Vida en el Valle Elvira Arellano se encuentra en Tijuana, Baja California después de ser detenida y deprtada en domingo pasado cuando ella establa saliendo de una iglesia en Los Angeles. Arellano había buscado refugio dentro de una iglesia en Chicago por más de un año . Ella dice que va a continuar su campaña en pro de reforma migratoria en los Estados Unidos donde ella está en México.
Elvira Arellano is now in Tijuana, Baja California after being detained and deported last Sunday as she was leaving a Los Ángeles church. She had sought refuge in a Chicago church. She vows to continue her battle. |
Golden State spoils activist's visit By MARTÍN E. MARTÍNEZ / Vida En El Valle (Published Wednesday, August 22nd, 2007 04:01PM) A year after Elvira Arellano sought refuge inside a Chicago church to avoid being deported, she was detained and deported last Sunday by immigration officials in Los Ángeles.
Arellano was arrested around 2 p.m. upon leaving the Nuestra Señora de los Ángeles church right after mass where she had asked for the country's immigration laws to be changed so that families can stay together.
"In effect, Arellano was arrested on Sunday night by immigration officials and is currently on the border in Mexican territory and will probably be sent to her native state in the next few days," commented Alberto Lozano, spokesperson for the Mexican Consulate in San Diego.
Lozano commented that shortly after her arrest, the Mexican consul in San Diego, Luis Cabrera, showed up at local immigration offices to offer Arellano all of the necessary support from the consulate and their legal advisors.
The arrest was also confirmed by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) office, which stated that they arrested her because the federal agency was simply doing its job.
"The responsibility of ICE was to arrest Arellano because we are enforcing the law and we'll keep doing so against any person that is a fugitive of the law," said Carl Rusnok, spokesperson for the Midwest region of ICE, which includes the state of Illinois.
Saúl, Arellano's young son, is currently with Emma Lozano, a community activist and president of the Centro Sin Fronteras organization, who has custody of the minor.
"We (Elvira and Lozano) had already agreed that is she were to be arrested, I would take care of Saulito and I'm going to keep my promise," said the Lozano.
Lozano said that Saúl is fine and at peace and has been asking her to take him to Tijuana because he wants to see his mother and give her a hug.
"Maybe after they see each other he'll want to stay in México with his mom and I'll respect his decision," she said.
In the meantime, both Lozano and Juan José Gutiérrez, coordinator of the Movimiento Latino USA organization, said they would continue with Arellano's plans to travel to the country's capital with her demands.
"Although Elvira isn't here, we'll still hold our rally and ask for and end to these type of situations where families are being divided and deported. We want to finish what Elvira started," said Gutiérrez. Once they finish their business in California, the activists will travel to Texas and later New York, Boston, and Philadelphia before arriving in Washington, D.C. on Sept. 12.
Both organizations vowed to keep fighting for Arellano's return to the United States so that from here she could keep on fighting for legal residency in this country.
"The way immigration made the arrest and deportation was completely illegal. By law she should have been allowed to fight legally for her case while in the country, as is customary, so now we will keep fighting for her return so she can finish what she started," said Lozano.
During an interview last week prior to her arrest, Arellano told Vida en el Valle of her plans to fast in front of Congress in Washington on Sept. 12 in support of an immigration reform.
"Yes, I'm afraid but I trust God because he knows I'm not a criminal and I have never harmed anyone. The only thing I've done is try to give my son a decent life," said Arellano.
Arellano was asking the cooperation of other families in the country facing the same situation to come join her and rally for a reform. "I'm going to be there (in Washington) with my son asking for justice for every family going through the same horrible situation, in constant fear of being deported, of having their families separated," she stated.
She added, "This trip is not only for Elvira Arellano but for every family around the country that is facing the possibility of being separated from their children, so anyone who wants to participate in the rally in Washington is welcome."
She also mentioned that is she were to be arrested she wanted immigration officials to do it in front of politicians and the media so that the whole country could see how they separate a child from its mother and to bring light to the importance of an immigration reform in this country.
"What motivates me to leave this church for the first time in a year, is my son Saúl. I want to stay by his side, in his country, to give him a better future, but that won't be possible if this country's immigration laws don't change," she pointed out.
Her story Arellano is a native of the small town of Maravatío, in the Mexican state of Michoacán, where she studied to become a secretary and worked as one for a year.
Due to the dire financial situation her family was going through in 1997, at the age of 22 she decided to migrate to the United States in search of a better future for her and her family.
