A couple died in a car crash while fleeing ICE agents in California, authorities say

-

Santos Garcia, 35,  and Marcelina Profecto, 33, had six children together and were farmworkers in the Central Valley. The two were killed in a car crash last March as they were trying to flee ICE officers who mistakenly went after them. 

The couple was dead at the scene, after “the driver of the SUV… lost control of the car as he was speeding, veered onto a dirt shoulder and rammed into a power pole.”

ICE went after the couple after seeing Garcia, a man who matched “the target’s description,” leave his house in an SUV.  However, Garcia was not the guy they intended to arrest. They couple pulled over after being followed, but drove off after seeing it was ICE. 

Garcia was a Mexican citizen who was removed from the country last year for the third time, but has not encountered ICE in the past nor had a final active order to be removed. 

Over 20 dozen people mourned the death of the couple which took place in Delano, California, where Filipino and Latino farmworkers have held strikes in the past for “better working conditions.” Even United Farm Workers labor union president Arturo Rodriguez paid tribute to the couple and said this was a “tragic accident.” 

Opinion: As Rodriguez said, this event was very tragic. The couple wasn’t even an ICE target and yet suffered death and left their 6 children behind.  It was just a regular day for the couple, who Rodriguez described  as hardworking people who “harvest our fruits and vegetables.” I really like how he said that these persevering people do not deserve to be exploited by the government all because they do not value nor respect the contributions they continue to make to the country.  As our textbook says, "immigrants are people of singular ambition with a strong work ethic and high aspirations to improve themselves." Trump said he wanted to deport millions of illegal immigrants, especially those who are criminals.  Yet, this example goes to show how several innocent families have been victimized by ICE. The Garcia couple was just trying to provide for their family and were actually contributing to our economy and society.  I also like the a quote that the write took from Gov. Jerry Brown, which said ”California thrives because we welcome immigrants and innovators from across the globe.” Must more innocent people be arrested, hurt, and even killed?

Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-nation/wp/2018/03/15/a-couple-died-in-a-car-crash-while-fleeing-ice-agents-in-california-authorities-say/?utm_term=.e6b3653b9e9c

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

-
Image
Article Summary: Following the shutdown of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), Gamboa gives us a scoop on what is next for DACA. Aware of the different situations people are facing in relation to DACA, she asserts that not everyone’s DACA permits will expire after the March 6, 2018 deadline— that is if your current permit does not expire until past this date. While those with withstanding and soon to be expired permits (during the time this article was written) were able reapply until the fifth of October, 2017, no new applications were accepted. Gamboa does, however, explain that there is a slight chance of hope for DACA, that is if Congress can draft and pass legislation to “revive” the program, or even come up with alternatives. Some have even filed court cases against the Trump Administration, including discrimination lawsuits.   My take: As a previous NDNU Bonner leader, I had opportunity to visit the Richmond Detention Center a handful of time...
Read more

Low-income elderly Fil-Ams still savor American Dream

-
Image
Estrellita Nable-Miranda, 64, and her husband Jerry, 63 were professionals in the Philippines, as they both worked as bank tellers (Estrellita even worked for the government before this job).   However, since moving to this US in 2011, they consider themselves a “a low-income family here.” Right before migrating here, Jerry retired while Estrellita switched from being a banker to a businesswomen “selling surgical stainless cookware, Tupperware, Avon products, even insurance plans, and buying and selling apparels.” Unfortunately, her business did not do well, but the couple stayed resilient. Their son eventually petitioned them after he married and was petitioned by a Filipino American and US navy service member. Jerry moved to San Diego in 2011 and Estrellita moved in 2012, which is not uncommon for Filipinos as San Diego is “the fourth city with the most Filipino immigrants in the United States.”   Estrellita said she admired the environment in the US but o...
Read more

Rape on the Night Shift

-
Image
This some 50 minute podcast takes a different turn on the Me Too movement, and focuses on women in lower levels of society and more specifically, women janitors. ABM is the main company being talked about here, and it talks about how the women who clean our buildings in the woo hours of the night often experience sexual harassment, and even rape, by their male supervisors. Yet, several of these victims, not only in ABM but in the other industries, have a difficulty speaking up against the terrors they have experienced. One of the speakers in the podcast urged us to think about "the systemic barriers that keep night shift janitors and others from coming forward and from reporting this, and from seeking legal help." Maria Magana, one of Vazquez's victims, decided to stay in ABM even after she had been assaulted because she needed the money. And this is where immigration may or may not come in. Another speaker talked about how a lot of "janitors are immigr...
Read more