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OFF PAGE ONE
East Oregonian
Friday, February 17, 2017
IMMIGRATION: 400-450 Milton-Freewater students were absent
Continued from 1A
more than three-quarters of
all students are Hispanic, 409
of the 1,082 students were
absent — about 38 percent of
total enrollment.
Attendance rates were
slightly higher at Irrigon
schools, though still well
below average. About 28
percent — 242 of 853
enrolled students — were
absent.
Dirk Dirksen, super-
intendent of the Morrow
County School District which
includes Boardman and
Irrigon, said average atten-
dance usually hovers around
94 percent.
Though Dirksen said he
did not hear specifically from
students or parents whether
the protests played a role, the
connection was difficult to
ignore.
“There’s a lot of talk right
now, as there is nationally,
as to the immigrant status,”
Dirksen said. “It’s part of
people’s lives right now. It’s
what they’re dealing with.”
In the Milton-Freewater
school district that is 56
percent Latino, superinten-
dent Rob Clark said he saw a
noticeable drop in attendance.
Clark said elementary school
students
started
telling
teachers Wednesday that
they wouldn’t go to school
the next day, and Thursday
bore that out across all grade
levels.
Out of a total enrollment of
about 1,750, Clark estimated
400-450 students were absent
Thursday, up from the 50-75
absentees the school district
experiences on an average
day.
Clark said he expects the
students who missed time to
make up their work, but he
did not condemn the move-
ment.
“I haven’t walked in their
shoes,” he said. “I’m not here
to judge.”
Businesses closed
In Hermiston, several
businesses that employ immi-
grants were closed for the
day, including Fiesta Foods.
The grocery store had a sign
noting the store was closed
“in support of the commu-
nity” and would resume
normal operations Friday.
On Main Street, the
Mexican bakery Panderia
Yasmine was locked during
normal business hours, as was
Tienda de Princessa across
the street. Mercado San Juan
on Hartley Avenue was dark
with no explanation, and on
Hermiston Avenue Trina’s
Mexican Food had a sign
saying the restaurant would
not be open all day.
At the United Farm
Workers offices, Pacific
Northwest Regional director
Victoria Ruddy said that she
knew some farm workers
who were immigrants had
chosen to work on Thursday
despite the protest, but she
hoped that just having fewer
immigrants working across
the country would help
people realize how important
immigrants are to farms and
food production.
“Every meal you put on
your table, an immigrant
probably helped put it there,”
she said. “We all rely on those
workers to feed our families.
We really do.”
At Boardman Foods,
30 employees didn’t show
up to work on Thursday.
Several local food processors
did not respond to requests
for comment, but on social
media some employees said
that many of their coworkers
did not show up as well.
Some citizens were upset
by the ban and the inconve-
nience it caused.
Forest Hunt, a Power City
resident, said he was picked
up by a shuttle service to buy
groceries in town, and was
surprised to find Fiesta Foods
closed.
“They didn’t put it in the
paper, and that’s the only way
I’d know about it,” he said.
“It’s puzzling if they don’t
care about the inconvenience
to customers.”
Hunt said he had been part
of unions before, and under-
stood the need to get people’s
attention, but was upset the
store didn’t alert shoppers
ahead of time.
“I just thought it was a
low blow not to let customers
know,” he said.
Some businesses around
Hermiston stayed open.
La Carreta on Southwest
11th Avenue was operating
as usual. Owner Armando
Rodriguez said he hadn’t
been aware of the movement
beforehand, so he didn’t plan
to close his business for the
day.
“I will do it in the future
if I know,” he said. “There’s
lots of things going on with
the new president. We don’t
know what will happen.”
Gregoria Castillo, who
works at the clothing store
Novedades Castillo on
Southwest 11th Avenue, said
their business stayed open to
assist others. The business
also converts money and sells
airplane tickets.
“We’ve had many people
coming in today,” she said.
“They need tickets to send to
people in other places.”
Around lunchtime on
Thursday, Castillo said she
had seen about seven people
come in to purchase tickets,
which was more than usual.
Jonathan Shaklee, a
Kennewick-based
immi-
gration lawyer, said he has
noticed something of a cogni-
tive dissonance for many
people surrounding Trump’s
immigration policies.
“I talked to an employer
30 minutes ago,” he said. “He
has multiple undocumented
employees, and he’s very
concerned about them. There
are a number of employers
who think their employees
are ‘the good guys,’ and want
to keep them here. And at the
same time, (the owners) are
Trump supporters.”
