FEDERAL LAW OFFICERS TERRORIZE CHICAGO MALL

Heavily armed officers from Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency (ICE) and the FBI entered
and locked down a strip mall in Little Village, a heavily Mexican population area of Chicago on
Tuesday, April 24.  Outrage at the terrorization of the 200-250 people in the mall, working or shopping
(some with children) brought angry protesters into Little Village streets following the raid and into
downtown Chicago Wednesday, April 25, for a rally and press conference.   

Officers, with search warrants, armed with machine guns and riot gear in a military-style invasion, were
seeking sellers of phony Social Security and green cards. Officers yelled, made people sit on the floor,
questioned many,  handcuffed some, rounded some into vans, and later released all but a few.

Spokespersons for the Latino community asked why these raids were not done in the homes of the
suspected people, instead of terrorizing and disrupting the whole community. People were frightened
and did not know what was going on.  

US attorney Patrick Fitzgerald said arrests had nothing to do with immigration and the upcoming May 1
rally. He said federal charges, the result of a year-long investigation, were against 22 people linked to a
$2 million fake-ID operation intended to close a breach in national security. Protesters doubted his
word. Outraged by the abuse of power, they felt singled out and demand answers.

8th Day finds the terror tactics by ICE and the FBI totally unacceptable and wishes to stand in solidarity
with the people so outraged and terrified by the actions of these law officials of our US government.
We challenge our government to live up to the family values it publicly professes and be painstakingly
careful not to terrorize children and families in their everyday activities.  

See 8th Day’s statement on another ICE raid below suggested actions.

ACTIONS
1. We encourage you to inform others in your various communities and call them to action.  

2. Suggested actions might include:
a. Write a letter of protest and fax it to the following numbers:
Atlanta ICE field office (who conducted raids) 404-730-2027
National ICE HQ Office of Public Affairs 202-307-1918

b. Support or join a rally in your area on May 1, 2007

c. Familiarize yourself with the issues surrounding immigration–reasons why people are undocumented,
etc.  Read 8th Day Statement (below) concerning Dec. 12 raid in Colorado and elsewhere by ICE.

d. Write your Congress persons and ask them to look into federal law officers  are terrorizing people.
Locate your Congress person at http://www.congress.org/congressorg/dbq/officials/

8th Day welcomes your input on this issue.  Contact us at 8thday@claret.org 

8TH DAY STATEMENT CONCERNING RAIDS IN SIX STATES IN  DEC. 2006

On December 12, 2006, The Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency conducted raids at
Swift meat processing plants in six states: Colorado, Nebraska, Texas, Utah, Iowa and Minnesota.
Agents apprehended 1282 undocumented workers without notice. Children went to school expecting
to come home to their parents only to discover that their parents wouldn’t be coming home.  

These raids along with prohibitive city ordinances to make it illegal for landlords to rent to
undocumented persons such as that passed recently in Carpentersville, Illinois and being considered in
LaPorte, Indiana are part of the growing discrimination against the Latina /o community.  Some
landlords refuse to rent to any Hispanic person.

8th Day finds these actions deplorable as they foster a continuation of a nativist attitude within our
country. There is a common misconception that undocumented persons take away the jobs of U.S.
citizens. Through the Free Trade policies such as NAFTA and CAFTA, the U.S. has instead taken
away the jobs of Mexicans. For example, U.S. agribusiness flooded Mexico’s market with corn,
thereby destroying Mexico’s market for a longstanding native product. Immigration is not a simple issue
and calls us to learn more about its root causes.

That the raid of the Swift meat processing plants took place on the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe
makes this doubly unconscionable and demonstrates an utter disregard for the Latina/o culture.  

8th Day Center calls for Immigration Reform that considers the needs of the immigrants, potential
citizenship, and the root causes of migration to the United States.