She first arrived in Washington state where she worked at a laundromat and taking care of children. A short time later her son Saúl was born.
So far Arellano hasn't made any comments about Saúl's father as she says that is a private matter. "I limit myself to stating I'm a single mother." Although she started the paperwork to become a legal resident, she received a letter from the immigration department letting her know her application had been rejected and she automatically received a notification she would be deported from the country.
She moved to Chicago in 2000 because she had family and friends there who offered their support by giving her a job and a place to live. She immediately started to work at Chicago's O'Hare Airport using a fake Social Security number but in 2001, after the terrorist attacks in New York, federal officials raided the airport and Arellano was identified as a fugitive of the law.
In August of 2006, afraid of being found by immigration officials, Arellano sought refuge at the Adalberto United Methodist Church in Chicago where the church's pastor supported her by keeping her safe from immigration authorities. | Se la llevaron Por MARTÍN E. MARTÍNEZ / Vida En El Valle (Published Wednesday, August 22nd, 2007 04:01PM) Después de un año de que Elvira Arellano se refugiara en una iglesia de Chicago para no se deportada, finalmente el pasado fin de semana fue arrestada por elementos de migración en la ciudad de Los Angeles.
La detención se dio alrededor de las 2:00 p.m. luego de que Arellano saliera de la iglesia Nuestra Señora de los Angeles justo al momento de que concluyó la misa a la que asistía y en donde pidió por que las leyes migratorias de este país cambiaran para que ya no hubiera más separación de familias.
"Efectivamente, Arellano fue arrestado la noche del domingo por agentes migratorios y ahora mismo ya se encuentra en la frontera de lado mexicano y probablemente va a ser transladada a su estado en los próximos días," comentó Alberto Lozano, vocero de prensa del Consulado de México en San Diego.
Lozano comentó que poco después del arresto, el cónsul de México en San Diego, Luis Cabrera, se presentó ante migración para brindar a Arellano todo el apoyo consular y asesoría legal necesarios.
El arresto también fue confirmado por la oficina del Buró de Inmigración y Aduanas (ICE) en donde se aseguró que esta detención se dio porque esa es la labor de esta agencia federal.
"La responsabilidad del ICE era arrestar a Arellano porque así estamos aplicando la ley y se seguirá haciendo contra todo aquella persona que que sea fugitivo de las autoridades," comentó Carl Rusnok, vocero de la región central del ICE que comprende el estado de Illinois.
Saúl, el pequeño hijo de Arellano, en estos momento se encuentra con Emma Lozano, activista comunitaria y presidenta del grupo Centro sin Fronteras, sobre quien recae ahora la patria potestad del menor. "Nosotras (Elvira y Lozano) ya habíamos acordado que si ella era arrestada yo me haría cargo de Saulito y eso se lo voy a cumplir," dijo la activista.
Lozano comentó que el niño se encuentra bien y está tranquilo y le estaba pidiendo lo llevara con su mamá a Tijuana porque quería verla y abrazarla.
"Quizás después de que se reencuentren el niño quiera quedarse con su mamá en México y eso yo lo respetaría," dijo Lozano.
Por lo pronto, tanto Lozano como Juan José Gutiérrez, coordinador de la organización Movimiento Latino USA, aseguraron que continuarán con los planes que originalmente tenía Arellano de llegar hasta la capital del país con sus demandas.
"Aunque Elvira ya no esté, nosotros vamos a seguir con esta marcha para pedir que este tipo de situaciones de dividir familias y deportar personas se terminen. Queremos concluir con lo que fue la voluntad de Elvira," comentó Gutiérrez.
Una vez que concluyan su estancia en California, los activistas visitarán Texas para después trasladarse a ciudades como Nueva York, Boston, Filadelfia hasta llegar el próximo 12 de septiembre a Washington.
También ambas organzaciones aseguaron van a seguir luchando para que Arellano regrese a Estados Unidos para que desde aquí siga luchando por quedarse legalmente en el país.
"La manera como migración hizo el arresto y la deportación fueron totalmente ilegales. Por ley se le debió permitir seguir luchando legalmente por su caso dentro del país, como es lo acostumbrado, por lo que ahora seguiremos luchando para que regrese y concluya su labor," dijo Lozano.
En una entrevista previa a su arresto realizada la semana pasada, Arellano comentaba a Vida en el Valle sus planes para llevar a cabo un ayuno afuera del Capitolio en Washington el próximo 12 de septiembre para pedir principalmente por la reanudación del debate de la reforma migratoria.
