TOUGH DAYS FOR SERBS IN CHICAGO: Families of arrested truckers in trouble, mothers with babies and small children left without income!

The raids by immigration agents on roads in a number of US states, in which about fifteen Serbian truck drivers have been arrested in the last few days, are continuing.

This has caused great concern in the Serbian community, especially in the Midwest region of America, where most of our compatriots live.

-The families of those arrested, as well as many of our people who do not have regulated status in America, are turning to lawyers and seeking professional help in this difficult situation, says our source who works for a trucking company in Chicago and knows a large number of people from our community.

He points out that some families are in a very difficult situation after the arrest of their fathers, husbands, brothers…

Families of the Arrested in Difficult Condition

-There are mothers here who are left with small children and have been left without their only source of income, and the case of one woman who gave birth a few days ago and has to take care of the baby, her other children, and also figure out how to get her husband out of immigration detention is particularly dramatic. She drove for 9 hours to see her husband in the detention unit, but she was unable to change anything and is now relying on legal aid.

The Serbian Times editorial office has in the meantime managed to learn from other sources that the largest concentration of ICE agents on the roads is in states like Texas and Florida, while, for example, there are currently none at all in Pennsylvania and Ohio.

-According to the initial information we published in the previous article, the targets of the federal agents were mainly drivers of small, so-called Box trucks.

Drivers of large trucks are also being arrested

In the meantime, we received new information…

According to the account of one of our drivers, agents are confiscating CDL licenses for large trucks from those with work permits if they do not also have an I-94 form, more precisely if they do not have confirmation that they entered the country legally, says our source from another transport company.

Also, one of our drivers, whom ICE agents stopped on I-55 South highway, contacted us.

-I drive a large truck, a dry van, they stopped me and asked for my work permit, then checked my English proficiency, and after a few questions and a short conversation, they let me continue my journey. However, I saw several small trucks standing on the road, without drivers, says the driver who contacted us.

ARREST LOCATION: One Serbian truck driver was arrested at this weigh station in the state of Indiana

1,000 small trucks off the road

According to information we received from several trucking companies owned by Serbs, Macedonians, and Bosnians in the Chicago region, over 1,000 small trucks are currently off the road, partly due to the detentions, and partly due to the fact that their drivers do not have American “papers” or are in the process of regulating their status.

As a reminder, our truck drivers were arrested on highways in the states of Indiana, Michigan, Illinois, Texas, at weigh stations where their documentation was checked… and one arrest happened on the bridge leading to the Canadian border, at the crossing between the states of Michigan and Wisconsin.

After the arrest, they were all escorted directly to immigrant detention units in the states of Michigan, Texas, Nebraska, and Indiana.

Those arrested were mostly drivers of small trucks, which can be driven in the US with ordinary driver’s licenses (Category B), and the legal basis for their detention varied – lack of work permits and visas, illegal entry into the country, and a few were in the process of obtaining asylum, in which the agents found legal deficiencies.

Legal reasons for arrests

–One of them had a driver’s license from Florida but had his residency registered in Illinois in his documents, which was suspicious to the agents. Most of those arrested had driver’s licenses from the state of Washington (Seattle), where they are easiest to obtain, says our interlocutor, who adds:

-It is also a problem if you do not speak English well and cannot communicate effectively with ICE officers, which has recently become a reason for them to detain you.

The latest information we were able to find out on this topic is that immigration agents are currently located at the exit to I-55 South highway from the direction of Joliet Avenue.

It should be noted that in recent days, there have been arrests of illegal immigrants in large retail stores such as Home Depot and Walmart, and those who possess a Green Card but have a criminal record or a serious traffic violation (DUI) have also been targeted.

Operation Midway Blitz

ICE agents, who were deployed in large numbers in the American Midwest region after the decision of the Trump administration, began the operation “Midway Blitz” a little over two weeks ago, in which numerous illegal immigrants were targeted.

The action caused great unrest among the immigrant community, and the peak of tensions was the death of Silverio Villegas-Gonzalez, a 38-year-old immigrant from Mexico, who was shot by a federal officer after he tried to run him over with his car.

Although it was initially said that ICE agents would arrest exclusively illegal immigrants with criminal records in their home countries and those who committed crimes in the US, it turned out that in the continuation of the action, all illegal immigrants were targeted.