Targeting Immigrants: The Largest Ever US ICE Raid

Tag : High-Visibility Fabric

By Stephen Lendman – Chicago, US
The 2002 Homeland Security Act established its largestinvestigative and enforcement arm in 2003: the US Immigration andCustoms Enforcement agency (ICE) created "as a law enforcementagency for the post-9/11 era, to integrate enforcement authoritiesagainst criminal and terrorist activities, including the fightsagainst human trafficking and smuggling, violent transnationalgangs and sexual predators on children" - "criminal"and "terrorist" threats to the nation.
Muslims are its principal targets. So are Latino immigrants, forcedto seek work here because of NAFTA's devastating effect on theirlives and well-being. Turning logic, fairness and justice on itshead in the current climate of fear, ICE calls them (and Muslims)"people....support(ing) terrorism and other criminalactivities....against the United States" - 276,912 so-called"illegal aliens" removed from the country in FY2007 tojustify its burgeoning budget to "keep America safe."
ICE deters Latinos at the border and targets them at work sites andhomes with $4.8 billion of DHS' current FY 2008 $64.9 billionbudget. Increasing to $5.4 billion in DHS' FY 2009 $66.3 billionrequest.
Below is how some of the money was spent in July 2008 alone:
-- on July 28, ICE arrested 13 Guatemalan and Mexican nationals inNorth Little Rock, Arkansas;
-- on July 23, it seized 58 Mexican nationals in northern Ohio;
-- on July 22, it reported 81 foreign national arrests in San Diego- 43 "criminal aliens" and 38 gang members or theirassociates;
-- on July 21, it reported a record number of "illegalalien" deportations from Arizona from October 2007 throughJune 2008 - 38,799;
-- on July 21, it arrested 43 aliens, employed by The Farms, on"administrative immigration violations;"
-- on July 18, it made 49 arrests over four days in Chicago; under"Operation Community Shield" (in partnership with locallaw enforcement); it targeted "illegal aliens with ties toviolent street gangs in (the city's) northern and northwestsuburbs;"
-- on July 17, it arrested 45 "gang members, gang associatesand immigration violators" over six days in Tulsa, OK;
-- on July 16, it seized 18 "illegal aliens" at aLoveland, CO concrete plant;
-- on July 11, it reported deporting a "record number ofillegal aliens from (three) Pacific Northwest states"(Washington, Oregon and Alaska) - from October 2007 through June2008; 7345 "illegal aliens (were returned) to their homecountries" - a 39% increase over the previous fiscal yearperiod;
-- on July 9, it reported deporting 5889 "illegalimmigrants" rounded up "in various cities throughoutFlorida" from January through June 2008;
-- on July 9, it arrested 24 "immigration fugitives andimmigration violators" over five days ending July 1 inNashville, TN;
-- on July 2, it arrested 22 "transnational gang members andtheir associates" in Wichita, KS;
ICE 2006 Terror Raid in Southeast Georgia - Preceding Its LargestOne Ever in 2008
Over the course of two September 2006 weeks, ICE agents reignedterror on Latino residents of several southeast Georgia towns,according to the Southern Poverty Law Center's (SPLC) November 1,2006-filed suit in US District Court for the Northern District ofGeorgia. The case (Mancha v. ICE) remains ongoing.
It cites ICE agents illegally detained, searched and harassedLatino Americans, in violation of their Fourth and Fifth Amendmentrights, while carrying out massive southeast Georgia raids. FiveMexican Americans are plaintiffs along with a landlord who suffereddamage to his rental properties when ICE agents broke intoLatino-rented trailers. SPLC's founder, Morris Dees, expressedoutraged "that this could occur in America today. These ICEagents swooped into town, armed with everything but searchwarrants, and started rounding up people - citizens andnon-citizens alike - merely because they had brown skin. Imaginethe fallout if this had happened to white people."
Raids began September 1 in at least three counties and lastedseveral weeks. They involved dozens of agents allegedly to round upundocumented workers of a Stillmore, Georgia poultry plant. Butinstead of raiding the work site, agents terrorized communities -breaking into homes, stopping motorists, and threatening Latinoswith tear gas and guns.
Hundreds of residents were traumatized and their constitutionalrights violated. Some were children like Marie Justeen Mancha (age15), named in the suit - a US citizen and resident of Reidsville inTattnall County. She was alone in her bedroom preparing for schoolwhen she heard men in another room yelling: "Police!Illegals!" Two dozen armed agents surrounded her home and wereintimidating. They had no search warrant, yet they detained andinterrogated her anyway.
