should our government do?

A: We believe in sensible solutions. We’re not asking for this situation to continue forever. Nobody wants this to continue forever. Workers don’t want it. Employers don’t want it. And certainly it’s not the face of America.

Q: Are you saying that until we fix the system, we should not enforce our immigration laws?

A: We know that 65% of Americans support comprehensive immigration reform (CIR). We’re not just talking about immigrant rights advocates; we are talking about a lot of people across this country who want CIR. There has to be enforcement after reform, because enforcement before reform doesn’t do anything. We’re just going to continue these military raids and mandates that do not fix the problem, which is that our supply and demand for workers do not equal each other. They have to do it in a way that respect human rights and constitutional rights and keep American families together. This is a country of family values. We want CIR this year. 12% of this country is foreign born. This country voted for change. We believe this is something that is possible this year. And yes, until this happens we believe that enforcement policies are expensive, they are inhumane, and they don’t work. That’s the problem, and we want solutions.

Q: You said that President Obama promised a moratorium on the raids. When did this happen?

A: This was before he was elected. He was at a forum at the Center for Community Change, and he has stated that he would like to see a moratorium on raids until all of the practices can be reviewed and looked at thoroughly. He’s also committed to immigration reform.

Q: Is this the first immigration raid/action nationwide since Obama’s inauguration?

A: Yes, and we think it’s ironic that it happened on the same night as Obama’s address to the union, and we really do believe that there are many people across the country, Democrats and Republicans alike, who are very hopeful about the change that this administration can bring. Immigrants turned out to vote in record numbers in WA state. OneAmerica registered 23,000 immigrant citizens to vote, and we will continue to push for smart policy. It’s not about just what we would like to have in a theoretical world. This is smart policy, and it’s in line with our values.