ESMERALDA BERMUDEZ
Thursday, June 14, 2007
Oregon Live Link
Aftermath - People young and old drop out of sight as fears and rumors of more roundups spread
On a normal morning, Celia Villegas' home comes alive with the squeals and laughter of the 12 children she baby-sits for a living. But Wednesday, one day after authorities picked up 167 alleged illegal workers at a North Portland food plant, not a single child showed up.
Most if not all of their parents are illegal. Several had been detained in the raid. The rest went underground, locking themselves at home, afraid immigration agents were fanning through neighborhoods to make more arrests.
Across the Portland metro area, the scene repeated itself: Many illegal immigrants didn't show up to work, kept their children home, missed doctor's appointments and skipped trips to the grocery.
Others who had relatives detained entered the first day of legal fight to save them. They made calls, tried to raise money for bail and grew frustrated with language barriers.
The disruption highlighted the economy's reliance on immigrant labor, and how enforcement can send shock waves through the community and businesses where they work. It was unclear how long sectors that rely on illegal workers, such as construction, food preparation, agriculture and domestic services, might be affected.
"Families are terrorized," said Alberto Moreno, a migrant health coordinator with the state Department of Human Services. "They're trying to pick up the pieces and find what this means to them."
At Clarendon Elementary, where about a dozen students had a relative detained, 50 students were absent.
"One parent called and said, 'I'm not going to send my son to school today, I'm scared,' " said Principal Antonio Lopez. Other schools in North Portland neighborhoods that hold significant Latino populations reported higher-than-normal absenteeism, said Matt Shelby, a spokesman for Portland Public Schools.
At Roosevelt High School, where this is finals week, staff members were trying to decide how to clean out lockers for students who might not return.
For many whose parents broke the law, that may be a reality. As for rumors of ongoing roundups in the Portland area, it's not true, said Lorie Dankers, a spokeswoman with Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
"We go where the leads take us," Dankers said. "Clearly, if there are individuals who we know are part of this investigation, we will go after them. But are we going through neighborhoods randomly looking for people? Absolutely not."
Rick Hickey, vice president with Oregonians for Immigration Reform, said he is hoping for even more enforcement. Hickey said he wants local raids to continue because they send a message to companies that are violating the law and encourage illegal immigrants to return to their native countries rather than hide out.
"I don't know long they can stay here without earning an income," Hickey said. "They should go home and apply to come here legally."
Inside Villegas' home in North Portland, the 42-year-old sitter chased after two little ones in her front yard, half hopeful, half alarmed.
The night before she was left caring for six children belonging to four different mothers detained in the Fresh Del Monte roundup. Three children were picked up by one mother who was released before bedtime. A 4-month-old and two 2-year-olds belonging to three different mothers spent the night.
"I kept saying, 'Mommy's coming, Mommy's coming,' because I didn't know what else to do," Villegas said. "Each time they'd hear a car come or the phone ring, they would run to the door."
Villegas said she hit a wall seeking help for the kids. She contacted immigration officials for guidance and eventually ended up contacting state human services. When they asked for her address, she hung up.
"I hope to God they won't take them from me," Villegas said as she chased after Ashley Torres, 2, and Christian Hernandez, 2. "I'm responsible for them, and I don't want to give them to anyone else except their mothers."
Ashley and Christian were picked up Wednesday night by their mothers, who, like the others, were released for humanitarian reasons. They were later put under house arrest, Villegas said.
By midmorning Wednesday, Pedro Sosa's phone had drained its battery from so many calls. The Pacific Northwest regional organizer for the American Friends Service Committee said he heard from nurseries that a number of employees had not shown up to work.
John Aguirre, executive director of the Oregon Association of Nurseries, said his organization had been on alert recently, hearing hints from local immigration attorneys that a raid may be on the horizon.
"We were clearly on edge," said Aguirre, adding that he had told his growers to get their employees' paperwork in order. He did not hear from his trade group's members about many absentee workers and said he was reassured by the fact that Tuesday's raid was a result of an ongoing criminal investigation.
"Obviously, employers and workers are concerned, but we think the raid yesterday will result in a lot of work for ICE and have no reason to believe they'll continue ahead focusing on other industries."
At Virginia Garcia clinics across the Portland area, many patients canceled appointments because they were afraid of "La Migra" or immigration. The clinics have catered to Latinos since 1975.
"I'm sure they'll come back when they're really hurting," said Joel Dippold, a grant writer for Virginia Garcia. He said the raid heightened the anxiety illegal immigrants normally feel toward official agencies, such as medical clinics.
Rob Dressler, vice president of Oregon Roses Inc., received a call Wednesday from another grower who had heard immigration agents had raided the flower-growing company based in Forest Grove.
"I told him, 'That would be news to me,' " said Dressler, whose operation was not investigated. "But you see, it's not necessarily mass hysteria, but the rumors start flying after something like this."
Laura Gunderson and Paige Parker of The Oregonian contributed to this story. Esmeralda Bermudez: 503-221-4388; ebermudez@news.oregonian.com
Posted by rowan at June 14, 2007 12:05 PM