Agents nab 14 illegals in Loudoun

Let's see, 28 nabbed in Illinois and 14 arrested in Virginia. It must
be an election year.
What about the 10,999,958 remaining illegals?

Agents nab 14 illegals in Loudoun

By Keyonna Summers
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
Published April 29, 2006

Federal agents arrested 14 illegal aliens Thursday in Virginia, drawing
criticism from local pro-immigration advocates who say the federal
government is using the raids as a scare tactic.
Ernestine Fobbs, a spokeswoman for U.S. Immigration and Customs
Enforcement, said the agency has in custody 12 illegals who were
arrested in a 3 a.m. raid in Leesburg, Va. Two others are awaiting
trial before an immigration judge.
"We responded to a request by the Loudoun County Police Department
[and] encountered 14 illegal aliens in a van," she said. "We are
looking into the possibilities of [it being related] to smuggling. It's
an ongoing investigation."
The raid, and word of others like it, sparked panic among local
immigrants, advocates said yesterday.
ICE last week arrested nearly 1,200 illegals in 26 states at IFCO
Systems North America Inc. plants, following an announcement that the
agency would beef up enforcement.
Juan Carlos Ruiz, general coordinator of the National Capital
Immigrant Coalition (NCIC), said he received more than 30 complaints
about raids on families and day laborers -- four of them "confirmed" --
in Arlington and Herndon, and that he has heard rumors of similar raids
that took place in Maryland.
Another raid took place on Columbia Road NW in the District
yesterday, he said.
Mr. Ruiz did not say how he confirmed that the raids had occurred.
ICE officials said yesterday such raids did not happen.
The NCIC yesterday called on President Bush and Congress to
intervene and stop the raids, which the group says have caused small
local businesses to lose money because immigrants and illegal aliens
are afraid to leave their homes.
The group thinks the raids are a concerted government effort to
discourage illegal aliens from staging more rallies calling for a path
to citizenship. Some area groups plan to take part in Monday's
nationwide boycott of school, work and shopping.
We "formally demand that President Bush and the Department of
Homeland Security put a moratorium on these raids until comprehensive
immigration reform has been reached [in the Senate]," Jaime Contreras,
president of NCIC, said at a press conference at the Foundry United
Methodist Church in Northwest yesterday.
"If they don't stop, we will be planning major activities at their
offices and remind them that we are not intimidated in no shape or form
.... and we will be doing civil disobedience if necessary," he said.
There also have been several reports of people posing as police or
immigration agents, advocates said.
Ms. Fobbs said ICE does not conduct random street sweeps, road
checks or open-air raids because such activity would be classified as
"profiling."
"That's not something that we do," she said. "Our activities are
planned. When we're going out to look and do an investigation, we have
people we specifically are looking for. ... These operations are not
random sweeps, but carefully planned enforcement actions that result
from investigative leads and intelligence."
Ms. Fobbs said the nationwide IFCO raids were the result of a
nearly 18-month-long investigation, and that the number of ICE
investigations has not increased since the agency announced its plan to
be more aggressive on illegal immigration.
"What you've seen [Thursday] and what you've seen last week were
ongoing activities that were already in the making," she said.
Anyone who is approached by an immigration agent can ask to see
that person's identification, and can report to ICE any suspicious
activity online or by phone, Ms. Fobbs said.

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