2006: the year in review

2006 will be, for many, the most controversial year the Latino community had to live in the United States. For us living in Minnesota, Gov. Pawlenty gave us a wake-up call with a proposal that saw light early in the morning of Jan. 3. His seven-point proposal, “a plan to tackle illegal immigration in Minnesota,” was nothing but the continuation of his controversial report about the cost of what he called “illegal immigration” to the state. As expected, the state legislature was flooded with all kinds of anti-immigrant proposals, introduced by House Republicans which took seriously their role and did everything Pawlenty asked them to. For those of us who know a little about politics, neither one of them came as a surprise; nor was it easy to see that they all were meant to be nothing but political weapons to follow a strategy that would give Pawlenty an advantage in front of his contenders for the reelection.

JANUARY

Governor announces plan to combat illegal immigration

Gov. Pawlenty opened the year with a proposal to “tackle Illegal Immigration” in the state. During a press conference, in which he exposed the results of a series of meetings he held with the mayors of several cities in the state, he talked about his seven-point proposal that includes the creation of an Immigration Force that would enforce immigration laws all over the state. The proposal includes a provision that will turn into a felony the use of fake documentation such as false IDs and Social Security cards. This press conference was the first of a series of conferences in which Pawlenty will visit cities such as Willmar, Rochester and Worthington. “As Americans, almost all of us are descendants of immigrants, too. We must support people who want to get here legally and follow the rules. Illegal immigration is slowly becoming a burden to legal immigration and that’s why we must fight it,” he said.

FEBRUARY

Thousands march in support of immigrant workers

It’s been a while since the Twin Cities saw such a big crowd in a protest. The protest, meant to support undocumented workers in the cities, gathered more than 3,000 people who marched from the corner of Lake Street and Chicago Avenue, in South Minneapolis, to Holly Rosary Church (nearly two miles). Aztec dancers opened the march defying the Minnesota winter cold evening. The drums marked the pace and the marchers easily began following the tune. The Rev. Bellecourt opened the march with a speech in which he expressed his support, and his community’s (Native American), and inspired the marchers. Among the people marching there were people holding signs that read “We demand legalization for all workers,” "We want family reunification” and “We don’t want a border fence.” The march ended with a series of speeches in Holly Rosary Church, where community leaders gathered to express their support to undocumented workers.

MARCH

Maria Inamagua detained by ICE and dies weeks later while in Ramsey County Jail

Maria Inamagua, an Ecuadorian immigrant who arrived to the Twin Cities more than 10 years ago, was detained by ICE agents in her house and taken to Ramsey County Jail. Maria, suffered a stroke a few weeks after and collapsed in her cell after days of complaining about headaches. Maria was taken to Regions Hospital in St. Paul in a deep coma. On April 11, doctors ran the last test and declared her brain dead. Doctors asked her family their permission to disconnect the ventilator that was keeping her alive. A day later they got the authorization from her husband. The ventilator was disconnected on April 13 and she died. Her death opened a big controversy because of the circumstances surrounding it and ended up as a high-profile case before the International Court of Human Rights in Geneva. Doctors' diagnosis says that she suffered a stroke as a consequence of a massive infection in the brain caused by a virus and a parasite.

APRIL

Millions take the streets to demand immigration reform

Chicago broke expectations and on March 11 organized 150,000 people in a historic march. Los Angeles followed and had a little more than half a million protesters taking the streets. Momentum marched on and in a few weeks, the entire country was witness to a movement. Cities saw tens of thousands of people in the streets, immigrants waving both American and Latin American flags. Immigrants who carried signs that said "We are workers, not criminals" and "we demanded just and fair immigration reform." Minnesota was not left behind. On April 9, Minnesota made history with a march to the State Capitol in St. Paul, where, according to official police counts, 40,000 people marched peacefully in support of immigration reform. People came from all over the state, including Wilmar, Owatonna, Worthington and Rochester. Although the march was set to start at 2:30, people began to arrive at noon. By the time the buses arrived, it was clear that this was something extraordinary.