He said he’s seen people
get detained for all kinds of
minor crimes, such as a traffic
infraction that occurred many
years prior. He said those are
not the people Trump says he
wants to get deport.
“Those ‘felons’ oftentimes
have felonies for illegal
re-entry, like if they went
home to visit a parent and
get caught coming back,” he
said. “There’s a big difference
between the gang members,
drug traffickers and abusers,
and the ‘felons’ who have
one offense, like a DUI from
when they were 20.”
He added that a lot of
employers who feel protec-
tive of their own employees
don’t seem to see the connec-
tion.
“They’re not unique, and
their workers aren’t unique,”
he said. “Most of the 12
million people are like that.”
Around the country
Organizers of the national
movement said they expected
thousands to participate or
otherwise show support.
It was unclear how many
people participated, but in
many cities, the actions were
disruptive, if not halting. More
actions are being planned for
May 1 — known as May Day,
the internationally recognized
holiday honoring workers.
“I fear every day whether
I am going to make it back
home. I don’t know if my
mom will make it home,” said
Hessel Duarte, a 17-year-old
native of Honduras who lives
in Austin, Texas, with his
family and skipped class at
his high school to take part
in one of several rallies held
around the country. Duarte
said he arrived in the U.S. at
age 5 to escape gang violence.
The protest even reached
into the U.S. Capitol, where
a Senate coffee shop was
among the eateries that were
closed as employees did not
show up at work.
Organizers appealed to
immigrants from all walks of
life to take part, but the effects
were felt most strongly in the
restaurant industry, which
has long been a first step
up the economic ladder for
newcomers to America with
its many jobs for cooks,
dishwashers and servers.
Restaurant owners with
immigrant roots of their own
were among those acting in
solidarity with workers.
Expensive
restaurants
and fast-food joints alike
closed, some perhaps because
they had no choice, others
because of what they said
was sympathy for their
immigrant employees. Sushi
bars, Brazilian steakhouses,
Mexican eateries and Thai
and Italian restaurants all
turned away lunchtime
customers.
“The really important
dynamic to note is this is
not antagonistic, employ-
ee-against-employer,” said
Janet Murguia, president of
the Hispanic rights group
National Council of La
Raza. “This is employers and
workers standing together,
not in conflict.”
She added: “Businesses
cannot function without
immigrant workers today.”
At a White House news
conference held as the
lunch-hour protests unfolded,
Trump boasted of his border
security measures and immi-
gration arrests of hundreds
of people in the past week,
saying, “We are saving lives
every single day.”
Since the end of 2007,
the number of foreign-born
workers employed in the U.S.
has climbed by nearly 3.1
million to 25.9 million; they
account for 56 percent of the
increase in U.S. employment
over that period, according to
the Labor Department.
Roughly 12 million people
are employed in the restau-
rant industry, and immigrants
make up the majority — up to
70 percent in places like New
York and Chicago, according
to the Restaurant Opportuni-
ties Centers United, which
works to improve working
conditions. An estimated
1.3 million in the industry
are immigrants in the U.S.
illegally, the group said.
———
Jayati
Ramakrishnan,
Jade McDowell, Antonio
Sierra and George Plaven
contributed to this story.
AP Photo/Jeff Chiu, File
In this Feb. 7 photo, Kay Aull, from left, holds a sign
and chants with Beth Kohn, Paul Paz y Mino and
Karen Shore outside of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of
Appeals in San Francisco, Calif.
TRUMP: Lawsuit says ban
unconstitutionally blocked entry
to the U.S. on the basis of religion
Continued from 1A
defending our country. I got
elected on defense of our
country,” he said.
The administration asked
the 9th U.S. Circuit Court
of Appeals to hold off on
making any more decisions
related to the lawsuit filed
by the states of Washington
and Minnesota until the new
order is issued and then toss
out the decision keeping the
ban on hold.
Washington
state
Attorney General Bob
Ferguson said the federal
government was “conceding
defeat” by saying it does not
want a larger appellate panel
to review the decision made
last week by a three-judge
panel of the 9th Circuit. The
judges rejected the Trump
administration’s claim of
presidential authority and
questioned its motives in
ordering the ban.
The
administration
attacked the decision in
Thursday’s court filing,
saying the panel wrongly
suggested some foreigners
were entitled to consti-
tutional protections and
that courts could consider
Trump’s campaign state-
ments about a ban.
The lawsuit says the ban
unconstitutionally blocked
entry to the U.S. on the
basis of religion and harmed
residents, universities and
sales tax revenue in the two
states. Eighteen other states,
including California and
New York, supported the
challenge.
