New Haven Independent

Feds Return For Immigration Raid

by Melissa Bailey | February 3, 2009 3:14 PM | Permalink | Comments (26)

Two local pastors were on their way out the door to pray with a family when they heard a knock.

Minutes later, they found themselves caught in an immigration raid, their family torn apart.

The raid a couple of weeks ago at the home of Juan Sil and Julia Morales appears to be the first in the city since June 2007, when federal agents swept up 32 alleged illegal immigrants, sending waves of terror through the Fair Haven neighborhood.

In the latest raid, Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents targeted Julia Morales, a 44-year-old pentecostal pastor who has been living in the New York-New Haven area for a quarter century. The raid netted four people: Julia, her husband Juan, and two other men living in their home.

The feds described the arrests as “routine.”

“ICE is mandated by Congress to enforce a wide range of immigration and customs laws we will continue to enforce those laws in Connecticut and throughout the U.S.,” stated ICE spokeswoman Paula Grenier.

Agents went to the home to serve a warrant for deportation on Julia Morales, she said. During the process, they came across the three other men and charged them with immigration violations, she confirmed.

Now Julia Morales sits behind bars in a detention in a facility in Maine, pending deportation.

Kica Matos, City Hall’s point person on immigration matters, fumed over why ICE would target a woman who by the agency’s own protocol, ranks as the lowest priority for deportation. ICE’s stated goals are to collect illegal immigrants in this order: those who pose a threat to national security, those who are a threat to the community, those who have a criminal record, and lastly, non-criminal fugitives.

“This woman has not received so much as a traffic ticket,” said Matos. “She was a contributing member of the community. She was spreading the word of God in New Haven.”

“When is it an act of terror to preach about God?” asked Matos. “She clearly wasn’t a
priority.” In arresting a pastor, she said the raid has had an impact not just on one family, but on a whole church community.

Phony Lawyer

What is particularly tragic, Matos said, is the way the woman ended up on the feds’ wanted list.

Julia’s deportation order appears to have stemmed from when she sought help from a phony New York lawyer who later pleaded guilty to defrauding immigrants.

“She was trying to do the right thing,” said Matos. “She was trying to get proper status. She got duped by a lawyer—and now she’s paying the price.”

Juan, who’s 54, has better prospects at remaining in the country: He’s eligible to have his two adult U.S. citizen children (Priscilla and Jimmy, pictured with him above) petition for a change in his immigration status. He remains home with his family pending his next date in court. Julia’s brother, Gustavo Morales, remains in ICE custody pending a hearing; the fourth arrestee, Hernán Rivera, was released on a bond, Grenier said.

The Raid

Sitting on a few couches at a cozy apartment Saturday, heaped with climbing children and two pet dogs, the Sil-Moraleses recounted the day that the feds took their “motor,” their matriarch, away.

It was about 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 14. Juan and Julia were at home at 525 East St., where they live with one of their three grown kids in a highway-bordered neighborhood between East Rock and Fair Haven.

Jimmy Sil-Morales, who’s 23, was watching a movie with his uncle on the couch. His 4 year-old daughter was playing on the floor. Julia and Juan, pastors at a Pentecostal church on Howe Street, had an appointment at a parishioner’s house. As was their nightly routine, they were going to pray with a family in need of support. Julia put her coat on.

Then she heard a knock. Jimmy got up and answered the door with his mom. On the other side, there were several men in vests. The visitors didn’t identify themselves, according to Jimmy. (Grenier declined to give details on the raid, but said that ICE agents do identify themselves as law enforcement officers, police or ICE when making arrests. Local police were notified beforehand, she contended.)

“Are you Julia Morales?” the visitors asked, according to Jimmy. She replied yes, he said. They came in and announced that they had a warrant for her arrest.

Upon learning who she was, eight men “burst” into the house, said Jimmy. They asked everyone for identification. They checked upstairs, under the bed and in the closets, he said.

When the agents came across Juan Sil, he produced a driver’s license as identification. The license was valid, Sil said. ICE agents checked his record in a database.

Before they could pull up the record, Juan volunteered what they might find. He admitted to having a bad record long ago, including a drunken driving offense. But he told them, in the past 15 years, “my record has been clean.”