MAY

A day without Latinos

Picture it: Your name is John Doe Jr. You live in Bloomington. As you step into your car to head to work, you think, “Well, another Monday morning.” But hey, it’s the beginning of May, summer is not far off, and your new house is almost done being built. You’re going to go check on the progress after work. So you jump into your car and head off to McDonald’s, where you always get your morning cup of coffee and an Egg McMuffin, no cheese please. As you pull into the drive-thru you notice the line is long this morning. Very long. Twenty-five extremely irritating minutes later you finally get your order, with a very harassed looking manager telling you “sorry, a bunch of people didn’t show up to work today.” “Huh,” you think, and drive on. You arrive at your office, and despite being later than you normally are, you are still the first one there (as usual). You go to open the door and – huh – the door is locked. Odd. Very odd, the door is normally opened by the cleaning staff early in the morning. Once inside you go to your office and see that no one has emptied the wastebasket. A quick survey of the entire office shows that all the wastebaskets are full, and worse yet, the bathrooms have not been cleaned. “What is going on?” you exasperatedly yell, “Has the entire world taken off work today?”

No, not the entire world. Just Latinos. Welcome to a day without Latinos.

JUNE

La Clinica on Lake to close

With the number of uninsured and under-insured people in the United States rising constantly (about 50 million in the United States with no health insurance at all), access to medical care that will not turn a poor working stiff away because he or she does not have a valid insurance card and/or a credit card is rare and valuable – in more ways than one would think. In the raging sea of rising health care costs where a serious illness can capsize even an affluent family into bankruptcy, places like Minneapolis’ La Clinica on Lake Street are vital to community health. Because it refuses to turn away for financial reasons any patient in need of medical services, however, La Clinica on Lake will cease to exist at the end of this summer. Mavis Brehm, executive director of West Side Community Health Services, parent organization of La Clinica, informed La Prensa de Minnesota that La Clinica’s Board of Directors finally decided last week to euthanize the popular and respected South Minneapolis provider “because of mounting financial pressure.” In 2005, La Clinica saw over five thousand patients (which is a significant figure for a facility that is only open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays) and about 80 percent of those patients had absolutely no form of insurance.

JULY

The caravan of hate arrives in the Twin Cities

It was 2 p.m. in the afternoon on the Fourth of July. Hundreds of people waited patiently for the arrival of the caravan. Tension was in the air, and the crowd was largely silent. Then, suddenly, a group of motorcyclists appeared in the horizon. Their motorcycles shone under the bright light of the sun as they made their way towards the State Capitol. An intense murmur began among the crowd and when finally they arrived at the Capitol steps, the murmur turned to shouts and chants, “Si se puede! Si se puede! Go back where you came from, we don’t want you here!”

They call their caravan “The 21st Century Paul Revere Ride.” They hide behind presumed nationalistic ideals and they call immigrants “invaders.” They are a group made up of Minuteman and headed up by Frosty Wooldridge, 57, a teacher and retired counselor. He describes himself as a “fighter for the environment," a “patriot and a freedom fighter.” He served during the Vietnam War as a medical assistant and has written a series of books based on his experiences in Antarctica, his trips around the world on a bicycle, as well as other topics. He has published nationalistic-type articles and now, he has initiated a caravan that, according to him and his followers, looks to challenge an, ”invasion greater than the British ever dreamed,” that is, the “invasion” of America by undocumented immigrants. Wooldridge ‘s followers are made up by his brother Howard, his friend Don McKee and a handful of xenophobic Southern motorcyclists.

The Caravan of Hate began May 29 in Boulder, Colo. and has crossed a good number of cities all over the country. Now they are on their way to Washington D.C., where they have planned a rally and protest in front of the Capitol demanding legislators for the expulsion of undocumented workers from the country. But if anyone was expecting confrontation during their recent stop in Minnesota, they would have been left disappointed. After stopping at the Capitol steps, they spoke among themselves and talked with a few journalists gathered there. Then, silence ensued.

AUGUST

Bush visits Minnesota to promote candidacy and administration’s health care plans

President George W. Bush pumped more than $500,000 into the campaign coffers of Republican Michele Bachmann. He also signed an executive order on health care. In a stop in Minnesota on Aug. 22, Bush raised more than $500,000 for Bachmann congressional campaign and promoted the major health care ideas of his administration. At a health care panel discussion at the Marriot Southwest Hotel in Minnetonka, Bush pushed for medical liability reform, greater electronic record keeping and health savings accounts.

