ICE: Cold Blooded

by Matthew Caston
July 16, 2008
America has done it again.  It seems that exploiting and dehumanizing a people is written somewhere in the American Constitution.  In Postville, Iowa, America prevails in unjustly sending more than 300 people to jail, destroying countless families and killing the American dream that many of us hold in our hearts.

America has done it again.  It seems that exploiting and dehumanizing a people is written somewhere in the American Constitution.  In Postville, Iowa, America prevails in unjustly sending more than 300 people to jail, destroying countless families and killing the American dream that many of us hold in our hearts.  Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) executed a raid of Agriprocessors Inc, the nation’s largest kosher slaughterhouse and meat packing plant in Postville.  Despite its huge impact on the town, its people and those prosecuted, this operation remained hidden in the shadows and has been since May.  It is only because of Mr. Erik Camayd-Freixas, Ph.D., and his essay entitled Interpreting After The Largest ICE Raid In US History: A Personal Account,Ӕ that the national public can know what happened in Postville.  Camayd-Freixas is a Spanish interpreter for federal courts and a professor at Florida International University.  His essay recounts events that he as an interpreter has never experienced before.
The story is that ICE conducted a raid on Agriprocessors and rounded up about 397 illegal aliens, mostly Guatemalans, some hailed form Mexico, and a few from the Ukraine.  As any caring person can imagine, a good number of those rounded up were only trying to support their families back home.  Many of the immigrants retell their story of how they came to the US in hopes of saving money and then returning to their homeland.  One man walked from Guatemala.  In the words of the Guatemalan, I walked for a month and ten days until I crossed the river,Ӕ then he hitched a ride to Dallas and found his way to Postville, Iowa.  One woman form the Ukraine came to the US to work and save money for the operation her daughter desperately needed.  But these pleas for justice, understanding, and compassion fell on deaf ears.  ICE is one cold blooded agency.
For the immigrants there could be a guiltyӓ plea or a not guiltyӓ plea.  If one were to plead guilty to knowingly using a false Social Security number,Ӕ then the person would not have to face the heavier charge of aggravated identity theft.Ӕ In addition to pleading guilty, there is a 5 month jail sentence, a deportation without hearing, and the person would be placed on supervised releaseӔ for 3 years.  The injustice here is that many of the immigrants didnt knowingly commit identity theft or fraud, they just wanted to work.  Many of the immigrants didnҒt even understand the charges against them.
A not guiltyӔ plea would result in waiting for trial 6 to 8 months in jail without right of bail.  If the defendant won the trail, he or she would still be deported.  If the defendant lost the trail, there was a minimum 2 year sentence before being deported.  Which would you pick?
It was a lose-lose situation and many of the immigrants pleaded guilty so that they wouldnt spend too much time away from their families.  The charge of ғknowingly possessing or using false employment documents with intent to deceive puts the blame solely on the worker and not the company.  Camayd-Freixas, his fellow interpreters, and even the judge questioned the situation.  On paper it looked perfectly legal to convict 300 people of a crime they didnԑt know existed, destroy their families and keep them in prison only to deport them, but at heart something didnt feel right.
There are more twists to this case than just its heartlessness.  Everything from Social Security, Homeland Security and even terrorism are all somehow involved and many are calling this a humanitarian crisis.  To witness the American dehumanization of immigrants at its finest view Mr. Camayd-FreixasҒs entire essay at http://thesanctuary.soapblox.net/showDiary.do?diaryId=269.