The federal depart of Immigrations and Customs Enforcement — aka “La Migra,” previously known as the INS — is staging some kind of huge operation in Arcata. Bob Doran is in the parking lot of Westwood, where something like 10 vehicles are staged. McKinleyville’s Dennis Mayo tells KHUM’s Mike Dronkers that a huge number of vehicles were staged at Toni’s Restaurant off Giuntoli, and have just moved out.
UPDATE:
Sun Valley has been surrounded, they say — big place to surround. One ICE official tells Bob Doran that they are there to execute a search warrant.
UPDATE:
While we wait for details, you might want to read up on what has led to this, today.
Here’s a
Blogthing
report
from Japhet Weeks about the ICE letter that led to Sun Valley cleaning house back in June. Here’s the
follow-up
NCJ
cover story
.
The key thing to remember: Back then, they insisted that they were at the very beginning of their investigation.
UPDATE:
They’ve rolled in paddy wagons.
UPDATE 11:46 a.m.:
Virginia Kice of ICE talks to our Bob Doran and Mike Dronkers on KHUM. It’s an ongoing investigation. A number of individuals will likely be taken into custody: suspected immigrants, that is. Company executives were not mentioned. They expect to be there into the afternoon.
Kice will not say how many agents are involved, supposedly “for security reasons.” They had “air support” during the operation — a fixed-wing plane.
“Things have gone very very smoothly so far,” Kice says. “The employer has been very cooperative.”
Doran has seen three people handcuffed and put into vehicles at the site.
UPDATE, 12:45 p.m.:
ICE’s Virginia Kice tells the
Journal
that their current warrant authorizes agents to look for individuals living and/or working in the country illegally —
not
company brass. Not at this time, anyway.
“We don’t anticipate any criminal arrests today, but I want to emphasize that this is an ongoing investigation,” she says.
UPDATE, 12:50 p.m.
: Audio …
Virginia Kice speaks with Mike Dronkers of KHUM:
audio player
Virginia Kice press conference at the gates of Sun Valley:
audio player
This article appears in What Now, Treesitter?.
We saw two young fellows walking along Eel River Drive this morning looking like they were cold and on the lamb. Poor guys. They looked so out of place and like they just arrvived. I don’t know what the answer is, but they are fellow human beings. It makes me feel sad for them.
That’s really sad. Let’s pray for them and their families.
WTF????!!!
if they are illegal, then the employers need to hold fault, not just working stiffs trying to provide food for the families.
Well Billy Joe
When you run a labor intensive business and pay competitive salaries and benefits, for middle skilled jobs. When you provide bi-lingual supervisors and job training so those employees can advance, then you’ll be entitled to an opinion.
I-9’s require two forms of ID. That’s about 20 minutes work and $50 bucks on the street in LA. What would you have Sun Valley do, dna tests?
I absolutely support these workers, or anyone else who is trying to provide for a family, instead of demanding some form of entitlement.
And how do you tell if someone is illegal, Billy Bob? When the DHS’s own E-verify system has been proven to not be accurate. It has often given the ‘OK’ to hire worker X, who then turns out to be illegal. Great system! Yet you say “the employers need to hold fault”? As you say… WTF????!!!
This is an invasion, and you liberal brainwashed people better wake up. I thank god that I took a look around and realized just how bad the invasion really is. By the way, our house has two Hispanics living here and they agree with me. If you’re here illegally, go back to what ever country you came from and take your family with you. Then try to come legally. I and my fellow citizens are not responsible for your care. And I don’t care if lettuce will cost me 10 cents more, just the savings in education/medical/welfare/crime/prisons/jails/police/courts/and all the other costs to the taxpayer will be a huge gain.
Cripes Iwokeup
Go back to sleep. These people are working hard for a living.
How hard and long did it take your roommates who TRY to come legally to get a green card or a visa.
They’re not looking for a handout….they are looking for a job. It’s an American tradition and goes all the way back to the English, the Irish, the Italians, the Cubans the Haitians and the Puerto Ricans just to name a few.
The cost to the taxpayer is dwarfed by the cost of social programs for the voluntary homeless, the voluntary hopeless drug users and the plain dull and ignorant….like you.
You can be a tax producer or a tax consumer.
You get to decide.
Cry me a river…. If they are here illegally, deport them all…..
Huge fines and/or jail time for the slavers who hired them….
The people of the U.S.A are tired of taking care of the poor and uneducated of the world. Get an education and stop procreating exponentionaly….
How about them taking care of us. Are we tired of that?
“just the savings in education/medical/welfare/crime/prisons/jails/police/courts/and all the other costs to the taxpayer will be a huge gain.”
I hear this unsubstantiated crap so freaking much. You care to document it?