Immigrants fear ID checks aboard ferries

Stabs at the heart
One whole family was arrested, prompting a local Roman Catholic church to raise $30,000 in bail money.

"I certainly wouldn't do it for anybody, but this family is hardworking and stable, not a burden on the community. They're an asset to the community," said Rev. Raymond Heffernan, a priest at Friday Harbor's St. Francis Catholic Church.

Another man was arrested while driving an elderly woman to the hospital on the mainland, and free English classes have seen a deep decline in attendance, said Jeff Bossler, an activist on Orcas Island.

"Wives and children are minus husbands and fathers. That really stabs at the heart," Bossler said.

But Giuliano said of those arrested: "They're in the process of violating the law of the United States. It's a personal decision to violate the law, to obtain employment they were not entitled to get. They created their fear through their own actions."

The ferry security is part of a larger strategy that includes checks at bus terminals and on highways.

'They left us in ruins'
One of those arrested at the ferry terminal was Sebastian Quintero, who was caught on the way to pick up his wife from the airport and now faces deportation. The couple, who met on Orcas Island a couple of years ago, have a month-old baby boy and a 20-month girl. The family used all their savings on Quintero's bail.

"They left us in ruins," said Quintero's wife, Crystal, a permanent U.S. resident.

The family will probably go back to Mexico.

"There's nothing there for us," he said. "We were born screwed, and we will stay that way."

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