Immigrants take flight
Houston Chronical:
"The panic that sent hundreds of illegal immigrants fleeing from their homes, jobs and schools in recent weeks may have been set into motion on March 23, when a developer and contractor surveyed their sprawling construction site from a white helicopter with green stripes -- the same colors as U.S. Border Patrol helicopters.
"Workers at the Shadow Creek Ranch subdivision in Pearland shouted that the helicopter belonged to la migra, short for immigration agents. Countless workers dropped their tools, abandoned their taco stands and vanished.
...
"The latest in a series of rumors of impending immigration raids flared up last week at Willow Creek Apartments in Gulfton. Hundreds of residents of the massive complex tucked suitcases under their arms Tuesday night, scooped up children, and decamped to churches, hotels and relatives' homes.
"Fueled by Spanish-language media and the tenuous existence of thousands of immigrants, los rumores have been so persistent that immigration activists and construction contractors were convinced federal officials had been conducting random raids on work sites from Pasadena to Tomball -- a tactic not practiced here in years.
...
"The hysteria escalated when grocery store employees, scared by radio reports, failed to show up for work.
"Customers who noticed the missing workers spread the word that the stores had been raided."
The panic raaised by false reports of raids, raaise the question of what could be accomplish to stop illegal immigration if the US was serious about enforcement of the law. What is also interesting is that the panic continued even after immigration authorities said they were not conducting raids.
Houston Chronical:
"The panic that sent hundreds of illegal immigrants fleeing from their homes, jobs and schools in recent weeks may have been set into motion on March 23, when a developer and contractor surveyed their sprawling construction site from a white helicopter with green stripes -- the same colors as U.S. Border Patrol helicopters.
"Workers at the Shadow Creek Ranch subdivision in Pearland shouted that the helicopter belonged to la migra, short for immigration agents. Countless workers dropped their tools, abandoned their taco stands and vanished.
...
"The latest in a series of rumors of impending immigration raids flared up last week at Willow Creek Apartments in Gulfton. Hundreds of residents of the massive complex tucked suitcases under their arms Tuesday night, scooped up children, and decamped to churches, hotels and relatives' homes.
"Fueled by Spanish-language media and the tenuous existence of thousands of immigrants, los rumores have been so persistent that immigration activists and construction contractors were convinced federal officials had been conducting random raids on work sites from Pasadena to Tomball -- a tactic not practiced here in years.
...
"The hysteria escalated when grocery store employees, scared by radio reports, failed to show up for work.
"Customers who noticed the missing workers spread the word that the stores had been raided."
The panic raaised by false reports of raids, raaise the question of what could be accomplish to stop illegal immigration if the US was serious about enforcement of the law. What is also interesting is that the panic continued even after immigration authorities said they were not conducting raids.
Comments
Post a Comment