“God changed me,” he told them.

Until 15 years ago, Juan lived at the bottom of society. He was homeless, unemployed, drunk. Then he found God, and has been clean ever since, he said, working as an upholsterer and devoting his life to his church.

The story didn’t sway ICE officials from slapping him with an arrest warrant.

Juan got the warrant when he appeared the following morning in immigration court, as officials ordered him to do.

“You are not a citizen” of the U.S., the warrant claimed. “You are a native of Guatemala.” The warrant charged Juan with immigrating into the country illegally.

A U.S. citizen born in New York City, Jimmy escaped the wrath of ICE. His uncle, Gustavo Morales, wasn’t so lucky. Neither was the uncle’s roommate, Hernán Rivera. The two men, along with Julia Morales, were arrested for allegedly entering the U.S. without permission.

Agents took their fingerprints in the kitchen. Meanwhile, Jimmy’s 4 year-old daughter sat on the living room floor.

When the feds moved to take the suspects away, Jimmy pleaded with them to protect his daughter from seeing her grandma hauled away like a criminal. Jimmy’s daughter is “attached at the hip” to her grandmother, he explained.

“You’re not going to handcuff my mother in front of my daughter!” he cried. The agents agreed to let Julia hug his daughter goodbye. The agents waited until Julia was outside to put on the handcuffs.

The next day, Jimmy and his sister Priscilla trekked up to Hartford for their father’s court date. They saw their mom one last time before she was taken to a detention camp in Maine. Juan was told to return on a regular basis as his case was heard.

“The Motor of the Family”

Meanwhile, the family has struggled to get by without its babysitter, cook and spiritual leader. When they went to work, Julia’s three children relied on her to take care of their four little ones. When she wasn’t babysitting or helping out at church, Julia would cook Guatemalan specialties like tamales and cheesecake, and sell them to pay the bills.

In her absence, Juan has been trying to take over some of the child-minding duties.

The other day, Juan said he tried to change a diaper on one of his grandkids. “I couldn’t do it,” he said.

“My wife is the motor of my house,” said Juan, who’s 54 years old.

“She makes everything move,” chimed in Jimmy.

A Church Rises

The family said Julia’s detention has been a blow to the church community, too.

After he turned his life around 15 years ago, Juan was possessed by a fever to help others.

When the family moved to the New Haven area about 15 years ago, he and his wife started thinking about preaching.

They found an abandoned auto mechanic’s garage on Davenport Avenue and turned it into a church. The parish grew to about 200 — until the ICE raids hit in 2007, and churchgoers were afraid to leave the house. Juan left the parish and started a new church in West Haven, this one in and old antique shop.

When he wasn’t working at his job, upholstering boats and homes, he devoted all his time to his parish, he said. When a parishioner fell on hard times, he and his wife would reach out to the church community and try to find help. That meant serving as a marriage counselor, helping women in abusive relationships, feeding people with bare cupboards, and visiting the sick at the hospital. People seek his help, he said, because he understand where they’re coming from.

“I’ve been through everything,” he said.

After the West Haven building was condemned, the Sil-Moraleses didn’t give up on the church. They found someone to rent out a church on Howe Street and kept on preaching. Today, the Iglesia de Diós, Puerta a Canaan has a parish of about 60-80 people, they said.

“She’s not a criminal,” said Julia’s daughter Julie, as the family finished rattling off a list of benevolent acts. “She’s just trying to give us a future.”

Three times, Juan has driven the five hours to the Maine detention camp to visit his wife. He finds her in an orange jumpsuit on the other side of a glass wall. They talk for one to two hours, and then he drives back home.

Priscilla, who’s 21, accompanied him on one of the trips. She said her mom tells her how much she worries about them.

“I tell her everything is going to be fine,” said Priscilla. To honor her mother’s longtime wishes, she just enrolled herself in college.

The family has not decided whether they will fight the deportation order. They do know one thing for sure, said Priscilla: “We don’t want her in there [the detention center], lonely, cooped up like an animal.”

Juan said he would like to stay around to raise his grandkids.

If the couple does get deported, however, their kids have vowed to support them.

