Feds Ship MA Immigrant Arrestees to TX

By TChris, Section Social Justice
Posted on Wed Mar 21, 2007 at 11:19:14 PM EST
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Federal authorities arrested 350 immigrants working at a factory in New Bedford, Massachusetts, then realized that they didn't have 350 beds to house the prisoners. The decision to ship them to Texas was at best the result of poor planning. At worst, it was a deliberate attempt to impair the immigrants' access to counsel.

“The government moved them to try to interfere with their rights,” said Bernard J. Bonn III, a lawyer representing 178 immigrants who were initially taken to Fort Devens, a decommissioned Army base in Massachusetts, but flown to Texas because, federal officials said, the base did not have enough beds. “They had 11 months to plan this raid, and after two days they run out of space at Fort Devens because they needed it for someone else?”

A Justice Department spokesperson magnanimously explained "that the federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency gave detainees a window of time to find lawyers." How nice of them to partially open a "window" for the detainees, some of whom left their children behind as they were whisked away to Texas.

Later, in a telephone press conference, Robert Sable, executive director of Greater Boston Legal Services, which is helping to represent many of the immigrants in a civil lawsuit filed shortly after the March 6 raid, said one motivation for the suit was to have the immigrants returned to Massachusetts because the Texas immigration court made it more difficult and expensive for them to be released on bond. That is especially true, he said, when an immigrant’s relatives are in another state. ...
Gov. Deval L. Patrick denounced the federal operation as “a race to the airport,” and members of the state’s Congressional delegation met with family members and friends of the immigrants in a New Bedford church.

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Feds Ship MA Immigrant Arrestees to TX | 13 comments (13 topical)

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We (none / 0) (#1)
by Wile ECoyote on Thu Mar 22, 2007 at 06:20:42 AM EST

are talking illegals, correct? I see an attempted blurring of the lines to confuse the issue.

Legal, Illegal..... (none / 0) (#3)
by kdog on Thu Mar 22, 2007 at 07:58:03 AM EST

Whatever term you choose...it's still no way to treat human beings.


Illegals (none / 0) (#5)
by Wile ECoyote on Thu Mar 22, 2007 at 09:09:11 AM EST

then.


: Fair enough.... (none / 0) (#8)
by kdog on Thu Mar 22, 2007 at 10:02:16 AM EST

I'll call them peeps...any comment on their treatment? I find it appalling.

They're out on bail (none / 0) (#4)
by roy on Thu Mar 22, 2007 at 09:07:51 AM EST

Access to council (none / 0) (#7)
by roy on Thu Mar 22, 2007 at 09:56:22 AM EST

Not to make excuses for the Feds' actions, but it occurs to me that the alleged illegals might be better off hiring Texas-based lawyers anyway. Texas, being a border state, probably has a better selection of blooded immigration lawyers to choose from. Immigration law is federal law, so expertise acquired in TX should work just as well for defending people arrested in MA. Would they need an attorney licensed to practice in MA?

As it is, 178 of them are represented by an attorney who apparently has little if any experience with immigration law.

I think the main problem with the ICE raid was (none / 0) (#9)
by sarcastic unnamed one on Thu Mar 22, 2007 at 12:11:08 PM EST

that the process used to identify the illegal aliens who were caring for young children was not nearly effective enough.

According to ICE they asked every illegal worker if they had children, and those who did were generally released for humanitarian reasons and those who did not were taken to Ft Devens.

Clearly, some of the arrestees, for whatever reason, lied to the ICE officials and told them that they did not have children when in truth they did.

Other than those parents separated from their young children, I think the difference in being behind bars in Texas v. Massachusetts is mainly one of semantics - in either case the arrestees are separated from friends and relatives.

: But if they are in Mass.... (none / 0) (#10)
by kdog on Thu Mar 22, 2007 at 01:04:53 PM EST

at least their loved ones can visit. It's a little more than semantics...its over a thousand miles.
I don't think we would tolerate accused shoplifters being held a thousand miles from home pending prosecution...why accused immigrants?

Well (none / 0) (#11)
by sarcastic unnamed one on Thu Mar 22, 2007 at 01:28:53 PM EST

First, New Bedford to Ft. Devens is almost 100 miles. From what I've seen of the illegal aliens in CA, that, in reality, is too far for anything even approaching frequent or regular "visits."

In fact, considering many of relatives likely have questionable immigration status as well, I wouldn't expect many of them would even consider a visit.

Second, I would expect (admittedly, perhaps naively) that their non-citizenship be proven and the arrestees' deportations to take place quickly enough such that any question of "visits" would be moot.

Would I prefer that they be close(r) to their relatives/friends while awaiting deportation? Of course. Lot's of things I'd prefer in this world, however that's a far cry from "appalling" in my book.

: You'd be surprised.... (none / 0) (#12)
by kdog on Thu Mar 22, 2007 at 02:05:56 PM EST

During the fall I went to visit a friend in an upstate prison, well over 100 miles from NYC. I saw a busload full of working class folks making the trek to see their loved ones. Talking to a few folks while going through security, I learned some make the trek every week.
Granted, being an undocumented immigrant would probably give you pause before visiting a loved one who is locked up...hadn't thought of that angle.
I think you're right that it is naive to think that our justice system could give these folks their due process in such a timely manner that visiting would be moot. The wheels don't move that fast buddy...for good reason.
To clarify, I find how the whole raid was handled from beginning to end appalling...not just that the quick-ship to Texas prevented visitation. But you probably knew that by now:)

Oh yeah, I knew that long ago. (none / 0) (#13)
by sarcastic unnamed one on Thu Mar 22, 2007 at 02:17:31 PM EST

fwiw, TX is probably a lot closer to many of their relatives than MA is...

Touche.... (none / 0) (#14)
by kdog on Thu Mar 22, 2007 at 02:25:31 PM EST

Unless they were undocumented Irish:)


: Actually, you're right (none / 0) (#15)
by sarcastic unnamed one on Thu Mar 22, 2007 at 02:36:51 PM EST

some of the arrestee's were from overseas.
I think I remember that you wanted to make sure the owners/mgt of the biz got equitable consequences for their actions, did you see this?
Mr. Insolia, Ms. Costa and Ms. Melo were released on their own recognizance, with a probable cause hearing tentatively scheduled for March 26. Ms. Figueroa was released on a $25,000 unsecured bond.
They face a maximum sentence of six months in prison and a $3,000 fine for each illegal immigrant they hired, and 10 years in prison or a $250,000 fine if convicted of conspiracy to encourage illegal aliens to reside in the United States.
Mr. Torres [the fake ID supplier] is being held in custody until a bail hearing on Monday. He faces a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

My bolds and parentheticals.