WILLOUGHBY (Ohio) NEWS-HERALD

June 18, 2007

ICE raids protested

By Brandon C. Baker

Father's Day carried different meaning during protest for the nearly 200 people who gathered on Painesville's city square Sunday, Father's Day represented a few non-traditional themes.

With the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency's "Return to Sender" operation fresh on their minds, Hispanas Organizadas de Lake and Ashtabula hosted a Father's Day march and prayer vigil.

The crowd, largely comprised of the area's Hispanic community, marched from the city's recreational park to the square in protest of the crackdown that has resulted in the arrests and deportations of more than 40 illegal immigrants since May 18.

"We chose Father's Day because mainly the people being picked up in these raids and sweeps are fathers," said Veronica Dahlberg, director of HOLA. "They are decent, hardworking people who work in our fields, and we think it's not fair.

"(ICE) isn't taking terrorists, they're taking farm workers."

Some of the event's attendees were admitted illegal immigrants.

One man, who wanted only to be identified as Jose, said he was afraid for his life and the lives of his three children as a result of the raids. Still, he said the rally's cause was too powerful for him to stay at home.

"I don't know what other people do, but I only came (to America) to work and support my family," said Jose, who left Mexico for Painesville about eight years ago. "I don't do anything wrong, and I'm not a criminal."

The crowd, which also included members of the Farm Labor Organizing Committee of Toledo, became especially emotional after Maribel Rodriguez detailed the arrest of her father in Seneca County.

Flanked by her two sons, Rodriguez said her father was arrested while working for a nursery landscaper. Participants donated $567 to Rodriguez, who said she had no other family in Ohio and no money to pay for her father's release.

A number of young children held signs saying "Stop taking our dads" and "My father is my role model."

Some participants, like Cleveland-based attorney Richard T. Herman, advocated for reformed legislation. Herman said the ICE should place a moratorium on the arrests until Congress makes a decision on legislation that would strengthen both border security and the citizenship status of millions of the country's illegal immigrants.

Pastors from area churches attended the rally to show support as part of the prayer vigil.
"We respect the law, but we don't necessarily agree with how the law's written," said Steve Sargent, pastor of Hiawatha Church of God in Christ in Ashtabula. "The law 50 years ago allowed people of African-American ethnicity to be lynched ... sit on the back of the bus, that was the law.

"That's why we have legislators, and if we disagree with what they're doing, we have the power to let them know that. That's exactly what we're doing."