“We’re going to have to work for them,” said Jimmy, “like they did for us.”

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Comments

Posted by: Tim | February 3, 2009 1:25 PM

Keep up the good work ICE! Also if these people or anyone for that matter is here illegally, then they are ILLEGAL immigrants, please report that correctly next time. It was not an immigrant raid it was an illegal immigrant raid

Posted by: lucky2b | February 3, 2009 2:18 PM

"A 44-year-old Pentecostal pastor who has been living in the New York-New Haven area for a quarter century"

I think this story should serve as an example to all illegal aliens, get your priorities in order. My father came to America in the 70s and got his citizenship in 92 after many visits to the INS, and it was something he was very proud of. He also maintained a green card (permanent resident) and taught himself how to read and write English.

Posted by: Excellent Job | February 3, 2009 3:04 PM

Why blame ICE for doing their job.... Remember individuals who take the risk of entering any country illegally also take a risk-the risk of being caught and deported no matter how many years have elapsed since their criminal entry.
It seems when authoritie sdo their job their damned and when they don't they're damned. Thank God Kica and the Mayor aren't responsible for protecting our borders.

Posted by: sady | February 3, 2009 6:26 PM

Lucky 28
....again i agree with you about Kico and the Mayor....they worry more about the illegal immigrants then they do the citizens of the city what a shame...my family came here in the 60's and all became citizens and damn proud of our country...they fly the american flag also..proud to be an american..amen.

Posted by: fedupwithliberals | February 3, 2009 7:15 PM

"When the agents came across Juan Sil, he produced a driver's license as identification. The license was valid, Sil said. ICE agents checked his record in a database."

Can someone explain to me how an illegal alien gets a valid driver's license in this state?

Posted by: Reform Now | February 4, 2009 12:54 PM

Lucky2B, that is a wonderful story about your grandfather. Having seen several people learn English and become citizens of the US, I can attest to how inspiring it is. The tragedy in this story about Julia is that she tried to go through the same process that your grandfather did, but wasn't able to--and in fact, was ultimately arrested because of a lawyer taking advantage of her. The sad truth is that most of the immigrants who are in this country without legal status aren't eligible to do anything about it. If they were to apply for a green card, they would simply be letting ICE know where they were to come arrest them. That is why we need comprehensive immigration reform: because right now, good people like Julia aren't able to become citizens of our country. We need more giving people like Julia here, and our country needs to create a pathway for them to legalize their status.

Posted by: john john | February 4, 2009 1:28 PM

I'm actually o.k. with this.

Posted by: Formyimmigantbrother | February 4, 2009 6:40 PM

Its sadden me to read the comments from the desendants of immigrants about present day immigrants who are looking for a better life like our parents did before us. Question are all so called "illegal immigarant" Latino. The reason i raise this question is because the last two ICE raids targetted the working poor Latino immigrants who work to eat. Oh one more question who the hell was your grandmother?

Posted by: john john | February 4, 2009 11:45 PM

immigrant brother man, there's not more jobs or money here. the economy can't absorb the influx right now. 100 years ago, there were jobs, there was an expanding economy. the people who came here were treated unfairly, paid poorly, yet strived to assimilate, learn english, and become u.s. citizens.
the teat of america has run dry now. we cannot feed, employ or educate the rest of the world right now. it would be foolish to take in children to a family that cannot feed or shelter it's own children. we are at a point where americans are unemployed, homeless and needy, when we take care of them adequately, then we can open the books to the rest of the world. nothing personal.

Posted by: formyimmigrantbrothers | February 5, 2009 8:57 PM

John John a hundred years ago our immigrant ancesters were killing native in the west beating black people to death and there was plenty of land and jobs. this is not personal.

Posted by: formyimmigrantbrothers | February 5, 2009 9:14 PM

John John, Since when is the immigrant responcible for unemployment, a bad housing market, and an expensive unjustified war? your fustrations would be better directed on greedy wall street, and the retarded president we had in the cash house for eight years. Oh no one has ansewered my question are latinos the only so called illegal immigrants in town?