At the forum, attended by 300 people, Bush signed an executive order to advance efforts aimed at giving patients more information about health care costs and quality so they can make better decisions. Under the order, federal agencies that run Medicare and Medicaid, as well as the health programs for federal employees and veterans, must collect information and share it with other government units to give them more leverage in purchasing health care. Bush came to Minnesota for political as well as policy purposes.

After the panel discussion, Bush attended a fundraiser in Wayzata for Bachmann, a congressional candidate in Minnesota's Sixth District. Bush was welcomed to the state by Gov. Tim Pawlenty, U.S. Sen. Norm Coleman and Secretary of State Mary Kiffmeyer. Bachmann declared herself "thrilled" and "honored" by Bush's help and said it was a vote of confidence in her candidacy. She noted that the White House takes the seat “so seriously" that they wouldn't come for nothing.

SEPTEMBER

Dolan, Rybak’s choice for MPD

After a long selection process, Mayor R.T. Rybak announced Interim Police Chief Tim Dolan as his choice to lead the Minneapolis Police Department. Dolan was made interim chief after William McManus left the Department in spring. The selection process took nearly six months and ended up with Rybak’s announcement on Sept. 11. The announcement was welcomed with mixed feelings among different communities in the city that felt ignored by the mayor and the City Council in this process. Dolan is a recognized veteran of the force with more than 20 years of service and was McManus’ right hand and one of the top officers in the force. The process began after Chief McManus decided to accept a job offer in San Antonio, Texas, and left the Department in the middle of several controversies about diversity in the force and discrimination. Originally, Dolan was sworn for a 90-day selection process and his time in office was extended by Mayor Rybak until Sept. 11, when he announced Dolan as choice. Dolan's appointment was ratified by the City Council and Dolan became the new Chief of the Minneapolis Police Department later in September.

OCTOBER

La Prensa de Minnesota endorses Peter Hutchinson for Governor

In the past year we saw Gov. Tim Pawlenty propose some of the most anti-immigrant legislation that we have seen in a long time. Immigration is a federal issue that state governors should not be involved in. Pawlenty proposed among other things to turn local law enforcement into immigration agents and to increase penalties on employers who are found to be hiring undocumented workers. Pawlenty held a press conference when he made these proposals with pictures in the background of Latino gang members, implying undocumented immigrants were violent Latino criminals. Pawlenty’s first act as governor in collaboration with then-Public Safety Commissioner Rich Stanek was to put expiration dates of immigrant visas in driver’s licenses and state IDs, which converted driver’s licenses in immigration documents. Pawlenty also vigorously opposed the Dream Act, which would have made it easier for immigrant children to afford college.

About the only thing we can give Governor Pawlenty credit for is for keeping most taxes low. We did see property taxes increase though through his term and his opposition to local aid for cities has translated into higher taxes in our major cities.

Unfortunately we don’t see DFL gubernatorial candidate Mike Hatch as much better than governor Pawlenty. In an October 11 interview on Minnesota Public Radio (available online http://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2006/10/11/midday1/), Hatch said that he didn’t know enough about the Dream Act to give an opinion of it. If he doesn’t know what the Dream Act is by now, he will never know. When asked if he agreed with Pawlenty in asking local law enforcement officers to act as immigration officers, he said he agreed with the governor on this. He has also been heard calling undocumented immigrants illegal aliens, as if they came from another planet.

Peter Hutchinson would make the best governor out of all the candidates. He deserves the support from Latino voters and our support. He is clearly paying attention to the needs of all of our communities, including the Latino Community. It is heartbreaking to see that most candidates for governor this year are pretty much ignoring Latino voters or maybe, taking them for granted. Let's show them we will vote for those who are paying attention to our needs and ignore, at the polls, those who are ignoring us.

