Washington – Leaders of pro-immigrant groups in the United States reported Saturday that a wave of rumors about massive detentions has created nervousness and concern among the immigrant community as the Latino boycott next Monday approaches.
On other occasions, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the agency charged with arresting and deporting undocumented immigrants, has explained that it focuses on taking into custody foreigners who have evaded a deportation order, or who have committed crimes in the United States.
Directors of the Full Rights for Immigrants coalition, which is calling the strike on Monday, demanded this week that President George W. Bush and Congress “stop the detentions immediately.”
They said that, in their opinion, the roundups have increased over the past few days “with the obvious intention” of frightening immigrants to keep them from joining the May 1 strike.
Raul Murillo, of the Los Angeles-based Hermandad Mexicana, or Mexican Brotherhood, said at a press conference in Washington that despite ICE activity, immigrants “have lost their fear” and will take part in the boycott.
The coalition calling the strike has urged immigrants in the U.S. not to go to work or to school on Monday, and not to buy or sell anything, in order to pressure Congress into passing a comprehensive immigration reform.
Cecilia Muñoz, vice president of the National Council of La Raza, told EFE that massive arrests of undocumented immigrants are counterproductive and do not help toward developing a process of fair immigration reform.
In Miami and other southeastern American cities, as well as on the west coast and in central states where large populations of immigrants live, thousands of undocumented Latinos are staying home this weekend for fear of being arrested.
Immigration institutions have told the press that rumors of massive detentions are false.
A large part of the fear was aroused by the mid-April arrests of more than a thousand undocumented immigrants at facilities of the Dutch company IFCO in 26 states across America.
Fear of detention has forced tens of thousands of undocumented immigrants not to go to work this weekend, causing problems in factories and other places of work across the country, according to the U.S. media.
On Thursday, the director of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service, Emilio Gonzales, said that roundups searching for undocumented aliens are “normal” and “not necessarily” will be any more extensive during next Monday’s protest. EFE
