Posted on 04/17/2008 7:27:32 PM PDT by kiriath_jearim
Anxious phone calls poured in early Wednesday morning.
Friends and relatives of the morning-shift workers at Pilgrim’s Pride chicken plants called Esteban and Netchie Lopez, co-owners of the Latin American Consulting Co., even before the immigration sweep started at 8:15 a.m.
“There are many families that already knew that at any moment there would be raids,” Mr. Lopez said in Spanish.
Tension and fear burned through Chattanooga’s immigrant community Wednesday after federal agents arrested more than 100 people at the downtown Pilgrim’s Pride plants. One second-shift worker at the company, worried that his aunt was caught in the raid, called about his three young cousins, Mr. Lopez said.
“I told him to take responsibility of the children temporarily,” said Mr. Lopez. “(He) said to me, ‘I’m not going back to work’.”
Some businesses in the area surrounding Main Street, where immigrants live and work and many businesses are Hispanic owned, locked their doors.
“You can see it is affecting a lot of business in the area — most of them are closed,” said Rene Hernandez, who runs Taco Rico, a Salvadoran restaurant near the Pilgrim’s Pride plant.
Juan Hernandez, owner of Centro Azteca, a business on Main Street that offers services such as money transfers and translation assistance, said workers would lay low.
“Nobody will come to work tonight,” he said.
Others said the fear in the immigrant community was palpable after the arrests.
“Everyone’s just really scared,” said Stacy Johnson, board chairman for the referral center La Paz de Dios. “They don’t know what’s going on.”
Reacting to that fear, many businesses locked their doors in the Main Street area.
People called Latin American Consulting Co. all day Wednesday to get lawyer referrals and leave information so Mr. Lopez said he kept a running list of workers’ false names, real names, children and emergency phone numbers.
Phone lines also buzzed all day Wednesday at WDAL-AM, a Spanish-language radio station in Dalton, Ga. Deejays provided details about the federal raid and gave frequent updates on what was happening. Listeners called in with questions, worried about friends and families and wanting information, said David Hernandez, the station’s program director.
Until this morning, all rumors about an immigration raid pointed to Dalton, Ga., where 200 Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents are being trained, he said
“We were not sure what they were doing here until today when we found out about the raid,” Mr. Hernandez said.
As the day wore on, some members of the Main Street community worried about the mothers, fathers and children affected by the raid.
“They are separating families,” said Felipe Ayala, a clerk at Carnicerias Loa, a Hispanic grocery and meat store. “The government tries to help people with education, but a kid who doesn’t have parents won’t be well educated. He’ll be a future gang member.”
Mrs. Lopez said she sees both sides of the issue.
“I know that it is a difficult decision that the government has to do to put in place a good (immigration) program,” she said. “On the other hand, there are so many that are coming that we need them to stop.”
Mrs. Lopez said she often encounters immigrants with false documents.
“They pay for these papers,” she said. “In their hearts, they really think that it’s OK because they bought it.”
Sophia Martín, owner of Signs by Sophie on Main Street, was angered by the arrests, seeing only hard-working people being treated unfairly.
“Why don’t they go after the people that are committing crimes? After the ones who steal? After the ones who assault?” she said in Spanish.
The Hispanic community has come together to ensure that children whose parents are arrested are safe, even if it means feeding many new mouths on an already tight budget, said Mike Feely, executive director of the St. Andrew’s Center, a resource for Chattanooga’s multi-cultural communities.
“The positive thing we’ve seen out of this — if you can call it that — is that you really see people watching after each other,” he said.
You’re not with the best of company when you reference Bush and McCain.
“Why don’t they go after the people that are committing crimes? After the ones who steal? After the ones who assault?” she said in Spanish.
"If you throw a rock into a pack of dogs, the one that yelps is the one what got hit." (I forget whose quote that is, but it fits well here).
Sophia is either an illegal herself, or she's a legal resident who is enabling/employing illegals.
Chattanooga is a nice city, and I stayed at the Read House during Navy Week last year. The employers are cheating and they are getting them from Atlanta and Nashville.
Not sure about McCain but I’m with Bush 100%. I’m the last of the Mohecians. I’m a proud 27%’er.
