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Raid on Basic Human Needs in the Latino Community

 

Background: After a winter of campaigning for hypothermia shelter in Ward 1, the Olive Branch Community returned to the same area to do street outreach to give out groceries and lunch twice a week. Residents of the neighborhood were excited about it and appreciated the efforts. However, because of the “rush” Big Brother (the Park Police) found out too what we were doing…

 

On Wednesday, May 8, the FBI, the INS (Immigration and Naturalization Service) and the Metropolitan Police raided a small visible park in the heart of Latino Ward 1: Parque de Las Palomas or Pigeons Park in order to crack down on a supra-regional false I.D.s business.

 

As soon as two of us began to leave the park after giving out free groceries for one hour, the police state forces moved in. A white undercover police mini-van almost ran us over when it was zooming to our spot when we were trying to cross the street with our empty crates, stopping just inches from our legs.

At the same time Metropolitan Police cars and white 15-passenger-vans were arriving at the other three sides of the park. Two undercover men, who I had not noticed before, pointed at people to be arrested. Chains and handcuffs were dropped next to us and virtually all Latinos in the park were arrested. The police action was so quick that you did not have much time to think about what to do, let alone digest, what was happening.

As a shocked foreigner, I went across the streets where the Outreach Workers from Neighbors Consejo, the ANC-1 leader and I discussed the situation. We agreed that it was terrible and that agencies need to work more together to help Latinos in various ways.

 

According to an article in the Washington Post the raid was the first of a year of actions against “illegal” immigrants.

It has been obvious that Washington, DC or the USA do not really want to share space with Latinos; keeping in mind that the Reeves Center was closed as hypothermia shelter by the Mayor and that La Casa, the only bilingual shelter in the city, is forced to move by government supported developers with no plan to where.

 

 

By a “Permanent Resident” of the Olive Branch Community

 

 

Note: Throughout the summer, we continued to serve food and offer free legal aid at different locations.