First, I want to say:
You will find that many of the workers arrested in the Swift raids are
only 'illegal' because their papers weren't with them, or 'spindled,
folded and mutilated', in violation of some arcane administrative
regulation. That's the typical scenario.
Where I live, due to the social disruption caused to the
community-at-large by these types of marginal arrests, the authorities
categorically refuse to deal with the INS.
No police or sheriff support for raids. None. Zero. Zip.
No using Santa Cruz county jail or any other facilities.
Essentially, the INS is persona no gratis in Santa Cruz county.
The INS has to take their captives to San Jose, where there is a federal
office, to process them.
Any group of citizens in the U.S. can pressure their state and local
governments to do that...
It's not that complex... even pot smokers do it!
To the point, circuitously:
I'm sketching a framework based on actions I've see that work, but it
takes time, and the involvement of large portions of the community. Some
of these tactics are specific to the circumstances of Northern
California's marijuana growing community, but that doesn't mean that
they wouldn't work with modification here:
Synopsis:
Isolate the companies involved in the scam (choice of word, intentional)
and the federal government. Once they've been ideologically separated
from the community and what they want, go in for the kill by lobbying
your elected representative and suing the federal government into
submission.
I'll now illustrate a community that learned how to use strong-arm
lobbying tactics.
Here's how it happened, Norway @ Humboldt:
In Mendocino and Humboldt, where pot growing is almost the only source
of income (except for tourism) since the logging industry discovered
that raping Canadian forests is more cost-effective, the local
population has been so hostile that the feds have to bring their own
facilities to cook, repair their vehicles, sharpen chainsaws etc. The
locals refuse to serve them, and the ones that do aren't neccesarily
traitors... who knows what that hippie rasta waitress might put in the
heli-drop crew's coffee that morning.
It has the net effect of raising the cost-of-operation dramatically...
...and then the community's pressure gets put on the local reps and
senators vis a vis cost/benefit analysis to the state and municpalities
(for a start). If it costs your community one thin dime to support INS
operations in your town, get them to stop via the initiative process, or
by any other means available.
Swamp your city and state meetings with supporters. Make a scene, ad hom
them... Call the supporters of these raids what they are to their faces
in public... racists.
Be ready to prove that accusation... it should be easy.
Those INS agents didn't drop out of the sky... They had to eat
somewhere, stay at a motels, buy a candy bar at the local store. If the
immigrant community in your city matters at all to you, be absolutely
*hostile* to anyone who would threaten their rights.
That assuredly includes the INS.
That's just one scenario that comes to mind.
It's called active resistance by the *whole* community affected.
I'm just not sure that most Americans are capable of that.
Julio Huato wrote:
Jim Devine asks:
What do you suggest that we do?
How about protesting?
I'd think that minimal, very low cost actions -- that we can fit into
our busy schedules -- include calling our congress people to tell them
we condemn the raids (and expect them to take a stand against them)
and sending letters or e-mails to media outlets.
Or are aliens undeserving of our sympathy?
