On the July 18th indynewswire, danielsan of 101.1 FM Freak Radio Santa Cruz spoke with Julia Harumi Mass, staff attorney with the ACLU of Northern California (ACLU-NC), to discuss a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request filed in an attempt to learn more about the Homeland Security agency ICE, or Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

ICE and its supporters consistently say that round-ups and raids are conducted for reasons of national security because they prioritize immigrants with criminal backgrounds. However as Mass explains, the reality is far different. In Santa Cruz County, the September 7 and 8, 2006 raids resulted in 106 arrests, yet only seventeen people went through a removal proceeding process, while everyone else was deported without a hearing.

From start to finish, ICE raids are founded on racial profiling, unconstitutional entry, search, and detention, lack of due process, unequal enforcement of the laws, abuse of authority and inconsistency... all in the name of homeland security. Read More and Listen to Audio

see also: Union-busting by Any Other Name... | Santa Clara County Supes React to ICE Raids