Children left stranded after migrants held in factory raid

[G_j]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/usa/story/0,,2028912,00.html

Children left stranded after migrants held in factory raid

Ray Henry, Associated Press in New Bedford
Thursday March 8, 2007
The Guardian


About 100 children were left stranded at schools and day care centres after their parents were rounded up by federal authorities in a raid on a factory where hundreds of illegal immigrants worked to produce supplies for the US military.

About two-thirds of the 500 employees working at leather maker Michael Bianco Inc in New Bedford, Massachusetts, were detained on Tuesday by immigration officials for possible deportation as illegal immigrants. Most of the employees were women and, as a result, many of their children were not picked up from school or day care that day.



Corinn Williams, director of the Community Economic Development Centre of Southeastern Massachusetts, estimated about 100 children were left with babysitters or caretakers.
"We're continuing to get stories today about infants that were left behind," she said yesterday. "It's been a widespread humanitarian crisis here in New Bedford."

..more..

[salin]

1. So will the employers also face hardships?

Massive fines? Violations of the 1986 Immigration law? Or will they blame the employees, claim they were duped by fake SS cards and other ID (which is supposed to be documented upon hiring)?

[Cobalt Violet]

2. They opened as usual yesterday.

:shrug: I doubt it. They still have their millions too.

[salin]

3. Wish i could say that I was suprised....

[Marrah_G]

5. They were arrested

They are facing prison time I believe. They were so incredibly arrogant they even had a setup with a record store across the street to make fake ids for workers without them.

They need to start jailing these employers, fines just don't cut it. Rather then hire unemployed citizens in an area that has been stumbling hard in recent decades they chose to hire illegals. This wasn't a case of americans workers not wanting the jobs. This had everything to do with the bastards not wanting to pay fair wages, give health care or obey even the most basic fair labor laws. Illegal workers don't complain, they don't sue, they don't unionize, they simply shut up and take whatever the employer wants to dish out.

I'd love 5 minutes alone in a room with the owner....just 5 minutes.

[wicket]

10. Agreed

Time to start going after the employers big time.

[salin]

16. Glad to hear this

frankly I think it isn't only the employers (except for those that make obscene profits) it is also that *we* don't want to pay the prices of products that are produced at labor costs that allow a living existence. IMO that is the national conversation that is needed. Are we willing to pay more for food, services and products in order to keep our economy running? Until we have that national conversation (which noone, frankly, wants to have) this will continue and the best that we can hope for is that employers will find it more expensive and more inconvenient to break the law than it is to pay higher wages and stay within the law. This is a complex economic issue that most folks do not really want to deal with - and thus the problem perpetuates itself.

[Breeze54]

14. They need to lose the military contracts asap!

Help On Way For Stranded Immigrant Children
State Trying To Reunite Children, Undocumented Workers

POSTED: 7:38 am EST March 8, 2007

http://www.thebostonchannel.com/news/11200791/detail.html

"An Army spokesman did not return a call seeking comment about the status of the company's contracts."

[bread_and_roses]

4. More "Family Values" action from the "Compassionate

Conservatives." Those bastards. Imagine how frightened some of those children must have been. Imagine how frantic the mothers.

[blondeatlast]

6. And the business owners get a slap on the wrist--and a nice dinner with the wife and kids.

Note that this came from the Guardian--not a US newspaper.

Anyone wonder why I get my news from overseas?

[flashlighter]

7. This has been front page news in Boston for three days.

It's not ignored. Also, the criminal empolyers ARE going to jail, and social services is taking care of the children. About 60 of these people were allowed out on humanitarian reasons because no one else could take care of the kids.

[Mass]

8. The raid happened on Tuesday (so, it was only two days ago)

In a typical manner, the Federal governement arrested these people without letting the governor inform the social services, so many kids were actually stranded with baby sitters, some of them very young.

The social services only receive the authorization to visit the arrested people yesterday. Yes, the situation became a little bit better yesterday, but there are still kids separated from their families for no good reason.

At the same time, the owners have been released (even if they face jailtime if this goes to trial and they are convicted) and the factory continues to operate, so please, all is not as good as you seem to believe.


Here is the latest article from Boston.

http://www.thebostonchannel.com/news/11200791/detail.html

...
More than 300 undocumented workers, mostly women, were taken into custody Tuesday by federal agents who raided a leather factory in New Bedford. As many as 210 children may have been separated from their parents as a result and many of the workers taken into custody may be afraid to admit they have children for fear the children will be deported.

"I've never seen so many people panicking and we've been getting bombarded with phone calls from family members, and people who aren't just wondering what is happening to their families and husbands wondering when are their wives coming home to join their children," Marques said.

Wednesday, Gov. Deval Patrick said he was told of the immigration raid at the factory, but was told that he could not share the information with state social services.

"I was notified and instructed by federal authorities to keep that information to myself," Patrick said.

Since then, DSS workers have been forced to play catchup and try to reunite families in what many are now calling a humanitarian crisis.
...

[flashlighter]

11. I'm not saying all is good

This is a terrible situation all around. However, the owners WILL face prison:

http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2007/03/07/350_are_held_in_immigration_raid/

"Insolia and his managers face maximum sentences of 6 months in prison and fines of $3,000 for each illegal immigrant they knowingly hired. Torres faces a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison and a $250,000 fine"

As for the small children, that's terrible, but when someone gets arrested in the commission of a criminal act, as these people did, authorities don't immediatly worry about that person's family.

"..but there are still kids separated from their families for no good reason." There is a good reason. The families are being deported, and some of the kids are US citizens. How that shakes out, I'm not sure, but do you think we should just let these people go because they have kids?

[Mass]

13. The owners were released and are still operating the factory. Do you not see a little bit

of a double standard there? (and it is far from clear how much jail time they will get from their crimes).

When people are arrested for a criminal act, they can make bail and go back to their families for a hearing. And normally, social services are informed in a timely manner. Here, we are talking about more than 100 kids and the governor is not allowed to alert social services in a timely manner. Please, give me a break. These people are human beings.

And they are as much victims as guilty. The deportation hearings have not yet occurred, so the families face deportation, but no decisions have been reached.

This seems a typical case of the Feds not caring about people.

[Breeze54]

9. It was posted on DU from a Boston, MA paper yesterday ---

By me! ;)

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x359754


Concerns For Children Raised After Immigration Raid
Parents Arrested At Workplace

POSTED: 1:08 pm EST March 7, 2007

http://www.thebostonchannel.com/news/11193948/detail.html

[wicket]

12. It's huge here in Mass. anyway:

http://boston.com/

[G_j]

15. NPR reported on it this morning

though the first I heard of this story was from the Guardian UK