Sen. Kennedy Compares (New Bedford) Immigration Raid To Katrina

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.laborradio.org/node/5470

Sen. Kennedy Compares Immigration Raid To Katrina - 03/14/07

Sen. Edward Kennedy fired a hardball on Tuesday, comparing a recent raid of alleged illegal immigrants with the suffering following Hurricane Katrina. Jesse Russell has more:

The raid last week at a military vest factory in New Bedford, Massachusetts swept up 361 workers and tore apart families as many of the alleged illegal immigrants were quickly spirited to Texas before it was known who had left children behind. Senator Kennedy fired strong words at the Department of Homeland Security via an editorial in the New Bedford Standard Times. Kennedy said the raid reminded him of “the tragedy and human suffering that we all witnessed after the devastation wreaked by Hurricane Katrina.

Service Employees International Union local 615 has been working within the community to make sure the children are being cared for and located. Anna Horton is a member of the local and works with churches and community. She is also an immigrant who came to the United States 17 years ago for a better life. She says the atmosphere for immigrants has changed a great deal in those 17 years. She said it used to be that if you didn’t do anything wrong you were left alone to do your job:

: If you didn’t do anything bad, no one bothered you…but now…now it is very different…very different.

AUDIO story here: http://www.laborradio.org/files/lo/winsheadlines.ram

[proud2BlibKansan]

1. Anyone who believes this country is not doing anything about immigration

is not paying attention.

I am in southern California on vacation. Yesterday we were driving on an interstate 50 miles north of the border and had to stop for a border patrol checkpoint. The cops looked in every car and waved some on. We got waved on. We are 2 anglo soccer moms. The car next to us was 2 Hispanic guys. The cops were VERY interested in them.

In this rush to solve a problem that will take far more than a simple solution, we are now separating families in raids like this one in Masssachusetts. How tragic.

[twiceshy]

2. Don't conflate this with Katrina...

That was a case of US Citizens and a natural disaster and a lackluster response by Local, State and Federal authorities. This is a case of Illegal (as in criminal) aliens being made subject to the law.