The appeals court had
asked the Trump adminis-
tration and Washington and
Minnesota to file arguments
by Thursday on whether a
larger panel of 9th Circuit
judges should rehear the
case.
In his filing with the 9th
Circuit, Washington state
Solicitor General Noah
Purcell said the ruling by
the three-judge panel was
consistent with previous
U.S. Supreme Court deci-
sions, so there was no basis
for a review.
Purcell said Trump
had campaigned on the
promise to ban Muslims
from entering the U.S. and
one week into office issued
the order that “radically
changed
immigration
policy” and “unleashed
chaos around the world.”
The three-judge panel
said the states had raised
“serious” allegations that
the ban targets Muslims,
and the courts could
consider statements Trump
had made about shutting
down Muslim immigration.
The judges also rejected
the federal government’s
argument that courts do not
have the authority to review
the president’s immigration
and national security deci-
sions.
They said the Trump
administration presented no
evidence that any foreigner
from the seven countries —
Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia,
Sudan, Syria and Yemen
— was responsible for a
terrorist attack in the U.S.
FAMILIES: Shaklee said he received an increase in
calls once Trump became the Republican nominee
Continued from 1A
how to deal with emergen-
cies.
At a meeting Wednesday
night, the InterMountain
Education Service District’s
Migrant Education Program
hosted a forum to help
migrant parents learn about
their rights should they
encounter an immigration
enforcement officer.
Jonathan Shaklee, a
Kennewick-based immigra-
tion lawyer, spoke in Spanish
to a crowd of more than 60
people. He answered ques-
tions about specific cases
and presented general legal
guidelines.
“It’s important to know
your rights to protect against
illegal actions by govern-
mental officials and others,”
he said.
Shaklee also answered
questions about how to
become a citizen or resident
— many attendees had ques-
tions about how language
limitations, having children
in school and criminal records
might affect their status,
and specific questions about
the process of becoming a
citizen or permanent resi-
dent. Shaklee encouraged
audience members who are
already permanent residents
to become citizens and use
their ability to vote.
He reminded the audience
that no two cases are alike,
and that it’s important for
each person or family to
make a plan in case of an
emergency or legal action.
He reviewed scenarios, such
as if a person is approached
by an ICE (Immigration and
Customs Enforcement) agent
at home, at work, in public or
on public transportation.
Shaklee gave the audience
advice any lawyer would tell
his client under suspicion or
arrest — you have the right to
remain silent and do not have
to answer any questions.
“Don’t reveal your situa-
tion to government agents,”
he said. “Or where you’re
born or how you entered the
United States. Don’t show
documentation from another
country.”
He advised the audience
that an agent has to have an
arrest or search warrant with
their name on it to enter their
home. And if an agent enters
a home without one, get
the agent’s name and their
license plate number.
If confronted or ques-
tioned in a public area,
Shaklee told the audience
they can remain silent. He
recommended
remaining
calm, not answering ques-
tions and leaving the area.
He also advised what
to do in case of an arrest.
He warned the audience
that within 100 miles of the
border, or at places like an
airport or point of investiga-
tion, the same rights may not
exist.
He advised them to find
an attorney they trust, and
one who is familiar with
immigration law.
“They’re expensive,” he
said. “But this is something
that could affect your entire
life.”
Shaklee said he has
received an increase in calls
once Trump became the
Republican nominee, and
even more since he was
elected and took office.
“Most of my clients prob-
ably haven’t even read the
executive order, or may not
even know what an executive
order is,” he said. “What
they do know is he’s made
promises to do things that
are harmful to them — end
sanctuary cities, build the
border wall.”
Shaklee said although
former president Barack
Obama deported a record
number of people, he didn’t
incite the same level of fear
in migrant families.
He added that Trump
doesn’t appear to have
balanced views. Shaklee said
Obama, although he deported
a lot of people, instituted the
deferred action program and
the provisional waiver, which
allowed spouses of citizens or
residents to ask for a waiver.
“Most of the people I talk
to feel they can’t trust law
enforcement the way they
used to,” he said. “They can’t
feel safe and secure, they’re
worried about not having
a place in the community.
Even people with good work
permits, or a promise from
the government not to deport
them — that doesn’t mean
anything anymore.”
Hermiston police chief
Jason Edmiston said the
Hermiston Police Depart-
ment does not track immigra-
tion status.
“We encounter victims of
crimes, suspects of crimes,
witnesses of crimes,” he said.
“We do not track current
status specific to citizenship.”
–——
Editor’s
note:
The
presentation was given in
Spanish and translated by the
reporter.
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