After New Bedford immigration raid, voices call for mercy and justice

The March 6 roundup of illegal migrants brings immigration reform's ethical conflicts into focus.

By Alexandra Marks and Cristian Lupsa

from the March 16, 2007 edition

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NEW BEDFORD, MASS., AND NEW YORK - Whenever a volunteer at the old church building in New Bedford asks Rosa Herrera if she needs anything, her answer is the same: "I need the father of my baby."

Eight and half months pregnant, Ms. Herrera and her husband, Santos Gonzalez, were two of the 361 undocumented workers picked up during last week's raid at the Michael Bianco Inc. factory here. She was released because of the advanced state of her pregnancy. But her husband is in detention in Texas and both still face immigration hearings.

The human consequences of the America's stepped-up immigration enforcement has brought into sharp focus the ethical conflicts inherent in a debate often presented in simple black and white. Depending on who is talking, illegal immigrants are lawbreakers or workers searching for a better life.

They're exploiters of America's largess or victims of a capitalistic system that thrives on cheap labor.

If the answer is "all of the above," it becomes very hard to find common ground between those who want justice and those who want mercy. And yet that is exactly what is taking place. For those intent on immigration reform, the fallout from the March 6 raid in New Bedford has added urgency to find a compromise.

Democrats and moderate Republicans in the Senate and House say they are close to crafting legislation that would step up enforcement while creating a guest-worker program and a path to citizenship for the estimated 12 million illegal immigrants.

"We must enforce our laws and hold business owners accountable for abusing the system," said Sen. Edward Kennedy (D) of Massachusetts through his spokeswoman. "We must also remember that the men and women in New Bedford had not harmed anyone. They were victims of exploitation, forced to work under barbaric conditions."

A key driver in the debate is compassion. But compassion for whom? On one side, it's directed at illegal immigrants like Ms. Herrera, who live in society's shadows, working long hours for low pay, and often exploited by unethical employers.

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