NOVEMBER

Patricia Torres-Ray makes history as first Latina elected to State Senate

Eight-two percent of the voters in District 62 gave Patricia Torres Ray a seat in the Minnesota State Senate. “We are here and I think I am the new senator for District 62” said Torres Ray after thanking her family, friends and volunteers for their support. Gathered in her house in Longfellow, it was past 9 p.m. and her triumph had just been announced. “I feel great, I’m very excited,” said a “not surprised” Torres Ray. As her sister Maria Ines explained, “People here are very direct to talk, and when they say yes it is yes; they had already said yes and she [Torres Ray] was very confident.”

In fact, after being endorsed by the DFL and getting about ten times more votes than any of her competitors in September’s primaries, the turnout was somewhat expected. Historically, for the last 30 years, District 62 has been Democratic and liberal. “Democrat or Republican?” asked a woman after listening to Torres Ray introduce herself at her front door. “Democrat,” responded Torres Ray. “Well, then you already have my vote,” said the woman. “It’s a great victory for me, but it’s also a great victory for the party,” said Torres Ray referring to DFL members as Keith Ellison, who won their races.

It is a victory for the Latino community as well. Plinio Perez, a family friend, referred to “a process that in the north [of the country] is not common, how the American society can accept a Latin respectfully and allow her to work for the American’s rights.” Originally from Colombia, Torres Ray, 42, married native Minnesotan Jack Ray while he was an intern in her country. They have lived in Minnesota for the last 20 years, where she learned English, completed her education, raised two children and worked in social service. “I am not a small step person, I want big things,” Torres Ray said, signaling that “all children would get the best education” as her main goal or “dream.” To do that, she will first focus on building relationships in the Senate. “I cannot do this by myself,” she said.

DECEMBER

ICE raids six states and detains 1,282 undocumented workers, 230 of them from Worthington

It was 6 a.m. and Blanca was on her way to her work. She just left her 4-month-old daughter at Alma’s house, the wife of a work mate at Swift Meat Packing Plant in Worthington. Alma’s husband was on his way, too, and Alma was waving good bye, after he promised to take her to church to celebrate Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe day. Little did they know of what they were just about to live through.

At 7:30, Alma received a call from her husband. He was desperate and he said “It’s La Migra, La Migra; it’s a raid, run away from the house! Hide! They are going to raid our houses, too!” and suddenly there was nothing but silence on the line. Alma grabbed whatever she could and ran out of the house looking for refuge in the nearby woods. She was scared, alone. She had no money or food and she was carrying a 4-month-old baby in her arms. This is only one of the hundreds of stories of families that lived the worst nightmare of their lives on that morning of Dec. 12.

It was about 8:30 Tuesday morning when a message arrived to my cell phone. It was Bruce Nestor, a close friend of ours and an Immigration lawyer from the Twin Cities. He and his wife (Susana De Leon), were on their way to Worthington and by the tone of his voice I was able to judge the situation as critical. He said that ICE put the Swift Worthington plant under arrest and that nobody was allowed in or out.

We began trying calling people and trying to find out what the situation was like and finally, after over two hours of calls and emails, we received confirmation from Tim Counts, spokesman from ICE. Nothing we heard or experienced so far prepared us for what we were about to see in the following days.

We called our contacts in Worthington, tried to reach local activists, talked to people in other cities and finally, late in the afternoon, we contacted a Latino employee of the plant. He was scared and didn’t know what to do. He feared for his son who was inside the plant and he wanted to know what to do. He told us that as soon as he learned about the operation he ran out of his house, jumped in his car and hid in Windom (a city 28 miles from Worthington).

Later that day, we talked to Pastor Hector Andrade and he told us that he was receiving refugees at his church, Christian Community of Worthington. “I hope this serves as a proof of the reasons why we need an immigration reform,” he said. Hundreds of Latino families were looking for help at his church. “Families have been torn apart. Children were left behind; some of them came back after school to find themselves locked out and nowhere to go. We have five children left completely alone because both their parents were detained. The most serious case we saw is the case of a 4-month-old baby who was brought by a desperate babysitter and asked us to look after her because she feared to be detained. This is a very tough situation for them. Most of them are citizens and now they are helpless. We still don’t know how many of them are out there all by themselves waiting for someone to come help them.”

Andrade organized a network of people form his church and in a matter of hours, help began flowing. People came to the church and took the children with them, took families with them and provided the refugees with a place to sleep and food to eat.