Tuesday, July 29, 2008

Illegal Immigrants March in Iowa



From Spero News:

Led by 43 Guatemalan and Mexican women wearing ‘electronic tracking bracelets’ imposed by local authorities, hundreds of people from around the country marched peacefully in Postville, a small town in Iowa, in protest against the biggest immigration raid in US history. The raid occurred on May 12, when 389 migrants, including 287 Guatemalans, were arrested for possession of false documents while working at the Agriprocessors kosher meat plant in Pottsville.

The immigrants also denounced their transferral to a sort of detention camp set up at the local livestock show-ground, where they remained for days in the cold, without food or hygienic services; eighty some of the immigrants were tried directly and sentenced to between five and seven months in prison ahead of deportation.

The protesters took off from the St. Bridget church and marched for 10km, chanting “No more raids”. “We demand respect of the human rights of immigrant workers”, said Marcos Yax, vice-president of the Coalicion de migrantes guatemaltecos (Conguate), reminding that the arrests separated many families, with serious consequences mainly for the children; union representatives participating in the march also emphasised the responsibility of Agriprocessors, accused of persistent violations of migrant workers rights and security norms due to frequent workplace accidents; two company officials are currently under investigation.

From Guatemala, Cardinal Quezada Toruño dedicated the Sunday homily to his fellow nationals in US territory, remembering the exodus of at least one million Guatemalans caused by the long civil war (1960-96): “The arrests and deportations hurt our souls. Let us pray for those who suffered these painful separations”, said the cardinal.

2 comments:

  1. So is this for or against illegal immigration? Or is it just informational.

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  2. From what the article says, the march was in support of the humane treatment of illegal immigrants and overall definitely pro immigration.

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