Ranulfo Perez is another plaintiff. He was outside his AdrianEmanuel County home when 15 armed men appeared suddenly andsurrounded him. One grabbed his shirt, jammed a gun in his side,and threw him against his truck. He then twisted his arm behind hisback, held him that way for 10 minutes, while other agents searchedhis home and property - illegally without a warrant. Perez was thenadvised to leave the area with his family for two weeks to avoidfurther such incidents.
SPLC's suit seeks compensatory and punitive damages and a courtorder enjoining ICE from using similar future tactics. The Centeralso asked the Court to approve the claim as a class action onbehalf of all affected Latinos, many US citizens targeted asillegals because of their skin color and ethnicity.
The Largest Ever ICE Terror Raid
On May 12, 2008, ICE agents conducted their largest ever terrorraid against workers in Postville, IA. In an early report that day,the Des Moines Register called it the "largest workplace raidin Iowa history (resulting) in the arrest of more than 300 people(in fact, 389)."
"As two law enforcement helicopters hovered overhead, dozens(in fact, around 900) federal (ICE) agents descended onAgriprocessors Inc., the nation's largest kosherslaughterhouse" employing 968 workers. The number arrested wasmore than three times higher than those seized "18 months agoat the Swift (Marshalltown) plant."
On July 13, The New York Times editorialized on "The Shame ofPostville, Iowa" in a rare show of outrage against abusivepolice state tactics. It referred to "abusing and terrorizingundocumented workers," described their shameful treatment, anddeplored the the sending of "desperate breadwinners toprison" and driving their families into deeper poverty anddespair. It cited Spanish-language court interpreter and FloridaInternational University professor Erik Camayd-Freizas'"Personal Account" titled: "Interpreting after theLargest ICE Raid in US History."
Below is his account in which he said nothing could have preparedhim for the prospect of helping government officials imprisonhundreds of "innocent people." He went public to exposeit and began with the 10AM May 12 raid involving 900 agents at thePostville, Iowa plant. At the same time, 26 federally certifiedinterpreters headed to neighboring Waterloo with no idea why theywere sent. Camayd-Freizas was one of them.
He was taken to the National Cattle Congress (NCC) and arrivedearly for work. It's a 60-acre "cattle fairground" thatwas transformed into a "concentration camp or detentioncenter." Echoing his own thoughts, another interpreter said:"When I saw what (this) was, my heart sank." Then began"the saddest procession (he ever) witnessed," suppressedfrom public view, because "cameras were not allowed past theperimeter of the compound," and only a few journalists came tocourt the next day.
Camayd-Freizas explained: "Driven single-file in groups of 10,shackled at the wrists, waist and ankles, chains dragging as theyshuffled through, the (plant) workers were brought in forarraignment, sat and listened through headsets to the interpretedinitial appearance, before marching out again to be bused todifferent country jails, only to make room for the next row of10."
They were mostly "illiterate Guatemalan (Spanish-speaking)peasants with Mayan last names....some in tears, others with facesof worry, fear, and embarrassment." They stood out "instark racial contrast (to) the rest of us as they started theirslow penguin march across the makeshift court." They all"waived their right to be indicted....hoping to be quicklydeported since they had families to support back home."Instead, they were "criminally charged with 'aggravatedidentity theft' and Social Security fraud - charges they did notunderstand" and neither did Camayd-Freizas.
He sought more information, and here's what he learned. OfAgriprocessor's 968 employees, about 75% were apparentlyundocumented. Nearly 700 warrants were issued but only about 400were arrested, including 76 women. Some were released onhumanitarian grounds - 56 mothers with unattended children, a fewfor medical reasons, and 12 juveniles temporarily with anklemonitors or directly turned over for deportation. Over 300 wereheld for prosecution. Five alone had prior criminal records, and270, in fact, were charged.
The raid devastated Postville (population 2273). Businesses wereempty, and concerns grew that it might shutter the town. Besidesthose arrested, many fled in fear. It affected American parents aswell who complained that "their children were traumatized bythe sudden disappearance of so many of their friends." Theschool principal reported the same reaction in classrooms sayingthat "for children it was as if ten of their classmatessuddenly died." Counselors were enlisted because they hadnightmares that their parents might be seized like the workers.Even the school superintendent reacted saying "This literallyblew our town away," and its future is unclear.
