Washington, DC – The House Workforce Protections Subcommittee, chaired by Rep. Lynn Woolsey (D-CA), today held a hearing on the impact on children and local communities of workplace raids conducted by the Immigration and Custom Enforcement (ICE) agency.  Witnesses, including a school principal from San Rafael, testified about the devastating impact that these raids have had on communities across the country, and that children are particularly at risk.

“The testimony that we heard today, and the stories that many of us have heard from our constituents who have been affected by these raids, was heartbreaking, and often times difficult to hear,” said Woolsey at a press conference following the hearing.  “We all recognize the need for a broader immigration policy.  All that we’re asking for is that these enforcement activities are handled with care and that the needs of the most vulnerable among us, our children, be taken into account.”

Some of the most powerful testimony came from Katherine Gibney, the principal of San Pedro Elementary School in San Rafael, who spoke about immigration raids in the Canal Area of San Rafael in March 2007:

“Traumatized by the vicious nature of the intrusions and terrified to take their children to the bus stop, many families held their children at home, in hiding,” said Gibney in detailing the first day of the raids.  “One child whose father had just been taken away was told by her mother to pack some essentials in her backpack and leave it by the door so that if, when she returned from school she found no one at home, she could go to her aunt’s home in case her mother was seized and deported.  Imagine this child’s frame of mind as she left for school that day.”

Gibney went on to discuss the lasting impact of the raids on the local community, as well as on her students:

“The impact of these raids has been devastating.  Absentee rates have soared.  Test scores have dropped.  Students who do make it to school remain distracted as they worry about whether their families will be at home when they return.  Families lose sleep at night as they worry about possible home interrogations.  Families whose breadwinners have been seized are struggling to survive.”

During the hearing Woolsey criticized ICE for failing to enforce guidelines established in 2007 regarding the manner in which raids should be undertaken.  In particular, the guidelines, which remain voluntary, call on ICE officials to coordinate with local social service groups when raids are conducted of more than 150 immigrants.

“Even though ICE put into place guidelines to ensure the humane treatment of people being detained when conducting raids, they are not being followed in a consistent fashion,” said Woolsey.  “As a result, we are still hearing heartbreaking stories of the impact on children. Unless ICE follows humanitarian procedures in conducting these raids, we are still left with traumatized children and communities.”