Eight Salvadoran and two Indonesian immigrants were arrested yesterday in Berwick, Pennsylvania by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents in a raid coordinated with local police.
According to eight witnesses, the police entered – in an armed and violent manner – the homes of those arrested between 4:30 a.m. and 6:00 a.m.
Over the past few months, a number of immigration raids carried out in collaboration with local police have been reported, such as the one that took place on December 28 at the Dicar chemical plant in New Jersey.
“We're always hearing about these raids at 4 a.m. where they [ICE agents and local police] go in looking for someone. And if they don't find that person, they arrest everyone, especially the men,” said Vanessa Cardinale, an organizer for the Comité de Apoyo a los Trabajadores Agrícolas (Committee in Support of Agricultural Workers); several of its members in New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Maryland have been subjected to similar raids.
“We are troubled by how they entered the house. They simply used force, breaking down the metal door lock,” said Douglas Mayorga, a Salvadoran whose home was raided.
Witnesses said that police gave no reason for the arrests. They entered the houses, asked for the men, did not ask for their papers, handcuffed them and took them away.
“They raided around 10 houses, and took people without immigration papers and even those who had valid permits. They said they were going to check on them where they were taking them,” said José Hernández, a relative of one of those arrested.
Of the eight Salvadorans arrested, one is a woman. Witnesses said that ICE agents and local police arrested her and her husband, leaving their five children (the oldest is eight) alone. According to the children's uncle, after a while a neighbor realized they were alone and went to care for them.
The local police in Berwick refused to make a statement, but an official who did not identify himself said, “They were just helping the Immigration Service.”
The spokeswoman for the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) in Washington confirmed that the operation had been carried out in coordination with the local police, and that the 10 arrested were illegal immigrants. The spokeswoman added that they were charged with violation of the immigration law, and would remain in the custody of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which will initiate deportation proceedings.
César Perales, director of the Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Education Fund, said that in many places the local government enters into an agreement to work together with Immigration and Customs Enforcement – and that is legal.
“What they are not allowed to do is to knock on a door and enter without a search warrant, without evidence that there is someone there who does not have papers,” said Perrales, whose organization has been following cases where the police have committed such errors.
The Comité de Apoyo a los Trabajadores Agrícolas is fighting to make local governments stop the raids and the collaboration of local police with immigration authorities, like in New York City.
“It's dangerous because immigrants won't talk to the police for fear that they will be arrested as illegals,” said Cardinale.