As for workers, here's what happened. In some cases, husbands andwives were arrested leaving small children unattended for up to 72hours. Some mothers were then released on humanitarian grounds withankle GPS monitors, pending prosecution and deportation, whilehusbands were swiftly imprisoned. The situation was desperate.Mothers had no incomes and no means of support. Sometimes oneparent was documented, the other wasn't, and in many cases childrenwere US citizens. In all cases, hundreds of families were tornapart, and the Postville economic impact was devastating.
There was more. Scattered news reports and blogs contained bigotryand racial epithets - "poorly disguised beneath an emptyrhetoric of misguided patriotism (as well as) insults to anyone(showing) compassion...safely (hidden) behind cowardly nickname(s).One could feel the moral fabric of society coming apart" as aresult.
Camayd-Freizas expressed disgust saying he felt "blindsidedinto an assignment (he) wanted no part of. In all (his) years as acourt interpreter, (he) was assigned to criminal cases involvingrape, murder, mayhem, narcotics, human trafficking, andterrorism." Yet nothing could have prepared him for thisspectacle of injustice "put(ting) hundreds of innocent peoplein jail," terrorizing them, and devastating their smallcommunity.
He recounted day two in court, much like the first and ones tofollow. "Throughout the day, the procession continued, ten byten, hour after hour, the same charges, the same recitation fromthe magistrates, the same faces, chains and shackles, on thedefendants." The whole process was an exercise of injustice"where the meat packers were massed processed" like beef.It then got more personal as he prepared to interpret forindividual lawyer-client consultations.
Proceedings were rushed to comply with a 72 hour habeas writ -charge prisoners in that time or release them for deportation. Itincreased his angst, but it was just the beginning and he "wasabout to bear the brunt of (his) conflict of interest."
It came in his first interview - to let lawyers explain thegovernment's "uniform Plea Agreement" offering threechoices:
-- plead guilty to "knowingly using a false Social Securitynumber," and the government will withdraw the more serious"aggravated identity theft" charge; the sentence willthen be five months in jail, deportation without a hearing, andsupervised release for three years;
-- plead not guilty, wait six to eight months for trial withoutbail and be imprisoned for two years if convicted; or
-- win at trial, be deported anyway, and spend longer in jail thanby pleading guilty - three no-win choices.
Camayd-Freizas' first interview typified others. It was with aGuatemalan peasant, afraid for his family, who spent most of thesession weeping. How did he get here, he was asked? "Iwalked....for a month and ten days until I crossed the river."He was desperate like many others. He came alone, met otherimmigrants, hitched a ride to Dallas, then Postville, when he heardthere was work there. He slept in an apartment hallway with otherimmigrants until employed and was only working two months when hewas arrested. Why did he come: "I just wanted to work a yearor two, save, and then go back to my family, but it was not tobe."
A simple work permit would have solved his problem andCamayd-Freizas said he, like many others are "notguilty." Most immigrants don't know about Social Securitynumbers, what purpose they serve, yet they were charged withillegally having them. In fact, they're illiterate in Spanish andEnglish, and simply had plant personnel fill out their papers to behired. In most cases, the men are the sole support of theirfamilies but don't know how they'll survive while they're in jail.
Case after case was the same, and all of them challengedCamayd-Freizas' ability to be impartial. The entire process wasunjust and corrupted. Proceedings were rushed. Defendants didn'tunderstand them. Lawyers got little chance to explain, and, whenwith clients, agents were always present. In addition:
-- plea agreements were for seven days;
-- ICE appointed attorneys had no immigration work expertise;
-- ones who did "were denied access" to the proceedings;and
-- prosecutors offered a Plea Agreement with no changes; take it orleave it with little time to understand or reflect - classic grossinjustice against near-defenseless, traumatized victims.
Everything was "fast-tracked" and mass-processed 10 casesat a time with no possibility for due process, judicial fairness,or any compassion for desperate, innocent victims. Instead theywere pressured with tactics like: "If you want to see yourchildren or don't want your family to starve, sign here."Camayd-Freizas called it "coercion."
He and other interpreters felt "tremendous solidarity withthese people." Had they lost their impartiality? "Not atall: that was our impartial and probably unanimous judgment. We(saw) attorneys hold back tears and weep alongside their clients.We (saw) judges, prosecutors, clerks, and marshals do their duty,sometimes with a heavy heart....but always with a particularsolemnity not accorded to the common criminals (they're) used toencountering...."
