Wednesday, April 6, 2011
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Families
I'm posting a story about a family that recently had an encounter with the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) department here in Logan, Utah. I'm looking forward to next weeks debate. One morning a man opened his door to go to work and found four men from the ICE department waiting for him. Before taking him away they gave his wife a number she could call to find out information about where he would be. Later that day she received a phone call from him letting her know that he was in Salt Lake and to try to get a lawyer. That evening my husband and I went to visit her after hearing what had happened. She was very distraut - beside herself. She did not know what was going to happen to her husband, to her, or their daughter. She was a stay at home mom and did not have any money. She didn't even have access to her husband's bank accounts. She didn't completely understand why her husband was taken away since he did have a work permit. The number she was given was useless to her because she did not speak English. The next day I offered to call to see if I could help her get someone who knew Spanish to let her know what was happening. When I called and asked if they had someone who spoke Spanish that she could speak to, they said they did not. The lady also informed me that if someone wanted to call a United States government office, they should know English. I then asked if there was some other resource that they offered when the family does not know English. I also became flustered and asked if they had a resource for the families, a way to make sure the children were okay and not abandoned. I recovered my cool and proceeded to ask for the general process that detainees went through. I knew I could not get specific information because I was not family. But I hoped to be able to inform her of the process so she could have an idea of what was happening. She said it would take about a month to process his papers for deportation. She also gave away information about him, saying that he had not been interviewed by them yet, he was just in jail. So I asked something about if they provide a list of lawyers for him to contact. And she said that he would not need one. He is getting deported there is no question. I asked if he had rights, she said no. So needless to say I finished the call very frustrated. I am not meaning to focus this account on whether the man was at fault or not. I just want to illustrate the difficulties that the family goes through. She was left in the dark. Yes he called her, but he did not know much himself. She was ready to pack things up and leave to her parents' house - she was going to be left without a breadwinner, and a husband. She had a daughter to take care of and figured she needed to take action. In the end, she moved out of her apartment that weekend. One or two weeks later, he was released and they are now back together again. So fyi, yes he got a lawyer, yes he had rights, and now he's home. So what would have happened if he was a single dad? Sure he would have been able to make that phone call to tell someone, but what about the hours in between? If there was no immediate family who would the child have gone to? What about the trauma to that child? I will be looking at ICE's policies pertaining to this area. I'll let you know if I find any. I will also be researching reports on the Swift company's ICE raids and what happened then. In the mean time, do you think that the ICE department or the INS department has a responsibility here? Should there be policies in place that better inform the family no matter the language they speak, or can't. Should there be policies that require them to contact a resource to inform the family? By resource, I mean some kind of agency that helps these families? Lastly, I wonder what you think should happen to the children of individuals who are deported and no other parent is around? Should they be sent to their parent's country? I should look up the story about that Cuban boy - I can't remember his name. Well, I look forward to your replies.
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I think that the government has been too quick to deport those who they feel don't have any paper work that allows them to be in the US. They should definitely ask for paperwork before they jump the gun and arrest anyone. I know that there are obviously some people who fit the stereotype of being illegal, but that doesn't mean everyone is. I personally think they were too quick to arrest rather than checking out proper paperwork.
ReplyDeleteHi All
ReplyDeleteI have worked with a number of undocumented immigrants who are also victims of domestic violence. I have seen the fear they have over ICE and deportation adn I have seen many abusers (legal citizens and undocumented) hold this fear over them to maintain control. Like Zuri I have also been on the phone with a number of immigration officials and found myself wondering how anyone who isn't an english speaking lawyer could get through the system because it si confusing, demeaning, and threatening. I too have found little consideration for any children involved when ICE comes "knocking". Whether one agrees with immigration reforms or not, hopefully we can all agree that people deserve to be treated with respect and dignity and human rights should be preserved. I am not sure we are doing this right now. I can't remember if it already came up on the blog but there is a great show out there done by Morgan Spurlock (Supersize Me) where a "Minute Man" Militia Member goes and stays with an undocumented fmaily for thirty days. It is really a great show and presents both sides of the argument.
