March 13, 2007

Setting the Record Straight
Facts Surrounding the Worksite Enforcement Operation Michael Bianco, Inc., New Bedford, Mass.
March 6, 2007

MYTH: Information regarding the whereabouts of those detained was not provided to family members, reported by WHDH-TV Boston, AP, and Boston Globe.

FACT: ICE set up and staffed a 24-hour toll-free hotline for family members of those who have been arrested to field questions about their locations and about the removal process. Those arrested at the worksite were also given telephone access to inform family members of the situation.

MYTH: ICE failed to provide detainees with adequate child care options, resulting in hundreds of children stranded without responsible care.

FACT: ICE took extraordinary care to determine if any of the arrestees were sole caregivers. This included direct questioning of all arrestees on the day of the enforcement operation. These interviews were conducted at the enforcement site specifically to determine the needs and status of any children impacted by the operation. Through this comprehensive communications effort, 60 of those detained were conditionally released for humanitarian purposes, including many who were released very soon after the completion of the operation. To date, DSS has not provided ICE with information of a single child that has been placed in foster care.

MYTH: As a result of this operation, ICE is detaining minors, evidenced by the following report which appeared in the Boston Globe “DSS also called for the release of a woman who said she was recently diagnosed with cancer, and a 17-year-old boy, because he is a minor.”

FACT: Massachusetts DSS personnel incorrectly calculated the detainee’s age to be 17, when in fact he was 18 years old and therefore not a minor.

MYTH: ICE failed to provide adequate opportunities for detainees to contact their families, and as a result some detainees reported to DSS that they didn’t know where their children were.

FACT: Detainees were given numerous opportunities to advise ICE officials of unattended dependents or any other family concerns. Detainees were given local DSS phone numbers and contact information in both English and Spanish for the purpose of notifying family members of their whereabouts and resolving any other family concerns. Where credible family concerns were determined to exist, ICE conditionally released these individuals.

MYTH: ICE denied DSS access to detainees at Fort Devens, reported in the Boston Globe and attributed as a direct quote from DSS Commissioner Harry Spence as follows; “If the Department had been given access to the detainees at Fort Devens…as we consistently requested, then a great deal of this could have been avoided.”

FACT: ICE provided DSS personnel broad access to detainees at Fort Devens on March 7 and 8. ICE continues to cooperate with state officials to resolve any outstanding issues.

MYTH: ICE left children scattered all over the region to be cared for by ill equipped care givers, as reported by Associated Press reporter Monica Rohr; “Toddlers stranded at day care centers or handed over to ill-equipped relatives.”

FACT: Detainees were given numerous opportunities to advise ICE officials of unattended dependents or any other family concerns, beginning with interviews conducted at the site of the operation. Detainees were given local DSS phone numbers and contact information in both English and Spanish for the purpose of notifying family members of their whereabouts and resolving any other family concerns. Based on the information provided by the detainees and by DSS, ICE ensured that there were no children left without responsible adult supervision.

MYTH: Prior to the commencement of this enforcement, ICE did not consider the welfare of the children impacted by the operation. An AP article reports that a baby was hospitalized because her mother was detained.

FACT: ICE took extraordinary care to determine if any of the detainees were sole caregivers. This included direct questioning of all detainees at the worksite on the day of the enforcement action. Aliens were asked on three separate occasions about whether they were sole caregivers – at the factory the day of the arrest, during processing at Ft. Devens, and at the detention facility. Indeed, as aliens provided this information, humanitarian releases were granted. As of March 12, a total of 90 detainees have been, or are scheduled to be, released including 60 from the worksite and at Fort Devens, and 30 more subsequently identified at detention centers.

MYTH: ICE failed to provide adequate resources to detainees to arrange for the care of their children, resulting in the following media claim by Associated Press reporter Monica Rohr; “Child-care arrangements had to be made for at least 35 youngsters.”

FACT: DSS was contacted by a total of 30 detainees who are parents to a total of 35 children. The detainees were NOT the sole caregivers for their children. We have not learned of any instance where a child isn’t safe and being cared for by family members or other trusted caregivers.

MYTH: ICE failed to provide adequate resources to detainees to arrange for the care of their children, leaving Massachusetts DSS the task of finding 29 foster homes for children of detained parents.

FACT: ICE has not been advised by DSS as to ANY child that was placed in foster care as a result of this worksite enforcement action.

MYTH: ICE failed to consider the welfare of the children and other family members immediately impacted by the operation, reported as a failure in a Boston Globe editorial; “The bungled raid on the Michael Bianco factory served to provoke what Governor Deval Patrick rightly called ‘a humanitarian crisis’…”

FACT: The operation was a success, resulting in the arrest of the company’s president and other key management officials allegedly involved in hiring illegal aliens and identity document fraud. Regarding the children impacted by the arrest of illegal aliens employed by MBI, ICE took extraordinary care to determine if any of the detainees were sole caregivers, including direct questioning of all detainees on the day of the enforcement action. Through this process, 60 of those detained were conditionally released for humanitarian purposes.

MYTH: ICE refused to provide access or information about detainees to DSS personnel, and as a result minors were moved to Miami without DSS knowledge.

FACT: Three illegal alien minors were detained in the operation and properly transferred to U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of Refugee Resettlement in Miami. The minors in question were arrested during the enforcement action and were, themselves, working illegally at the factory when the operation commenced.

MYTH: Detainees were denied legal counsel before they were transported to detention facilities because ICE did not provide them with adequate information.

FACT: All detainees were advised of their right to a hearing before a federal immigration judge, as well as information on how to communicate with diplomatic officials representing their home country. In fact, members of the Greater Boston Legal Services and Harvard University came to Fort Devens.

MYTH: ICE agents used “storm trooper” tactics during the operation, and were overly aggressive in carrying out their operational objectives.

FACT: No special response teams or officers in riot gear were used to carry out this worksite enforcement operation. ICE agents and officers are federal law enforcement officers. Operations are planned and carried out with both officer and community safety in mind.

MYTH: ICE was not responsive to the needs of the detainees or the requests of DSS and the Governor’s office, and it was only because of “numerous calls to Washington,” from Governor Patrick to gain access to detainees.

FACT: Massachusetts DSS was given advance notice of the operation, and was also given information about any detainees who identified childcare concerns when ICE interviewed them on the day of the operation. Access to ALL detainees was granted on the following day.

MYTH: ICE denied DSS access to the detainees, and the state had to take the following action, reported by AP reporter Monica Rohr; “Massachusetts sent 37 social workers to Texas on Saturday to interview some of the women under arrest. Massachusetts Health and Human Services Secretary JudyAnn Bigby said the parents must be interviewed to make sure their youngsters are staying with responsible adults.”

FACT: The operation was conducted on Tuesday, March 6, 2007. At that time, ICE took extraordinary care to determine if any of the detainees were sole caregivers. This included direct questioning of all detainees on the day of the enforcement action. Officials from Massachusetts DSS were present at Fort Devens from March 7, 2007 (the day after the operation) through March 8. In addition, representatives from the consulates of Guatemala, El Salvador and Mexico were granted access to detainees at Fort Devens. Attorneys representing any of the detainees were given access to their clients on the day of the operation and the following day at Fort Devens.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) was established in March 2003 as the largest investigative arm of the Department of Homeland Security. ICE is comprised of five integrated divisions that form a 21st century law enforcement agency with broad responsibilities for a number of key homeland security priorities.

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