In a private conversation with one judge, Camayd-Freizas expressedoutrage: "Your honor, I am concerned from my attorney-clientinterviews that many of these people are clearly not guilty, yetthey have no choice but to plead out." The judge concurred andresponded: "You know, I don't agree with any of this or withthe way it is being done. In fact, I ruled in a previous case thatto charge somebody with identity theft, the person had to at leastknow of the real owner of the Social Security number." Thesepeople don't even know what Social Security is or what it's for.
The judge "hit the nail on the head - the "last piece ofthe puzzle" giving judges no discretion or decision-makingpower. It was a setup, a Hobson's choice, a catch-22 to forcevictims to plead guilty to a lesser charge, accept five months injail and deportation, or end up worse off otherwise. Underdifferent circumstances, workers would have received only probationand swift deportation - a far less harsh disposition.
Camayd-Freizas reacted this way: "As a citizen, I want ourjudges to administer justice, not a federal agency. When theexecutive branch forces the hand of the judiciary, the result isabuse of power and arbitrariness, unworthy of a democracy foundedupon the constitutional principle of checks and balances." Thefinal 270 charged went to jail, yet here's what Camayd-Freizaslearned.
Before the raid, ICE agents found "no match" SocialSecurity information for 737 employees - 147 numbers were invalidand never issued; the other 590 were valid but didn't match workernames. But it's not uncommon for aliens to purchase identitydocuments (including Social Security numbers) that match namesassigned to the numbers. Yet ICE agents found only oneAgriprocessor employee with a reported stolen SSN yet charged all697 workers with:
-- unlawfully using SSNs in violation of Title 42 USCNo.408(a)(7)(B);
"aggravated identity theft" in violation of 18 USC No.1028A(a)(1); and/or
-- possession or use of false identity documents for purposes ofemployment in violation of 18 USC No.1546.
The charges contravened the 1998 US federal "Identity Theftand Assumption Deterrence Act." It refers to persons"knowingly(ly) us(ing) a means of identification of anotherperson with the intent to commit any unlawful activity orfelony" - willful, harmful, felonious acts like theft orfraud. Securing work isn't an "unlawful activity" underthis law. Yet ICE agents bullied workers into taking a no-win pleabargain or face much harsher penalties. The system was rigged forinjustice, and that's what happened.
Camayd-Freizas called Postville a "pilot operation, to bereplicated elsewhere, with kinks ironed out after lessons learned.Next time, 'fast-tracking' will be even more relentless. Neverbefore has illegal immigration been criminalized in this fashion.It is no longer enough to deport them: we first have to (terrorizethem and) put them in chains."
The scheme also absolves corporations from prosecution and at mostadministers penalties amounting to fines. "Criminalaliens" are the targets of choice because they're "easypickings (and) a cheap way (for ICE to boost its) arrest statistics(and cite) meatier" numbers in its reports stating:"These incarcerated aliens have been involved in dangerouscriminal activity such as murder, predatory sexual offenses,narcotics trafficking, alien smuggling and a host of othercrimes." In fact, they're just desperate Latino workers tryingto support their impoverished families back home. ICE uses themfor:
-- political advantage;
-- larger budgets;
-- a way to increase its size and power;
-- its "Long War" against undocumented workers, mostlyLatinos; and
-- to give the executive concentrated power to dilute thelegislative and judicial branches.
In a climate of fear and weak checks and balances, DHS and ICEexceed their legal authority. They get multi-billions for it andbrush aside criticism saying terrorism will increase without their"vigilance." So who in the other two branches willchallenge them.
Camayd-Friezas refers to "an undemocratic doctrine ofexpediency, at the core of a police state, (where) power hinges onits ability to capitalize on public fear." Sadly, the"specter of 9/11....haunt(s undocumented) workers and theirlocal communities across the USA" - but "A line wascrossed at Postville." This isn't humane, said a Des Moinesmother as part of a citizen protest on May 13. "There has tobe a better way." Abolishing DHS and ICE would be a goodstart.
Another Bad Start - "Operation Scheduled Departure"
The National Immigration Forum (NIF) calls itself "thenation's premier immigrant rights organization - dedicated (since1982) to embracing and upholding America's tradition as a nation ofimmigrants."
