Scores pray for immigration reform

They gathered at a humble downtown church to pray for an end to raids and for comprehensive immigration reform that includes a path to citizenship.

Some had undocumented friends and family members who didn't attend -- they were afraid to leave the house.

"They have told their children not to open the door, to stay inside," said Nellie Lovato, one of about a hundred people who came to Amistad Cristiana church Thursday night. "Families are sending neighbors to buy food because they are afraid to go to the store."

Word that federal agents were in town last week arresting suspected illegal immigrants at valley bus stations spread quickly through the Hispanic community, stirring fear, outrage and rumors of more raids to come.

"People are panicking," Silvia Guerra, who brought her three young daughters to the special church service, said in Spanish. "They should target serious criminals, not parents who have come to work and support their families."

Agents from U.S. Customs and Border Protection arrested 31 people suspected of being illegal immigrants here July 29.

The agents were in Las Vegas as part of an operation "aimed at disrupting human smuggling activities at transportation sites that are used as a means to further illegal trafficking into the interior of the United States," the federal agency said.

Las Vegas has become a hub increasingly used by smuggling organizations to transport people and drugs, said Chris Van Wagenen, a supervisory border patrol agent in Yuma, Ariz. Such organizations have been forced by stepped-up identification requirements at airports, including McCarran International Airport, to use bus lines instead, he said.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection's Yuma sector includes Nevada and parts of Arizona and California.

Agents arrived at one North Las Vegas bus station last week at the same time immigrant rights groups had gathered at Amistad Cristiana to celebrate a judge's decision to delay the most controversial sections of a new Arizona immigration law, including the section that required officers to check a person's immigration status while enforcing other laws.

Of the 31 arrested, 12 had prior criminal histories or past immigration-related offenses, officials said.

Some of the 31 were taken for processing at the border patrol station in Blythe, Calif. Others were released pending upcoming immigration hearing dates or have already been deported, the agency said.

Emmanuel Corrales, owner of Las Vegas Shuttles, one of the businesses that was targeted by federal agents, said he and other U.S. citizens were harassed.

Rumors of more raids began flying immediately. Pastors and other leaders in the Hispanic community have worked to calm fears. Any raids in the immediate future are likely to focus on transportation sites, not churches, schools or other neighborhood gathering places, they said.

"We tell them to place their faith in God and not be afraid," said Joel Menchaca, pastor of Amistad Cristiana.

Michael Flores, an immigrant rights activist with ProgressNow Nevada, handed out fliers in Spanish that read, "It's time to come out of the shadows and demand immigration reform."

"You don't have to fear because God is with you," Flores said. "God believes in justice for the poor, for the immigrants, for all."

Contact reporter Lynnette Curtis at lcurtis@reviewjournal.com.