Posted on 03/21/2004 8:45:44 PM PST by calcowgirl
The deportation of a Logan Heights activist yesterday after her arrest at home has sparked outrage among some Latinos, who accuse federal officers of spreading fear in immigrant communities.
"The community is fearful that they are going to come to their doors and split their families," said Benjamin Prado, coordinator of the Raza Rights Coalition.
Immigration officials say Alvina Martinez, 54, was arrested during a routine operation targeting fugitive immigrants.
Martinez had several immigration violations on her record and had exhausted her appeals to remain in the country, Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokeswoman Lauren Mack said. She was deported to Tijuana yesterday and could not be reached for comment.
"She was in no way singled out," Mack said, referring to her political activities. "There was no indication or even knowledge that she was an activist."
Martinez is a member of the Raza Rights Coalition, a San Diego-based group that for years has protested U.S. immigration policies and alleged abuses by immigration and police officers. Martinez, who joined the group in 2002, participated on its human rights committee, mainly educating immigrants about their rights.
She was arrested at 6:45 p.m. Thursday at her house on Clay Street by federal officers who arrived in unmarked vehicles. Two young granddaughters she helped care for were left with her husband and an older son, Mack said.
She was among eight immigrants arrested yesterday and Thursday in San Diego County as part of a nationwide crackdown on fugitive immigrants. Among those arrested were immigrants with criminal convictions for theft, drunken driving and sexual offenses, Mack said.
Martinez was among those who did not have a criminal record, but her immigration violations made her removable. An immigration judge ordered her deported in 2000 because she had re-entered the country after formally being expelled. The Board of Immigration Appeals upheld that 2000 decision the following year, Mack said.
More than 500 fugitive immigrants have been arrested in the county since last year, Mack said.
Across the country, 400,000 fugitive immigrants, including 80,000 who have criminal records, have been targeted for removal under an initiative launched last month called Operation End Game. San Diego has targeted 5,800, including nearly 600 who have criminal records.
Mack said agents focus primarily on immigrants with criminal records, but noncriminal immigrants routinely appear on their radar because of their large numbers.
"We remove them when we find them," she said.
Prado of the Raza Rights Coalition said his group is investigating the circumstances surrounding Martinez's arrest and deportation and has alerted the Mexican Consulate in San Diego about the case.
He said the federal government may have considered Martinez deportable because of her immigration status but "we take it from a different perspective."
"We don't believe that human beings are illegal."
Indeed! I vividly remember the Mexican folks outrage when fellow Latino little Elian Gonzales was nabbed at gunpoint from his family in the dead of night.
Oh wait, sorry - there was no Mexican folks outrage then. Ooops!
And this is a problem? Go back to wherever you are supposed to be and reunite. Then apply and do it legally.
This is perhaps one of the most nonsensical and inane statements ever uttered by a human being.
Illegal Alien decides to enter the spotlight of "attaining" ACTIVIST status and people are amazed that she gets deported?
Logic should dictate that, with MILLIONS of ILLEGAL ALIENS in this country, common sense would dictate that one INS priority just might be deporting LOUD MOUTHS CALLING ATTENTION TO THEMSELVES just..., might, exist???
LA RAZA has numerous "Activists" who are citizens and legal aliens. One (and hopefully, more) of their number deported will in no way decrease their influence! If other VOCAL ILLEGAL ALIENS are in fear of deportation, I hope they immediately PAY THEIR OWN WAY HOME AS SOON AS POSSIBLE!
Like all such "Activist Groups" I am certain that many of that leaning belong (accompanied and FUNDED by those who LENIN REFERRED TO AS THE "USEFUL IDIOTS")!
She should be thankful, they should all be thankful that she's not illegan anymore. She's back in her La Raza country and she can be an activist there.
Just for the record, many of us who thought Elian should've gone home immediately felt that his staying would've set a dangerous precedent for those forces who wanted to open the floodgates to cheap labor, and to degrade the laws protecting citizens and others who are here legally.
Why is this news? Everything angers these criminals.
I saw a TV documentary once where a bunch of illegals were put on a bus back to Mexico. They were all smiling and singing. When the reporter asked the driver why the illegals were all singing, he said, "Because they know they'll be back tomorrow."
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