Immigrants are 'real people'

NORWALK — The ICE raids at Corso's Flower and Garden Center on June 5 hit one local parish like a tsunami, with 31 of its members among the 114 Corso's workers arrested by federal agents."This is causing real harm to real people," said Monsignor Ken Morman of St. Paul Catholic Church.Read: Detainees have their detractorsMore than 200 U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents and Border Patrol agents executed search warrants at two Corso's locations — a retail center on U.S. 250 in Sandusky and an agricultural center where workers tend to the trees, plants and other products the company grows to sell.Supporters rally for familiesMany of the church members arrested are long-term residents with families here, Morman said, and many of them have American-born children now being taken care of by relatives while the parents await an unknown fate. The detainees have pending court hearings on their immigration statuses and possible release from custody, but what happens after that is uncertain.One woman and her Texas-born husband have three children — all American citizens — who will be forced to make extremely difficult decisions in the weeks ahead. Morman said her husband, who has no ties to Mexico other than his wife having been born there — is devastated. "Now he needs to decide if he he's going to move to Mexico to keep his family together... or if he is going to stay here with the kids," Morman said.Bad laws, bad situationsThere are numerous other stories of families separated and facing heart-wrenching futures beyond their control. Morman said members of the church have come to their aid in extraordinary ways, but he laments the actions of federal officials."The ends can't justify the means. Even if your motive is good, you can't do bad things and doing this to kids is a bad thing," Morman said. In many instances, the parents escaped poverty, violence or other horrifying conditions in their native lands and have worked here for years, paying taxes and building homes to make a better life for their families. They also became part of the St. Paul family, or joined other area churches.Read more: Raids at Corso's Parishioners have responded to the arrests, donating time, money, food, clothing and other items to help keep the families functioning under the stress. One building on the church's campus has become a warehouse for collection and distribution of donated items, Morman said, everything from household items to diapers."This hurt. What happened it hurt the families, the economy and just so many people," said Francisco Carrillo, the St. Paul Spanish coordinator. "I think God will provide."Griselda Martinez and her 5-year-old daughter volunteer at the donation center everyday from opening till close. She plans to continue to volunteer her time until the cause for as along as she is needed.Money donations are being deposited in jail accounts at the Calhoun County (Michigan) Jail, where the women arrested on June 5 are being detained, so they can make phone calls to their families and give updates on the status of their pending cases. The men arrested are being housed at a private jail in Youngstown under contract with the federal government, and it's been more difficult to establish communication with them, Morman said. The requirements for inmate phone banks there are different, and more difficult to establish, he said. It's also been more difficult for the men to talk with attorneys about their cases, according to HOLA Ohio, a Latino community advocacy group working with the Corso's workers and other federal detainees. Most of the lawyers representing them are working pro bono or at a greatly reduced fees.Advocates for Basic Legal Equality (ABLE), one of the organizations working to find legal representation for the workers, said many of the lawyers work for nonprofits and don't charge for their services. But many of those lawyers are from Western Ohio and Michigan."There are more lawyers available for the women," HOLA executive director Veronica Dahlberg said. "It can be difficult for the lawyers to drive out to Youngstown and then if they want to call their client it is very burdensome."The donations from St. Paul parishioners are also used to meet the needs of individual families struggling now that they must take care of a relative's children or have less income because of the detainment of one of the home's wage earners.Long, winding roadMorman has written 31 letters vouching for the character of people detained and asking they be treated well."Every Sunday, they pray for fair treatment, not special treatment, just to be treated like people from other countries," Morman said.In immigration law, a person accused of being an undocumented immigrant is afforded all the same legal rights as a citizen, except the government isn't required to pay for representation since the case is civil, not criminal."In a criminal process you have to go infront of a neutral judge within 48 hours for a bond hearing," senior ABLE attorney Mark Heller said. "In this situation, since it's a civil case, the people have been held for almost thirty days without bond hearings. It actually provides fewer protections than a criminal process."The proceedings won't likely lead to expulsion from the country, or any more immediate deportations for the women. Their first bond and master calendar hearings, comparable to an arraingment on a criminal charge, scheudled for Thursday and Friday in Detroit's immigration court."They will have an individual hearing scheudled, which is like a trial, and those hearings will be set anywhere from 18 months to two years from now because of how backed up the immigration courts are," Heller said.The people who are able to obtain a bond and pay for it, can wait for the next court date at home, but those who can't pay to get out will remain in detainment.During this time, in an ironic twist, a defandant released on bond, can try to gain employment documentation from the court to work in the country while they wait for the next court date, Heller said. Immigration Jim CrowAs a religious leader, Morman believes immigration is a broken system which needs to be fixed and compared the situation to the segregation laws the civil rights movement fought against."It takes almost 20 years to have your application considered if you're from Mexico," Morman said. "But if you have kids you can't wait 20 years to give them the chance at a better life."Bishop of the Toledo Diocese Daniel Thomas visited the church last week and prayed individually with each family affected by the detainments."We recognize our current immigration polices are broken and actively contributing to the suffering and separation of vulnerable families," Bishop Thomas said in statement on the Corso's raid. "No matter our political persuasion, when families are broken apart, as in this raid, we should all recognize that the common good is not served."Morman said the church's message is and has always been no matter what country you are from there will always be a place for you in the church.To donate to the families visit stpaulchurch.org.Reach reporter Michael Harrington at michaelharrington@sanduskyregister.com, follow the Register at Facebook.com/SanduskyRegisterWhile children play, donations from the community sit on tables at a donation room in Norwalk for families of arrested, detained Corso's workers.Norwalk St. Paul's Spanish coordinator Francisco Carrillo stands with donation coordinator Griselda Martinez and her daughter, Lluvia, 5, inside the donation room for families affected by the raids at Corso's.A collection of food sits on a table at a donation room in Norwalk for families affected by the raids at Corso's.