The plight of some immigrants
With all the anti-immigrant furor in the air, too many people lose sight of the fact of the terrible ordeals many immigrants go through. Over at the Messenger-Post, Bryan Roth has a great piece on this topic:
 Because of strict laws pertaining to how immigrants are detained by authorities, local attorneys say family members and friends can get stuck in an informational vacuum, sometimes unable to get details about their loved ones, even such basic information as whether they’re still in the country.
“Most of the time, I get calls from families whose members have been detained and they don’t (get) information,†said Roberto Resto, founder of Rochester Alliance for Immigrants’ Rights, a local advocacy group with members throughout the Rochester area. “Even if you’re going to post bail, most of the family is running around saying ‘Where are my children? Where are my family members?’â€
Resto said that’s what happened this summer, when 13 men were detained during arrests at The Cheesecake Factory in Pittsford. After Monroe County sheriff’s deputies drove by and noticed the group at the construction site, they called U.S. Border Patrol, which took the men and handed the case over to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, an investigative branch of the Department of Homeland Security.
From there, Resto said, it was anyone’s guess where the men went. Because of privacy laws, it can be hit or miss as to whether immigration agencies release any information.
Read the whole thing.
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This past weekend I had to swing down to Philly and decided to stop into Hazleton, PA and shoot for a couple days. In case you don’t recall their “15 minutes” check this website from the Mayor.
http://www.smalltowndefenders.com/public/