I completely agree with what Megan had to share. It doesn't matter how people feel about immigration, people most certainly still deserve to be treated with rights and humanity. The children must not be forgotten and I think there is a better way to go about ICE 'knocking' routines.
ReplyDeleteI'm not very educated when it comes to this issue. I am curious to know what would happen to the child were the parent(s) deported. Would they go into our foster care system?
ReplyDeleteShawnee, I have to check up on that too.
ReplyDeleteInteresting story. It is lucky you were there to help a bit. It does seem a bit inhumane. I do not like to take sides on any issue (this is becuase whenever I express any sort of a sure opinion, I usually turn out to be wrong), but I do have at least the beginnings of an opinion about this issue. This is in part because it annoys me when people shoot their mouths off about how all Latinos, particularly Mexicans, are scum. A certain young lady of my acquaintance was telling me recently about how all Mexicans are involved in drugs, theft and violent crime. Though there certainly are many that have been involved in such crimes, what annoyed me was that she doesn't even really know any Mexicans.
ReplyDeleteSuch attitudes and comments make me feel more kindly toward immigrants, both illegal and legal. This, along with such stories as yours and information I have read on the subject, lead me to support a reform that is more focused on families of illegal immigrants, among other things. That a change must come to current immigratiom law and procedures is something of which I am fairly certain. I am glad that the new bills have had an especial focus on keeping families together, unconstitutional as they may be.
At the conference I attended last week, one of the speakers was an east coast doctor who had been asked to help many of the immigrants who came into the country without any guardians. This was often the case because the guardians were already dead or had come to the US many years previous. When these youth are caught coming over the borders, they are often sent to detention centers. They are not criminals, though. This doctor, through the "Life's Good" foundation has helped many of these youth who came illegally. I'm not exactly sure all of the outcomes, but they are better than before.
ReplyDeleteI'm still curious about the young children whose parents are deported. So sad.
I think enforcement agencies have a tendency to treat people in deplorable ways. This seems to be one of those cases. I think they were doing the right thing but not in the right manner. What to do with children and families in these types of situations is a difficult question. I think families should stay together, but when a person chooses to violate the law it is often the family suffers. There are many fathers who commit crimes and are sent to prison. That saddens me, but I don't think the consequences of a persons actions should be ameliorated because the family is going to suffer. I think ultimately the responsibility is the families, and the government should be there to step in when there are problems, but not to step in to prevent those problems. Even if it is the government that is the catalyst to the problem.
ReplyDeleteThe constitution is clear on who has rights spelled out in the constitution. It is the citizens of the federal government. For many years(more than a 100) the only government that had to respect a person's "rights" was the federal government. State government could and did act how the they choose, and often their actions were clear violations of rights spelled out in the constitution. The Supreme Court has extended most of those rights to protect against state governments, but even to this day there are rights, in the constitution, that state governments can freely violate. With that in mind I take issue with the idea that non citizens have certain rights, such as a right to a lawyer. The government has the ultimate responsibility to the citizens of the Unites States. It should respect the human rights of every person, but it should not extend the rights of citizens to non citizens. I think in this case the government was kind in giving the wife a number, and was kind in providing the man with food while being detained, and providing a person to answer questions. Should every government agency provide a person who can speak to any person who calls? Absolutely not! the idea is absurd. The immigration office does not need a thousand employees that are only there to explain the process in any langauge to a person who asks(and if they did it for one language they should do it for all who would they be to say spanish is more important than any other language). It is not a secret what language is spoken in the United States. Anyone who chooses to visit/come to the US whether legally or not should not expect the government to do everything to cater to them.
The government should not be blamed for deporting anyone. The person who choose to break the law of the United States should be blamed. The US government should be admired for any sort of kindness that it provides. Because it has little to no obligation to provide anything to persons who are not citizens of the United States.
Aaron raises the provocative question of how much responsibility governments have to provide assistance for those struggling with English or om the process of being evaluated for deportation. This question is difficult to answer; here are a few of my thoughts:
ReplyDeletePeople inevitably will need help if they live in another country long enough. We do have people here legally whose first language is not English [refugees, migrant workers, older family members of legal residents who legally immigrated to the U.S. So is it not helpful [especially if your state calls itself "business -friendly] to offer materials translated into different languages? Same with emergency medical or mental health care. Sometimes translators are needed to serve our newest arrivals.