Now back to deporting people. Ok fix the boarders and get a handle on immigration, but it’s impossible to deport 10-20 million people.
In the 30’s the U.S. deported 600,000 people. The same arguments were used then. It didn’t work worth a flip.
I’d rather toss welfare cheats and people that are a drag on society.
I ain’t gonna change any minds here so it’s useless to try.
I do think that the most Mexicans are more likely to be conservative than liberal (Church, Family, Antiabortion) UNLESS we alienate them with the “bubba” wing of the Republican party.
Fear? Since Pilgrim’s Pride just lost over 100 workers, it seems like a good time for a legal immigrant worker to ask for a raise!
A loser for "conservatives"? Conservatives of what sort? "Conservative" Mexican nationals who ignore the border?
I notice that like most apologists for this rotten policy you conveniently leave off "illegal" when the subject concerns illegal aliens rather than legal immigrants.
Bush and McCain are open border radicals with policies no different that what is pushed by race activists like La Raza. The illegal aliens you're infatuated with will be having a big march here in LA on May Day. Maybe they'll let you carry one of their Mexican flags in the big parade, and you can tell them that you're not one of the Mean Conservatives, you're one of the Compassionate ones, and that you're more than willing to reward them for breaking immigration law.
Geez. It is so much easier to just obey the laws. These people are panicking, as if we put people up against a wall and shoot them, or something else gross.
Must be the government propaganda from back home, that we gringoes are mean and vicious.
Yes, I know about the Hate Museums in Mexico!
So is believing that illegals are going to break less than 90% for the liberal Democrats.
In these days of razor thin election margins, importing 20 million new Dem voters is Republican suicide.
Don’t have to deport any except criminals.
Just make it impossible for people without the right credentials to get a job, housing, or medical care. NO FREEBIES!!
They will go back home. Hell, the Mexican economy is growing much faster than our, and workers from Guatemala and Honduras are being enticed into temp jobs in southern Mexican states, for Gods sake!
Not "broken English" mind you - they are making no attempt to learn. That tells me they don't want to become Americans, just live like them.
They're certainly not desired around FR. We believe that if Americans must follow the law, why in the world should illegal aliens come here and ignore and defy our laws -- worse yet, get by with it and be favored by our own government?
This crap will not continue forever, my friend but don't try to peddle your "open borders" tripe here.
Have a nice day!
Oh the horror!
Adios! Throw the owner in jail too.
OK Selmore, lets you and I make an arrangement...
I want you to send me your exact home address. Here’s why...
I want to implement the Bush/McCain policy at your level. Not nationwide... just at your level... Once I have your home address I will show up at your home at a time you’re are not informed of (could be 3:00 AM) and break into your home. Once inside I will basically setup a small camp in the living room. I will then search your house for a social security number. Once I find one (maybe yours) I will go to my friends and purchase false documents with this social security number. Once I’ve done that I will start working, but I will return, each day, to my camp in your living room. I will demand that you share all household resources with me (food, water, money, etc...). I will only speak to you in Spanish and I will make all of my demands in Spanish. If you do not comply I will call La Raza and file a civil rights lawsuit accusing you of racism, violation of my civil rights and human rights violations. I will organize a march by people in the same situation as me... we will picket your house (even though I live there) and go on TV and call you a racist. Remember... WE are the victims, NOT YOU. After the march I’ll be back in your living room. I’ll have the ACLU on board in no time.
Pffffft... What... ? You don’t like this idea? Oh... I get it... It’s Ok if people break into our country.... JUST NOT ***YOUR PART*** OF THE COUNTRY. Is that right, Selmore? As long as I’m not breaking into ***YOUR*** house its OK, right? As long as I break into the ‘national house’ then it’s OK. Is that right?
You have some splaining to do...
Yup, and Sophia doesn’t have a clue as to the RICO statues. The plant manager should be arrested too and if more than 5 workers are illegal, he needs to do at least 6 months in the county jail.
Yep. You would think they would realize that by now since John McCain is our nominee.
“Hispanic” is not a racial classification. It is interesting you would try to make it into one, however.
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