More on the New Bedford raid...

[Raven]

please forgive me if this is a little sketchy but I was listening to snippets of WBZ (Boston radio station) in the car tonight and it was fading in and out. Some of you guys probably know the story better by now. The Paul Sullivan show. He was saying the the Feds had this factory under investigation for 11 months (so they must have known that there were young mothers working there). He said that 500 feds (can that be???) surrounded these people and that this raid cost us in the millons. He wondered if these agents could have been doing something more constructive with their time to protect our national security. He said that the factory owner who had hired all of these people is out and may go scott free. Does anybody know if this is accurate? Did I just dream this? Can it really be this awful?

[Whoa_Nelly]

1. Did find this story online

http://www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2007/03/09/us_immigration_system_at_its_worst/

US immigration system at its worst


A child was held by her mother at a news conference in New Bedford the day after her father was among 327 employees of Michael Bianco Inc. who were detained by immigration officials. (Peter Periera/The New Bedford Standard Times via Associated Press)

By Ali Noorani | March 9, 2007
NEW BEDFORD
"HAS ANYONE seen my wife? She left for work yesterday and never came home. Our newborn baby is hungry and crying. Can someone please help?" asks a young father in the basement of a crowded church, one clear voice above the din of the hundreds gathered. The fear is palpable in the young man's eyes. He implores the listener to offer solace, hope, and encouragement.

There were hundreds of people searching for news about their loved ones, fighting back nervous tears. They found no information and no answers. Only chaos. And pain. And fear.

<snip>
On Tuesday, more than 500 armed homeland security officers descended upon Michael Blanco Inc. The owner of the factory, and a few of his senior staff, were arrested for hiring undocumented workers and creating false documents. They were out on bail and home with their families that night.

Approximately 350 employees, mostly mothers with young children, were swept up in the raid, shackled together in groups of three by their wrists and ankles and marched to buses bound for Fort Devens, 100 miles away. Without any legal representation or due process, these workers were asked for their immigration documentation and encouraged by immigration officers to choose voluntary deportation regardless of whether an immigration application was in process.

<snip>
President Bush and his administration have decided to prioritize the detention and deportation of young mothers at taxpayer expense, and at the expense of our troops.
These families in New Bedford escaped severe poverty and oppressive governments because they dared to believe in the American Dream. Ineligible for public benefits, they work every day and pay taxes in hopes of providing a better future for their children and their communities. The land that first welcomed Pilgrims is no longer the land of opportunity that the Statue of Liberty represents.
These families are victims of unscrupulous employers and an ad hoc set of laws.

[Redstone]

2. This in our United States of the fucking World. I am ashamed to be an American tonight.

Redstone

[Whoa_Nelly]

3. Happens frequently with me (ashamed to be considered part and parcel of the BFEE choices/mandates)

Hi Redstone! :hi:

[Redstone]

5. Yeah, but God damn, my people were Americans even before the white folks showed up.

Maybe we should have fought harder. (Though I'll admit that no amount of courage will overcome smallpox.)

Redstone

[Raven]

4. Thank you for posting this...

500 armed federal agents! Jesus! This should be a bigger story than it is.

[adigal]

6. They are probably at one of those new detention centers

where the kiddies wear prison uniforms.

[Raven]

7. 500 feds surrounding 300 helpless

illegals who were working in a factory with a government contract...they won't coordinate any humanitarian assistance with the State of Massachusetts...they separate mothers from their young children...the factory owner is home tonight with his kids...

You know, I can take a lot...I've seen a lot...I can take the crappy politics in this country with a huge grain of salt...but this is an outrage and if this great country wasn't in the toilet before this, it has just been flushed.

New Bedford, New Bedford, New Bedford...we can't repeat this....we are one breath away from a massacre.

There is simply no excuse for this, no excuse.

[roody]

8. Let's call people people rather than illegals.