By Amanda Tonoli

atonoli@vindy.com

YOUNGSTOWN

Zero tolerance for policing immigrants is causing fear, said Veronica Isabel Dahlberg, founding executive director of HOLA Ohio, speaking Wednesday at Youngstown State University.

HOLA Ohio is a grass-roots Latino organization based in Northeast Ohio focusing on community organizing, leadership development and civic engagement.

Dahlberg and Pastor Manuel Lux of Iglesia Esperanza de Vida in Salem spoke at the “Zero Tolerance: Policing Immigrants and Community Response” discussion.

Dahlberg and Lux have been working to aid families affected by a raid in June by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents of Fresh Mark meat-packing plant in Salem. Nearly 150 workers presumed to be undocumented were arrested.

The same night as the arrests, about 70 individuals – mothers who had children at home and people with medical issues – were released, Lux said.

The difficulty came after.

“Everybody lost their jobs, and the company wouldn’t take them back,” he said.

“Suddenly these people had rent and bills to pay and children at home. This is where the hardship began to impact the families ... and even though they tried [to get other jobs] the requirements of other jobs were to speak and read some English. It was a very serious crisis.”

Local churches provided support where they could, and Lux went to homes to help connect loved ones with those detained.

Many moved away with limited options or became farm workers.

“The population has significantly gone down in the Latino community in Salem,” Lux said.

As for national politics, Dahlberg said the community truly lives in shadows.

“Enforcement has ratcheted up,” she said. “Anyone undocumented is picked up and deported and the raids were an extension of that. It creates a lot of fear. You hear, ‘the law is the law,’ but if that’s the case why do we have lawmakers? Laws aren’t static. They can change. The existing laws are hurting, damaging and destroying families in our communities. It’s outdated and the people it’s affecting are too terrified to visit their congressmen to ask for this change.”

Dalhberg argued that the goal should be to feel safe – for everyone.

“When you’re picking up workers from Fresh Mark ... that’s money not going to picking up real actual bad guys,” she said.

Jacob Labendz, YSU Clayman assistant professor of Judaic and Holocaust Studies and the director of the Center for Judaic and Holocaust Studies, said this is an issue that affects everybody.

“It is self evidently important to who we are as a country and who we are as a community,” he said.