Posted by: john john | February 5, 2009 10:09 PM

immigration brother guy, relax man...err, mi hombre.
save the tangents for trig, don't assume i'm an afficanato of the idiot from crawford, and no, latinos are not the only illegal immigrants in town. there are a number of asian, irish, eastern european, african and even two canadians i know of. Latinos are however far far and away the largest contingent, and seem to be the least concerned with assimilating as fast as possible. it makes it look like they have no desire to become permanant residents & citizens, which kind of bothers me.
i am disgusted by the behavior of the Bush administration, the wall street pigs and irresponsibility of many of my fellow citizens. But here we are, broke, stupid and soon to be hungry. We've made the first two steps towards recovery by electing obama and putting the wall street elite on notice. but we still need to take care of our own first. before we can take in a family from Gdansk, Galway, Islamabad, Mexico city or even Toronto, we need to take care of the family from Fair Haven Heights, the old lady from Shelton ave and the kid who's growing up in City Point.
We've elected a Black President and the native americans have two kick ass casinos in our backyard. We're not perfect yet, but we're better. Nothing personal.

Posted by: john john | February 5, 2009 10:11 PM

By the way, we don't so much use the term "retarded" any more. We've progressed away from it's use.

Posted by: dp | February 6, 2009 7:17 PM

I was shocked by the number of comments here - in a progressive publication (presumably with a progressive readership) so ready to condemn immigrants without documents in (as another poster recognized) in absence of critique for the economic structures of power and histories that have created our current economic predicament as well as contributed to producing the desperation that leads people to seek food and shelter in a country other than their own. I have to say, shame on you all....
The tenor of your comments recalls for me the hateful and disappointing rhetoric that led to the Mexican Repatriation during the Great Depression. If your history classes missed that moment - google it. We (as in the U.S.) allowed Mexicans to be vilified in the midst of national desperation - and that led to the U.S. rounding up (literally) and "repatriating" between 500,000 and a million people of Mexican descent. History teaches, too, that we "repatriated" hundreds, perhaps even thousands, of U.S. citizens of Mexican descent. I hope that we learn from history and do not again head down that road - it is a sad and shameful road.

Posted by: Alan Felder | February 7, 2009 11:57 PM

ST. Thomas Aquinas said "nonenforcement of a law, is no law at all".

Posted by: Fedupwithliberals | February 8, 2009 6:43 AM

No need for histrionics. It's 2009. We have better ways of identifying who is and is not a US citizen. Happens in a split second through the use of this thing called a computer, and the internet. Show us your identification, and it is double checked against a database. You are either in it. or you are not.

Posted by: Edward_H | February 8, 2009 12:40 PM

FUWL

Can someone explain to me how an illegal alien gets a valid driver's license in this state?

Here is at least one way

http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9505EEDD103FF932A15752C1A9629C8B63&sec=&spon=

Posted by: Fedupwithliberals | February 8, 2009 5:02 PM

EDWARD_H

Thank you! I rememmber hearing about this incident at the time. Would not surprise me if no one were sanctioned.

Posted by: Edward_H | February 8, 2009 5:07 PM

Melissa Bailey

the first in the city since June 2007, when federal agents swept up 32 alleged illegal immigrants,

Since when does the NHI allow its writers to put the words "illegal" and "immigrant" right next to eachother in the same sentence? I guess this one slipped by Paul?

I was shocked by the number of comments here - in a progressive publication (presumably with a progressive readership) so ready to condemn immigrants without documents

Don't presume things about people and you will spare yourself some shock.

Posted by: Raf | February 8, 2009 5:58 PM

Yah, john john, latino immigrants,by far are more of the nanies, landscapers helpers, roofers helpers, dish washers, car washers,and pay more in rent then most house payments in the suburbs, high rent for substandard housing. This has nothing to do with assimulation which come with time and its a more natural occurance. Look People of color from mexico central and south america are really the indigenist people of this hemisphere. also jonh john are you going to call ICE on your two canadians friends. as for the "kick Ass Casino" they payed for it with a nation of people and land, when was the last time you checked the US censors tract on native Americans? they are few.
As for Obama that was payed with flesh for over five hundred years. it seems to me that your issue is fear of a latino population boom? Oh I agree with you on the use of the word "retarded"
just my frustrations with your comments. I apologies to anyone who may have been offended.
also since when must one give up hers or his first language to be American. I thought we were above that. Iam a veteran so is my father and my son and we speak two languages and we are proud americans so stop the assimulation crap and open your heart. reform now......

