| ROUNDING UP THE USUAL SUSPECTS |
| Written by Maria Elena Salinas |
| Thursday, September 19 2002 |
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| One of the latest tactics in the war on terrorism reminds me of a classic line in one of my all-time favorite movies, Casablanca. In the classic film, whenever it was convenient for authorities to cover up a crime, they would always "round up the usual suspects."
That's exactly what is going on across the United States as federal agents conduct "Operation Tarmac", a high-profile sweep of immigrants suspected of using false information to obtain jobs at the nation's airports. The federal government is "rounding up the usual suspects" and hauling them off to jail and deportation hearings.
Operation Tarmac has netted hundreds of airport workers in at least 20 cities including Boston, Washington, Las Vegas, Salt Lake City, Los Angeles, Miami, Houston and just last week in Denver. Federal agents have arrested baggage handlers, janitors, food servers and airport valet parking attendants. Busted in Salt Lake City was the manager of a Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream Shop and a clerk at the airport's candy store. Most are Hispanic immigrants in search of their piece of the American dream. To date, none has been linked to terrorist activities. Not a single one.
One of those arrested was Martin Gonzalez, a Mexican immigrant who worked as a janitor at Boston's Logan Airport. Scrubbing toilets for $9 an hour, Gonzalez was able to save enough money to buy a modest home and send money to his family in Guadalajara, Mexico. Despite having temporary legal status and a work permit, Gonzalez spent five days detained in a jail cell. Arresting him did nothing, zilch, nada to make airline travel safer.
To date, the largest raid has been in Houston, where 143 immigrants were indicted for alleged fraud. Among them, was 30 year old Catalina Benitez who did not even work at Bush Intercontinental Airport. Turns out, her former roommate used her ID and address when she applied for a job as an airport maintenance worker. A federal judge dismissed the indictment against Benitez, but only after she spent two nights in custody. Now she may face deportation, even though her three children were born in the United States.
But not all of those arrested were undocumented workers. Many were residents who used false documents many years before to obtain employment but had since legalized their immigration status.
Federal authorities want us to believe Operation Tarmac is protecting America against terrorism. In reality, all they are doing is humiliating and de-humanizing people with absolutely no links to terrorism. To make matters worse prosecutors are being hypocritical if they expect us to believe they just found out after September 11th that undocumented immigrants are working at U.S. airports.
In Salt Lake City, Utah, Mayor Rocky Anderson sees the hypocrisy in Operation Tarmac. He correctly points out that the government just "winks and nods" when it comes to undocumented immigrants working in hotels, restaurants or as nannies and gardeners. Anderson sent a letter to 40 other mayors warning them about the raids and urging them to give undocumented immigrants fair warning to find jobs outside the nation's airports.
If federal authorities want to crack down on illegal workers who use phony Social Security cards to get jobs, then let them do it. They can start by cracking down on businesses that hire them, be they at the airport or at your local shopping center. If they want to get rid of undocumented immigrants at the nation's airports then let them know they should find jobs elsewhere or go back to their countries. Have them fired if they pose a security threat. But, for goodness sake, don't use these people as scapegoats just to make Americans feel like steps are being taken to protect us against terrorists. |
