Portland Coaliton Opposes U.S. Border Patrol "Sweeps"
Minority and low-income communities targeted
by Well Staley-Mays
Reyna A. Marroquin Solarzano, a 22-year-old woman who was working in
Portland to support her parents and seven siblings in Guatemala was injured
trying to escape a fire in her apartment. She died at Maine Medical Center
on January 16.
| "The unacceptable behavior of the U.S. Border Patrol is no
less distressing than the Gestapo's behavior during the Holocaust, when any
citizen of a Nazi-occupied European country could be stopped on the street
and asked for papers, and arrested if they did not have any."
— Letter from the Many and One Coalition
|
Many activists believe that the report of her death in the Portland Press
Herald, which identified her as "in the country illegally," alerted the U.S.
Border Patrol to the presence of undocumented workers in Portland.
On January 29, the U.S. Border Patrol made a number of "sweeps" in
Portland's minority, low-income and homeless communities. The "sweeps" sent
waves of fear through Portland's most marginalized people.
In a February 3 letter to Governor John Baldacci, the 31 organizations
involved in an emerging coalition stated that "Maine's immigrants — including
naturalized U.S. citizens, permanent residents, refugees, asylees and
persons with valid work documents — in general have been anxious since
September 11, 2001 because they are uncertain whether legal reforms made in
order to enhance our nation's security may have changed their legal rights
in the United States. Therefore, in the week following the Border Patrol's
operation in Portland, some immigrants were afraid to leave their homes to
shop for food, or to send their children to school, or to go to work or to
medical or social service appointments.
Businesses frequented by immigrants saw their business fall off
precipitously. And those are only the immigrants we have heard from. Many
more who have not spoken out may be afraid to go to hospitals or social
service agencies for help that they urgently need."
In a February 9 letter to Rep. Tom Allen, the Many and One Coalition of
Lewiston wrote, "The unacceptable behavior of the U.S. Border Patrol is no
less distressing than the Gestapo's behavior during the Holocaust, when any
citizen of a Nazi-occupied European country could be stopped on the street
and asked for papers, and arrested if they did not have any."
On February 2, over 250 marchers walked in the snow up Congress Street in
Portland, partially reenacting the route taken by the Border Patrol. The
gathering started at the Somali-owned Halal Meat Market, which was visited
by the Patrol, passed by the Greyhound Bus Station and the Dominican-owned
La Bodega Latina store, also the site of a Patrol visit. The walkers
remained silent as they passed by the burned-out second floor apartment of a
building on Congress Street, remembering Reyna Marroquin Solarzano who died
as a result of injuries suffered in a similar fire.
The marchers ended up at Monument Square where they listened to speeches by
about 20 area residents, including the Mayor of Portland and the Attorney
General of Maine.
In response to questioning from U.S. Senator Susan Collins (R-Maine), U.S.
Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge said on February 9 that he would
investigate the immigration sweep in Portland. There has been significant
local criticism because armed agents targeted the Preble Street Resource
Center homeless shelter and minority-owned businesses. Senator Collins
chairs the Governmental Affairs Committee, which oversees Ridge's
department.
Beth Stickney, an attorney with the Immigrant Legal Advocacy Project,
reminded the crowd that the behavior of the Border Patrol may be new to
Portland, but it is not new to the immigrants who work in Maine's rural
blueberry and potato fields or in the fishing industries along the coast.
Many workers are regularly profiled for arrest by the Border Patrol because
of the color of their skin. It was noted that when the Patrol entered the
Preble Street Resource Center, they bypassed white people and approached
people of color directly.
Ms. Stickney also urged the crowd to be vigilant about upcoming legislation
in the U.S. Congress which seeks to further victimize undocumented workers.
In particular, she mentioned House Resolution 3722, also referred to as the
Undocumented Alien Emergency Medical Amendments of 2004. The bill seeks to
amend section 1011 of the recently-enacted Medicare Prescription Drug
Improvement and Modernization Act of 2003. Emergency room staff would have
to fingerprint or photograph any undocumented immigrant they treat and
report the patient to the Department of Homeland Security to begin
deportation procedures.
The resolution will be introduced either as an amendment to the existing
bill or as a separate bill by Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-California). There
has been a good deal of anger and resentment against the bill from medical
professionals and immigrant support groups.
The Portland Coalition includes Catholic Charities Maine, El Centro Latino,
Inc., Family Crisis Services, the Maine Civil Liberties Union, the Maine
Council of Churches, the Maine Rural Workers Coalition, the Portland Branch
of the NAACP, Peace Action Maine, the Portland Tenants Union, Portland West,
Inc., Portland Organizing to Win Economic Rights (POWER), the Sisters of
Mercy, Maine Veterans for Peace, the American Muslim Society of Maine and
the Islamic Society of Portland.
Back to Peace Talk Index, Spring, 2004