While I agree that the U.S. government is not legally obligated to provide assistance to those it plans to deport, the Swift raid here in 2006 and its fallout among affected families were enough to convince me that children should not suffer needlessly as a result of their parents' actions. Traumatized children grow up with scars that may become a "drain" on other resources like the mental health or criminal justice systems, which we all pay for. An ounce of prevention, I say...
Children should certainly not have to suffer because of their parents' actions. I suppose my response is a reiteration of our discussion from Wednesday, but I would love to have a restructured immigration policy that makes the process easier for good, hardworking families to become legal residents. I also believe that if the process for such families were easier, integration (e.g., learning English) would be much more common, because those who are here illegally would not feel so inclined to isolate themselves from the rest of America. Another benefit of making the process of obtaining legal residence in the United States easier would be that the culture of lawlessness would diminish. "Undocumented immigrants" would not need to cover their tracks by engaging in more illegal activity. Case in point: An undocumented youth with whom I worked in Provo engaged in risky behaviors involving drug use and sales because he could not legally obtain other employment. He was a fine young man, and his family was wonderful, but illegal activity compensated for illegal presence in the United States.
ReplyDeleteWhat a mess this situation is. Rule of law should certainly govern the treatment of undocumented immigrants, but correct principle should prevail in situations where families are involved. In the case of Zuri's friends, what was more important?--the well-being and self-sufficiency of this family, or the elimination of someone who is not here illegally? In this situation, the man should be subject to some lighter punishment that would not remove him from his family or preclude him from providing for them, and the process of his obtaining legal residence should be accelerated.
Another aspect of immigration is the education of children. I have read studies stating that immigrant children usually fall behind in schooling. Usually this is because of the circumstances of the home (low income so they can't provide additional learning tools like books; the focus of the family is financial support rather than education; etc.). Taking a parent out of the home because they are not documented only increases the problems. My mom recently told me that the school she works at has over 60 percent of their children who are at risk for their learning trajectories and outcomes. 60 percent. She said a lot of it is because of the immigrant children and their home life. They just aren't getting the support they need to make the adjustments to the new community of learning. Helping parents become legal citizens, which helps them feel more like they can use supports, would only help their children in the end.
ReplyDeleteThis certainly is a complex issue and I appreciate all your comments. I do want to be clear that as I was trying to help this family, I was not expecting any special treatment for the husband who was arrested. I recognized that he might have done something wrong and that he would need to be held accountable. However, when it comes to just him, I was concerned about not having any rights. When a person does not pose a threat to the safety of society they should have some human rights. I am thinking about innocent until proven guilty. This particular person was documented. He thought things were in order. I saw two of his work permits. So obviously things were not, but there should be the right for him to have a representative (lawyer) and that his case should be tried or something that has him present his side and his case be reviewed. So that is the individual side of the issue.
ReplyDeleteThe other side is the family side. Regardless of what the husband did, I have a hard time with the idea that some families will be left in the dark. I recognize Aaron's view on the government catering to the families and the issue of languages. Something that I asked the lady was if they provided a list of resources for the families. That is one idea. The government would not have to provide multiple language bilingual speakers, they could however provide an internet, paper, or verbal list of resources for families. For example, my friend could have been given a paper with a list of resources of organizations that provide assistance and information on these cases. I realize that keeping a list of updated and current resources would be challenging, but it would be a step towards having a family impact perspective on the issue.
Something else that should be kept in mind is what happened with the Swift Co. raids in 2006. My friend was lucky she was there when he was taken away. What about children who have both parents taken away while in school or a single parent is taken away. How will they find out. There was a community movement to find these children in 2006, but what about when one person is taken away? Nieghbors may not know, who will know. How will the child know. Well I guess there is an answer to that, the detained person can call someone and tell them. Lets hope they have someone to call. Lets hope the child is safe in the mean time. And lets hope that the child does not suffer mentally in the short or long-run.
Parents should not be exempt from obeying the law, I understand. But these cases should be considered and thought of before hand. Maybe they should have social workers aboard when they go to pick up someone. Questions such as- Do you have children that need to be cared for?-could be asked.