How ICE raids send shockwaves through local communities | DW News

Key Concepts:

• ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) raids and arrests
• Undocumented migrant workers in agriculture
• Economic impact of immigration policies on farming communities
• Community response to ICE activity
• Civil liberties and constitutional concerns
• Political perspectives on immigration reform

ICE Raids and Arrests:

• Donald Trump's promise to detain 1 million migrants per year with the help of 10,000 extra ICE agents.
• Statistics indicate that 70% of current detainees have no criminal convictions.
• ICE agents are arresting people on the streets, at schools, fields, and even outside their homes.
• A migrant died during an ICE raid at a nearby farm.
• Arrests by ICE agents were already up by 40% before the extra funding.
• As of July 13th, less than 30% of those arrested had a criminal conviction, with many having committed only minor offenses such as traffic violations.
• Lucas Sucker, a community organizer, predicts that the extra funding for ICE will make the lives of migrants much worse, tripling their budget for investigations, raids, and detentions.
• ICE agents are masked, in unmarked cars, and tearing parents away from their children.
• ICE agents are trying to meet a quota of 3,000 people a day being deported.
• On July 10th, Jamie Alanis Garcia died during an ICE raid at a legal cannabis farm where some 200 workers got arrested.
• ICE agents used tear gas and rubber bullets against protesters.

Impact on Farming Communities and the Economy:

• California grows over a third of the country's vegetables and over 3/4 of the country's fruits and nuts.
• Oxnard is known as the fruit basket of the US, producing 90% of the country's strawberries.
• Fields are usually filled with hundreds of farm workers, most of whom are undocumented migrants.
• Many farm workers are hiding at home, afraid of being arrested.
• A supervisor stated that no American is willing to do the hard labor in the heat, and they rely on undocumented migrants to do this work.
• 70% of all farm workers in the US are foreign-born, and 45% of those foreign-born farm workers are undocumented.
• The aggressive actions of ICE are hurting the local economy and the food supply chain.
• Food that should be picked is rotting on the ground, and empty boxes are stacked on the side of the street.
• If the US doesn't have the workers to pick the crops, they will have to grow the crop somewhere else in Mexico or Chile and then bring it here.

Community Response and Resistance:

• The community developed a system to share information when raids happen so they can show up in support.
• Julia Malaj described ICE officers in a line with their little tank and military equipment and all geared up and there were just people chanting and also like right in front of them not in their face but just creating a barrier.
• The city council meeting began with a moment of silence, followed by residents speaking out against the federal government's actions.
• Mayor Luis MacArthur stated that often times when these operations are are taking place is they're not letting local officials know what's happening including police departments.
• Mayor Luis MacArthur stated that because they're federal agents, they have the right to go into any city they want and enforce immigration laws. Police can't intervene or stop them from doing their job.

Perspectives on Immigration Policy:

• A farm worker stated, "They think we're criminals, but we are not criminals. We are workers. We simply come to work. We do not come to steal from anyone. We come to earn our money earnestly. Even the majority of people at ICE will end up eating fruit from here. So, we're doing the work for them. Very hard work. Look all around. There are all hardworking people here. We're not criminal people. criminals."
• Joe Delbosque, a farmer, stated, "He promised to deport criminals and everyone is okay with that. Even our farm workers say yes deport the criminals that's okay but 3,000 a day that's probably more than just criminals."
• Joe Delbosque stated, "If our country wants to have a domestic food supply, if we don't have the workers and you know and we can't pick these crops, we're going to have to grow the crop somewhere else in Mexico or Chile, right? And then bring it here. I don't think the president wants that."
• Joe Delbosque stated, "Both parties have failed us. You know, Obama had he had a Democratic Congress and Senate and he didn't do it. Okay, we we have this opportunity now because he has he has both u both houses. Let's find a program to give them legal status um to continue working. There may be an opportunity to do it. We hope there is."
• Lucas Sucker stated, "This this budget bill uh this big ugly bill is going to supercharge ICE. it is uh tripling their budget for uh investigations and raids. It's tripling their budget for detentions."

Conclusion:

The video highlights the impact of increased ICE activity on farming communities in California, particularly the fear and disruption caused by raids and arrests of undocumented workers. It emphasizes the economic reliance on this workforce and the potential consequences for the food supply. The video also showcases community resistance and the growing concerns about civil liberties and the fairness of current immigration policies. The perspectives of farm workers, farmers, community organizers, and local officials provide a comprehensive view of the complex issues at stake.