Deporting Innocent People

We want the Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials to nab the criminals and gang members and send them packing to their own countries, but what happens when this becomes indiscriminate and some undocumented immigrants who some deem good get caught up in the chaos?

Many feel that the Bush administration has to do something now about these raids which as we've reported, separate families, and it creates a great fear in the neighborhood - this by Federal Agents (ICE) - local polices efforts are undermined as they trust parts of the illegal immigrant community.

In Mountain View, California, the arrest of Catholic youth pastor, Lucio Caciano Miranda, has started a controversy. He was handcuffed and detained in a raid last week at his home in nearby Sunnyvale. He was release but pending further hearings which might lead to his deportation. ICE officials probably had a warrant for a previous resident at Miranda's address - and he was caught up because he is undocumented.

Miranda has been in the U.S. for 15 years as a gardener. And he also works with the youth at church. He has a GED diploma that he worked for here. And he trained three years at the San Jose Diocese to become a lay minister. Trying to become part of the community, yet at the same time we have no word on whether he was trying to become legal here.

ICE has recently stepped up their mission after Congress failed to pass the comprehensive immigration reform bill. ICE does a great job with felons and gang members, but at times people simply without documents yet trying to do good get caught in the snare. Many officials in cities throughout the country have called on ICE to calm down their raids.