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… Case brings home immigrant predicament (From Page 8) At 7 p.m., several vehicles pulled up, and eight agents from at least four agencies, in bullet-proof vests with badges, got out — ICE, Department of State, Social Security, and federal marshals. They searched the house, and took Cobián to an office, interrogated him there for several hours, then placed him under arrest. He was held at the downtown Port- land Justice Center over the weekend, and indicted Sept. 11 on three felony charges: making a false statement on a passport application, using someone else’s birth certificate to obtain a So- cial Security number, and making false statements on a 2004 immigra- tion petition to allow his wife to re- main in the country. Cobián spent the next two weeks at Multnomah County Inverness Jail. His arrest hit co-workers hard. “We were all shocked,” said Sav- age. “It was like, ‘Luis has been ar- rested. What do we do?’ ” Co-workers in Portland and Seattle knew he had a family to support. They reached into their pockets. It was enough to pay the family’s bills, but not enough to pay for an attorney. Cobián was assigned public de- fender Thomas J. Hester, who worked out a deal. He pled guilty to the pass- port charge, on the assurance the gov- ernment would drop the other two charges, and was released Sept. 28 on bond to await his sentencing hearing, scheduled for Dec. 21. It’s a three-month limbo: Cobián is not allowed to leave Oregon, but he’s also not allowed to work, and he has kids to feed. Union co-workers began deliver- ing boxes of food; individuals set up direct deposit donations that now total $450 a week. “It’s pretty tough for me to even accept donations,” Cobián said, “coming from a country where men are supposed to be the sole provider. But in the end you have to show hu- mility.” As many as 12 million illegal im- migrants are believed to be living in the United States, and illegal immi- grants make up an estimated 5 percent of the U.S. workforce. When the de- bate over immigration reform broke out in Congress earlier this year, the Carpenters Union was among a num- ber of unions that took a position sup- porting a “path to citizenship” and full civil rights for law-abiding immi- grants who are already working here. That stand provoked some contro- versy within the labor movement, and was the subject of heated debates in local union halls. But Cobián’s case has shifted the views of some local Carpenters, including Savage. “Right-wing radio talks about all of them coming here, mooching off government services, their kids going to school for free,” Savage says. “The reality is he’s paid into 15 years of So- cial Security he’ll never see. And we don’t even know if we’ll be legally able to give him his pension. He’s not about mooching. He’s a hard-work- ing guy.” Carpenters contacted for this story described “Luis” as a quiet pillar of strength, a courageous and dedicated organizer, a stand-up guy who never shirked any task, a union true-believer who could always be counted on, part of the fabric of his community. In short, a model citizen. Except he’s not a citizen. “This is a great country,” Cobián said. “In my heart,” he adds, “I am an American.” In the eyes of the law, on the other hand, Cobián is an illegal alien, sub- ject to removal. As of press time, Cobián’s sen- tencing hearing was set for Dec. 21 at 2 p.m. That date could change. The passport charge carries a penalty of up to 10 years imprison- ment and a fine of up to $250,000. But since Cobián has a clean record and no prior deportations, federal sen- tencing guidelines call for a prison sentence of six to 12 months. After- ward, he faces an ICE administrative proceeding on deportation. “I am going to be deported,” Co- bián said. “I’m going to be going back to my country.” Cobián admits to mixed emotions about the situation. On the one hand, he’s relieved at coming clean about the deception, using his real name again, and the prospect of living in the same city as his mother and three younger brothers and sisters. He’s re- signed to deportation but dreads be- ing separated from his family during the expected prison term. And what weighs heaviest, he says, is the likeli- hood of reduced life chances for his children — education and economic opportunity. Because they were born in the United States, Alexis and Dante are citizens, but with their father fac- ing deportation and their mother’s le- gal residency consequently revoked, they’ll be starting over in Mexico. Cobián is trying to sell his house. To prep it for sale, a crew of a dozen union workers from several trades came out to help him paint and land- scape. But Cobián has been up front about his status, and no real estate agent has been willing to represent him so far. Cobián said he’s always worked, and is already making plans for what to do upon return. He would like to apply his union organizing skills in his native land, he said, but he’s put off by the rampant corruption of the traditional Mexican unions and the long odds faced by more independent unions. “Here you hold pickets,” Cobián said. “There you hold machetes.” So instead, Cobián said he hopes to work as a translator, or apply his construction skills in one of Mexico’s growth industries — building retire- ment communities for American pen- sioners. Cobián, or Mendoza, obtained a withdrawal card from his union, and doesn’t know whether or when he’ll be able to return to the Carpenters. But he says he’ll never forget his time in the union, or the help they gave when he needed it most. “The union is, truly, a brother- hood,” Cobián said. “You don’t know it until you’re living it.” Supporters have set up a fund to help “Luis Mendoza” and his family. Contributions can be made at any US Bank branch or mailed to U.S. Bank, 636 SE Grand Ave., Portland OR 97214. Checks should be made out to the Luis Mendoza Solidarity Fund. Cancer caused by asbestos exposure • Shipyards* • Refineries • Steel and Paper Mills • Powerhouses • Construction • Home Remodel • Brake Repair • Railroads *32% of 3,000 Americans diagnosed every year with Mesothelioma were exposed during Navy service or working in Navy shipyards. Find out more by calling: For information on treatment options, settlements and verdicts, asbestos products and patient profiles, please visit www.mesothel.com Since 2000, Roger G. Worthington, P.C. has donated over $2,500,000 towards medical research into finding a cure for mesothelioma. See: www.phlbi.org Offices in Los Angeles, Orange County and Dallas, Texas. Lawyers licensed in California, Oregon and Texas. PAGE 12 NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS NOVEMBER 17, 2006