It responded to the latest DHS/ICE plan to encourage immigrantworkers to come forward voluntarily for deportation and called theidea "another harebrained scheme that can't have beencarefully thought out." It's the administration"resorting to the theater of the absurd....another gimmick(for) having failed to achieve systematic immigration reform inCongress," and a PR stunt to get immigrants "to sign awaythe few rights they have," smooth over systematic ICE terror,hide "reports of deaths (and abuse) in detention, limited (orno) access to health care and prescribed medications, and thehodge-podge of for-profit and government run state and localprisons (where) ICE detainees are assigned...."
According to an ICE July 31 press release, the idea is a pilotprogram to be tested in Santa Ana, CA, San Diego, Phoenix, Chicagoand Charlotte from August 5 - 22 and may be expanded aftersubsequent evaluation. It offers undocumented immigrants noinducements except for 90 days to settle their affairs and avoidthe possibility of arrest and detention in return for going home.
According to NIF Executive Director, Ali Noorani: "We are notgoing to deport our way our of our immigration mess, nor is itlikely (most or many) of the estimated 12 million undocumentedimmigrants" will leave voluntarily. "...all theraids," new schemes, "press conferences, new toys andbuzzers at the border...(amount to) just throwing good....moneyafter bad. This is nothing more than a modern day (forced removal)'Trail of Tears' " forcing immigrants into "permanentexile" and the latest example of Bush administrationinjustice.
Postville's Aftermath
On May 12, ICE agents arrested 389 Agriprocessor workers; 297couldn't prove their legal status of which 270 are now serving fivemonths in federal prison after which they'll be deported to theirhome countries, mostly to Guatemala. Some to Mexico.
New American Media (NAM - founded 1996) is the country's"first and largest national collaboration and advocate of 2000ethnic news organizations." It's been on the Postville storysince it broke, and here's what it reported weeks later.
Its June 12 account highlighted a "Rush to Prosecute LeavesImmigrant Victims of Crimes Without Protection." It showed upin an ICE warrant with a "source #7 saying he or she"observed a Jewish floor supervisor duct-tape the eyes of anundocumented Guatemalan worker shut and hit (him) with a meathook." The Des Moines Register also reported sexual abuseallegations against female workers but no redress or criminalprosecution follow-ups.
More as well from Polk County attorney Sonia Parras Konrad afterinterviewing 50 workers. They said Agriprocessors:
-- gave employees "false identification(s);"
-- underpaid them on the pretext of defraying "immigrationfees," from $6.25 - $7.25 an hour for some of the mostdangerous work anywhere under notoriously unsafe conditions;
-- "didn't allow (them) to use restrooms during 10-hourshifts;"
-- didn't pay overtime; and
-- "physically abused" them.
NAM's June 19 report headlined: "Immigration Raids Lead US toa Moral, Legal Crisis." It called Postville "a ghosttown" after nearly a third of its residents were in jailfollowing the May 12 raid. "Hundreds more hide in fear."Their children are also "too scared to go to school," soclassrooms are empty.
Workers are victimized, while "few employers face civil andcriminal sanctions for violating immigration and labor laws."No one at Agriprocessors has been charged despite"overwhelming evidence" that the company procured falseworker documents, underpaid employees, violated labor laws, and"seriously mistreated its workers."
For its part, "ICE and federal prosecutors overstepped theirpowers (by) criminally charg(ing) workers" despite Congressexempting ones who use false SSNs "to engage in otherwiselawful conduct, such as to procure jobs." Overall,constitutional protections were grievously violated:
-- Fourth Amendment search and seizure provisions;
-- Fifth Amendment due process rights;
-- Sixth Amendment guarantees to a fair, speedy and public trialbefore an impartial jury; and
-- Fourteenth Amendment equal protection rights.
Undocumented workers (and legal Latino citizens) are vulnerable inthe current climate - victims of police state tactics and justice.
A follow-up June 20 report headlined: "After Iowa Raid,Families in Limbo" with hundreds "unable to work or feedtheir families (as they're in jail or awaiting) deportation ordersthat could take months." Released workers "live in fearthat immigration agents will return, crash into their homes withdrawn guns, yell obscenities at them, call them dogs, and drag themaway amidst screams and tears" - sheer police state terroragainst innocent victims.