Posted by: healing_planet | February 10, 2009 3:11 PM

Hi everyone!

People are not "illegal". People are people. Living beings have rights that we should all respect. This raid is only one of many examples of a violation of those humyn rights.

Just look at these other examples of the inhumyn ICE raids from the highly credible news source, Democracy NOW!:

http://www.democracynow.org/2008/9/12/increased_raids_and_checkpoint_arrests_endanger
http://www.democracynow.org/2008/8/27/600_arrested_at_louisiana_factory_in
http://www.democracynow.org/2008/7/28/headlines#7

Please keep in mind that the middle and upper classes live off the labor done by the working class and working poor, whether they be immigrants, natives, or somewhere in between. Immigrant raids are a way of promoting xenophobia, racism, white supremacy, classism, colonialism, and the prison industrial complex.

What is the prison industrial complex?
http://criticalresist.live.radicaldesigns.org/article.php?preview=1&cache=0&id=58

These forms of systemic violence can be extremely overwhelming. But as people, we can advocate for each others rights. If you have internet access right now, you can google "protest ice" or "immigrant rights" and find ways to contribute to the fight against these injustices and violations of humyn rights.

Thanks for listening!
Hope you have a good day!

Posted by: formyimmigrantbrother | February 13, 2009 7:57 AM

Thank you Healing-plant for the Insight and Info,
take notes John John

Posted by: Fedupwithliberals | February 13, 2009 8:25 AM

healing_planet

"People are not "illegal". People are people"

Right, and criminals are people along with child molesters. Common thread among all parties involved is that they broke laws and have to be held to account. Laws are created for a reason. Have you heard the term "Anarchy" before? You might want to explore that concept and think about what a great world it would be if we all ignored the law.

Posted by: tax_payer | February 15, 2009 10:11 PM

"Kica Matos, City Hall's point person on immigration matters, fumed over why ICE would target a woman who by the agency's own protocol, ranks as the lowest priority for deportation. ICE's stated goals are to collect illegal immigrants in this order: those who pose a threat to national security, those who are a threat to the community, those who have a criminal record, and lastly, non-criminal fugitives."

Who cares if this woman was low-priority for ICE. She broke our immigration laws. She resides here illegally. Could you imagine if you ran up to a police officer on the street and told him you were just assaulted and car-jacked. Then the officer responded to you, "Sorry. Our police department's priorities right now are as follows: murderers, rapists, drug dealers, and lastly assaultive car jackers. Once we arrest our higher priority offenders, we will persue your assailant." Unbelievable! Thank you ICE agents for persuing the MILLIONS of people who live here illegally.

ps. If you dont want to get arrested in your kitchen or in front of your kids...

...dont break the law!!!

Posted by: sian | February 17, 2009 9:15 AM

Good work ICE. Someone asked if all illegal immigarants were Latino. The answer is no. The question that should have been asked is Only Latino illegal immigrants deported. Once again the answer is no. If you will check the records, you will see Chinesse, Russian, Bulgarian, Spanish, German, Irish, and English.. Yes illegal immigrants from Great Britian being deported each year. An interesting static was realized by Ireland that shows the number of "illegals" being returned to Ireland from the US is on the rise. However only hundreds of "illegals" from those countries are here, not millions, but stasticals more of them are deported as a ratio of population.

Posted by: tax_payer | February 18, 2009 9:09 AM

I want to see what healing_planet is going to say when an illegal alien runs a stop sign and totals healing_planet's car in a traffic accident. Not only will healing_planet get no compensation for their car because the illegal is uninsured, and have no luck taking an illegal alien to court, they will have the privilege of having their tax dollars pay for the illegal's recovery in the overcrowded emergency room as an US citizen waits to have their name called for treatment. And healing_planet shouldn't bother saving the receipts from the work done on their car. The warranties from the garage are going to be void after the garage is shut down for employing some of the MILIIONS of illegal aliens that work in this country.

Feds Return For Immigration Raid

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