Recent immigration sweeps are frightening the abused from seeking help and tearing at the community relationships that help law enforcement cull information about drug activity and other crime, domestic violence advocates told the Board of Supervisors yesterday.
The efforts by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement are counterproductive because the sweeps keep battered people, particularly women, from coming forward about their abusive situation, said prosecutor Elizabeth Hill who sits on the board of CORA, Community Overcoming Relationship Abuse.
The sentiment was echoed by other CORA members who asked the board to pass a resolution condemning the sweeps and take a pro-active role in asking local law enforcement not to cooperate.
“It shouldn’t be the work of the police to cooperate with the immigration service, “ Rhina Ramos, CORA’s Latina outreach coordinator, said.
Board President Rose Jacobs Gibson assured the group the issue “is not something that’s being left uncared for” and she is working with U.S. Rep. Ann Eshoo, D-Atherton.
The sweeps focused on North Fair Oaks, Jacobs Gibson’s district, and are “really causing a lot of stir in the community.”
Nearly two weeks ago, ICE agents reportedly swooped into Redwood City in search of illegal immigrants. Parents reported federal agents checking identification near Hoover Elementary School while others said day laborers on El Camino Real were stopped. Although the effort focused on those with outstanding warrants or deportation orders, other illegal immigrants were also picked up.
One person taken was a a Latina outreach promoter for CORA, Ramos said.
The woman is still in detention while her two children are cared for by a friend — a point CORA attorney Debbie Appel said raises questions about how sweeps tear families apart and stretch an already overburdened foster care system.
The raids undo years of work and won’t eradicate crime or drug use, Appel said.
“None of these problems will go away because ICE deports some number of illegal immigrants,” she said.
Following the raids, community leaders told hundreds of Redwood City residents at the Fair Oaks Community Center that legal status is not a local concern.
The City Council and Police Department maintained that the city wouldn’t participate in immigration raids and told residents they don’t have to cooperate if asked about their legal status.
Michelle Durand can be reached by e-mail: michelle@smdailyjournal.com or by phone: (650) 344-5200 ext. 102. What do you think of this story? Send a letter to the editor: letters@smdailyjournal.com. |