Thursday, December 14, 2006
La migra crosses the line
I could get into trouble for writing this -- but I feel I have no choice. Some outrages must be reported. They must be seen. And they must be publicized. It's the only way to make them stop. Such is the case with the Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) raid of Utah meatpacking plant.
And please note, this isn't a debate about illegal immingrants. That's a topic for another place and time. This about the atrocious behavior ICE agents displayed in their raid, and how there is no place for that in the United States of America.
The Salt Lake Tribune reports that when ICE agents entered the Swift & Co. plant in Hyrum Utah, they divided employees into two categories -- brown-skinned and light-skinned.
That sort of racist behavior is so bad, even ICE is disavowing it. An ICE spokesman told TPMmuckracker that process was "definitely not standard operating procedure. . . that's not the way ICE operates."
Most Latinos would beg to differ. And so would most people of color. Regular readers of this blog know I was born and raised in the U.S., but am regularly harassed by ICE. Brown skin doesn't make you a criminal. And it doesn't make you an illegal immigrant. And until ICE recognizes that simple fact, this behavior will continue.
And please note, this isn't a debate about illegal immingrants. That's a topic for another place and time. This about the atrocious behavior ICE agents displayed in their raid, and how there is no place for that in the United States of America.
The Salt Lake Tribune reports that when ICE agents entered the Swift & Co. plant in Hyrum Utah, they divided employees into two categories -- brown-skinned and light-skinned.
If only for a few minutes, Maria felt like an ''illegal alien'' in her homeland - the United States of America.
She thought she was going on break from her job at the Swift & Co. meat processing plant here on Tuesday, but instead she and others were forced to stand in a line by U.S. immigration agents. Non-Latinos and people with lighter skin were plucked out of line and given blue bracelets. ''I was in the line because of the color of my skin,'' she said, her voice shaking. ''They're discriminating against me. I'm from the United States, and I didn't even get a blue bracelet.''
She thought she was going on break from her job at the Swift & Co. meat processing plant here on Tuesday, but instead she and others were forced to stand in a line by U.S. immigration agents. Non-Latinos and people with lighter skin were plucked out of line and given blue bracelets. ''I was in the line because of the color of my skin,'' she said, her voice shaking. ''They're discriminating against me. I'm from the United States, and I didn't even get a blue bracelet.''
That sort of racist behavior is so bad, even ICE is disavowing it. An ICE spokesman told TPMmuckracker that process was "definitely not standard operating procedure. . . that's not the way ICE operates."
Most Latinos would beg to differ. And so would most people of color. Regular readers of this blog know I was born and raised in the U.S., but am regularly harassed by ICE. Brown skin doesn't make you a criminal. And it doesn't make you an illegal immigrant. And until ICE recognizes that simple fact, this behavior will continue.
Labels: brown, brown skin, DHS, ICE, illegal immigrants, immigration, la migra, racism, raid