"Sí, tengo miedo pero confío en mi Dios porque él sabe que yo no soy ninguna criminal y nunca he hecho daño a nadie; lo único que yo he hecho es tratar de dar una vida digna a mi hijo," comentaba Arellano. Arellano estaba pidiendo la colaboración de todas las familias en el país que estuvieran en su misma situación para que se unieran a ella y demandar esta reforma.
"Yo voy a estar con mi hijo ahí (en Washington) pidiendo justicia por todas las familias que estamos pasando por esta situación tan horrible de estar siempre con el temor de ser deportados, con el temor de que nos separen de nuestras familias."
Y agregó: "Este viaje no solo es de Elvira Arellano sino de todas las familias en el país que sufren ante la posibilidad de ser separadas de sus hijos por lo que toda persona que quiera participar en esta protesta en Washington será bienvenida."
También mencionaba que de ser arrestada quería que los agentes migratorios lo hicieran enfrente de todos los políticos y medios de comunicación para que todo el país vea como separan a un hijo de su madre y se den cuenta de la importancia de reformar el sistema migratorio del país.
"Lo que me motiva salir por primera vez de la iglesia es mi hijo Saúl; yo quiero quedarme a su lado, en su país, para poderle ofrecer un futuro mejor, pero eso no va aser posible si las leyes migratorias en este país no cambian," indicaba.
Su historia Arellano es originaria del pequeño pueblo Maravatío, en el estado mexicano de Michoacán, en donde estudió para secretaria, oficio que desempeño por un año.
Debido a la precaria situación económica de su familia en 1997, contando con 22 años de edad, decidió emigrar a Estados Unidos en busca de un mejor provenir para ella y su familia.
El primer destino fue la ciudad de Washington en donde empezó a trabajar en una lavandería y cuidando niños. Al cabo de un tiempo nació su hijo Saúl.
Hasta hora Arellano no ha querido hacer comentarios acerca del padre de Saúl ya que, comentó, ese es un asunto de su vida privada. "Solo me limito a decir que soy madre soltera".
Aunque ella inició los trámites para obtener su residencia legal finalmente las autoridades migratorias rechazaron su petición por lo que automáticamente recibió una notificación en donde se le informaba que sería deportada del país.
En el año 2000 se mudó para la ciudad de Chicago ya que ahí tenía familiares y amigos que le manifestaron su apoyo dándole refugio y trabajo.
Inmediatamente empezó a laborar en el aeropuerto de Chicago utilizando un número de seguro social falso pero en el 2001, luego de los atentados teroristas de Nueva York, las autoridades federales realizaron una redada en donde se identificó a Arellano como una fugitiva de la justicia.
En agosto del año pasado, ante el temor de ser encontrada por las autoridades, Arrellano se refugió en la iglesia Adalberto United Methodist Church de la ciudad de Chicago en donde ha recibido el apoyo de su pastor para mantenerla fuera del alcance de migración.
Mande correo electrónico a: Comment: The title for this article is inaccurate. It was the fascist Homeland Security of ICE that spoiled Elvira's visit, not the Golden State. The ]visit' of Hermana Elvira Arellano had a clear social-political agenda, especially to expose the inhumane and insane public policy of the corrupt U.S. government in relation to its immigration policy and the harmful effects that such a policy has on real people with real families who are working in basic industries that keep the U.S. economy going in the agricultural and other basic service and manufacturing industries.In all this endless public debate about the 'immigration question' and despite the cowardly paralysis of the U.S. Congress, we must not lose sight of the basic historical fact that Mexican immigrants are natural native descendants of the original peoples of these lands ~Aztlan~ who were here before there was even a United States of America! Study the history of the Mexican-American War!Related Study Links:http://www.sonofthesouth.net/mexican-war/war.htmhttp://www.pbs.org/kera/usmexicanwar/index_flash.html
http://www.nps.gov/archive/fosc/mexican.htmhttp://www.azteca.net/aztec/war/Mexican-American-War.html
http://www.dmwv.org/mexwar/mexwar1.htm
http://www.usahistory.com/wars/mexico.htmThe present bounaries of the United States are the result of the previous War of Occupation by the United States against Mexico that the Mexican government lost and signed off with the 1848 Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. We should not ever lose sight of the long historical context of the present dilemna. We and our relatives are descendants of these ancient lands rightfully called by many Aztlan. Many of us ourselves must shed the Amerikan mentality like an old snake skin and wake up alive to the connected reality of here now. The U.S.A. is a failed state and the Bush Regime is a rogue regime that operates in violation of all serious international law! | |
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