They wear electronic ankle bracelets with attached GPS devices evento bathe and can't sleep out of fear agents will break in andterrorize them. They can't pay rent or bills and rely on charity aslong as it lasts. "Their lives are on hold and loved ones aregone" - husbands, brothers, relatives, friends imprisonedthroughout the Midwest. Countless stories about lives uprooted,separated families, and people desperate to survive and not knowinghow.
"Raw Nerves Remain After New ICE Arrest in Iowa" wasNAM's June 26 report about a single post-May 12 arrest - of anundocumented worker on the morning of June 23. Once again, the"town was turned on its head" out of fear of further ICEterror. "The June 23 action, though small, underscores how rawnerves remain....and also punctuates the fragility of the town'stransition to normalcy." For Postville, there is none.
ICE agents were back for a specific target - Eduardo Ixen, "aGuatemalan handyman who worked for a local property owner." Hewas seized, cuffed, and taken away. Others feared they were next,and some believed they were being followed by unmarked vehicles.All Postville Latinos are uprooted, in limbo, and terrified aboutwhat's next. The community is in disarray, and its fallout affectedAgriprocessors. It lost a third of its workforce, but compensatedby hiring Texas homeless shelter workers and others to replace onesthey lost.
According to the company, they're recruited by an Amarillo firm andsent to Postville. They're then processed by Jacobson Staffing, aDes Moines company that screens them to assure they're legallyallowed in the country to work.
But a local radio station, KPVL, has a different take. SeveralPostville officials say new arrivals are causing problems for thetown. Amarillo's homeless problem is now Postville's. Fourdisorderly conduct arrests were made straightaway, and a womanbussed in said she was expected to live with 10 men in afour-bedroom house with no electricity or hot water.
On July 27, AP reported that "About a thousand protestersdescended on (Postville today), decrying (the May 12 raid) andcalling for a change in federal immigration policies." Theyarrived by bus from Minneapolis, Chicago, Wisconsin, New York andNew Jersey - "circled the streets (and) clutched banners andsigns" like "United for immigrant and workerrights." Speakers denounced "the criminalization ofpeople who come to the US simply to make a living."
Agriprocessors is the nation's largest kosher meat processor, ownedand run by the Rubashkin family. They deny any responsibility forwhat happened, the legitimacy of worker complaints, and the plant'snotoriously unsafe conditions. So far, no family members have beencriminally charged. All remain free even after the latest New YorkTimes August 5 report headlined "Inquiry Finds Under-AgeWorkers at Meat Plant."
It said: "State labor investigators have identified 57under-age workers" at Agriprocessors, "and have asked theattorney general to bring criminal charges against the company forchild labor violations....(for) egregious violations of virtuallyevery aspect of Iowa's child labor laws." Findings show minorsworked in "prohibited occupations, exposing them to hazardouschemicals, making them work with prohibited tools like knives andsaws," and forcing them to work night shifts and as long as 17hour days with no overtime pay or not all of it.
"A federal investigation is (now) under way." However, noaction so far has been taken, and based on the industry's historyof abusive practices and how Washington responds, any punishmentlevied is likely to be minor at best.
Postville, Iowa mid-summer 2008. It's now a poster child for ICEvictimization - ravaged by its terror heading throughout thecountry unless stopped - against defenseless Latino workers. Manyundocumented, others US citizens. And don't forget how innocentMuslims and others are targeted, persecuted, unjustly charged andimprisoned at a time when we're all potential victims of policestate terror.
Still, NAM reports a hopeful sign in its July 22 article headlined:"Opposition builds to immigration raids." Across thecountry, "immigrants and activists are beginning to organizeprotests and high-visibility responses." Immigration activistsplan to protest at the Denver August National DemocraticConvention, and four members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucusplan visits with Postville-impacted families and will report backto Congress and the press.
Now if others in Congress would address Muslim issues, act to freethose unjustly imprisoned, and coalesce to end harsh police stateterror against victims of religious and ethnic persecution. Not sofar as no profiles in courage have stepped forward nor do manystand up for Latinos and other targets of choice.
-Stephen Lendman is a Research Associate of the Center for Researchon Globalization. He contributed this article toPalestineChronicle.com. Contact him at: lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net . (Also visit his blog site at sjlendman.blogspot.com and listen toThe Global Research News Hour on RepublicBroadcasting.org Mondaysfrom 11AM - 1PM US Central time for cutting-edge discussions withdistinguished guests.) If you like this article, please consider making a contribution tothe Palestine Chronicle.