Agents from Immigration, Customs Enforcement (ICE) picked up nine Mexican men in Park City last week. Some have families in Park City who haven’t seen their fathers and husbands since.
According to an ICE spokesperson, the agents were looking for three fugitives who were wanted on outstanding warrants. The other six were, what they termed, collateral arrests illegals who happened to be in the vicinity when the raid took place but were not wanted by the law.
“Collateral” is a sadly appropriate word for the arrests. It conjures up visions innocent civilians caught in wartime crossfire. In this case, the collateral damage consists of the shattered families of the men who had not broken any laws other than working without proper immigration documents.
Some will say deportation is the risk illegal immigrants take when they work in the United States but their employers were breaking the law, too.
Employers can end up paying stiff fines for hiring undocumented workers but in a tight job market, those fines are often considered part of the cost of doing business.
But risking a fine is not the same as losing a family, home and possessions.
More commonly though, employers avoid fines by accepting paperwork they know to be or suspect is fraudulent. It is the worker and his family that suffers.
Last December, ICE raided a meatpacking plant in northern Utah. The deportations left several families without financial support and highlighted the double standard that many communities condone when it comes to illegal immigration.
At the time, it was difficult to imagine a similar situation taking place in Park City. On a smaller scale though, the same scenario is unfolding and could easily happen again.
Local employers who depend on immigrant workers, documented or not, have a vested interest in working to change the current work permit structure not only to ensure a stable, legal labor pool but also to prevent families from becoming collateral damage in our ongoing political war over immigration policies.