Immigration rally emphasizes kids

In the weeks since her husband was stopped at the airport on his way to Ohio to look for work and then deported to Mexico, Berenice Louis has struggled alone to support her family.

Her husband, Juan Louis, 23, had been the breadwinner since they came illegally to the Seattle area from Mexico four years ago. He worked construction jobs while Berenice stayed home to care for their two young children.

Now, with Juan Louis back in Mexico where he has yet to find work, Berenice Louis, 22, has been selling their belongings so she can keep herself and her daughters housed and fed.

Wednesday, she and her two girls were among an estimated 250 to 350 people — most children — who rallied at Westlake Park in downtown Seattle. The protesters, who later marched to the federal building, called for changes in U.S. immigration laws that would prevent such family separations.

The event drew toddlers and grandparents, mothers and fathers — immigrants from across Latin America, Asia and Africa. Some were refugees. Some, such as Berenice Louis, have seen family members deported — fathers, husbands, cousins, sons.

They carried signs that read "Don't abandon the children" and "Stop deportations; I need to be with my mom."

Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels, who joined the march, talked about his own family's immigrant roots and said those marching wanted for themselves and their families no less than his own ancestors did when they came from Germany in the 1880s.

Nickels said he wants Seattle to be the kind of city where people can feel secure answering a knock at the door late at night. And "when you call 911, Seattle police will not ask your immigration status before they ask how they can help," he said.

March organizers, which included Hate Free Zone and Washington Community Action Network, said they want to send a message to Congress that meaningful immigration changes are needed to unite families, protect workers, safeguard due process and provide a way for an estimated 12 million undocumented workers to earn legal status.

A bill introduced in Congress last month would provide some of what advocates seek but also would expand the number of detention facilities and involve local police in immigration-law enforcement.

Ira Mehlman, a spokesman with the Federation for American Immigration Reform, which supports the enforcement of immigration laws, said logic often gets lost beneath the sad stories of deportation.

"When parents break the law, they put their families in jeopardy. They are responsible," Mehlman said. "It should be no different from all the other cases where people break the law."

Dozens of immigrants have been rounded up at workplace raids across the country. And Wednesday's march came eight weeks after 51 undocumented immigrants were detained at two UPS warehouses in Auburn. Several of them have since been deported.

Hilda Magana, director of the children's program at the Seattle nonprofit, El Centro de la Raza, brought 58 kids from the preschool day-care facility to the rally and march to show support, she said, for "putting families first."

None of those children were directly affected by recent raids, Magana said, but she knows of many families that were.

"The kids stay here, the parents get sent back and the families are torn apart," she said.

Berenice Louis understands the burden of such separation.

Her husband, Juan, was first detained at Sea-Tac International Airport in February as he was preparing to fly to Columbus, Ohio, where friends had told him jobs were plentiful.

As he approached the ticket counter, she said, a security official asked for his passport and, when he couldn't produce one, turned him over to immigration authorities.

Airport spokeswoman Rachel Garson said that unless someone is committing a crime, the airport's police officers typically would not stop a person or ask for a passport.

Berenice Louis said her husband was deported two weeks ago, leaving her behind with their two daughters, a 3-year-old and a 4-month-old.

"The effect on us has been one of economics," Louis said through a translator. "I can't work because I need to care for the children and can't afford child care."

Lornet Turnbull: 206-464-2420 or lturnbull@seattletimes.com