Vigil held for alleged Mexican gang members taken in raids

August 31, 2007 (WLS) -- Immigrant rights activists are staging a 24-hour vigil in Waukegan to protest the arrests of 58 Mexican nationals.

Friday evening, about nine people were still staffing this vigil along Green Bay Road near Washington Street in Waukegan. They are Mexican-Americans who are outraged by the federal agents who arrested and deported illegal immigrants this week in Waukegan.

The raids, which were carried out across the country Sunday through Wednesday, were dubbed 'Operation Gangs Away' and focused on immigrants who are suspected gang members and those who have committed deportable crimes.

The government says all of those arrested have criminal records and many are undocumented immigrants. Of the 58 arrested, 37 are illegal aliens and 21 are U.S. permanent residents whose previous criminal convictions render them eligible for deportation.

Sixteen of those arrested are from Waukegan.

Protesters are questioning how authorities determined who was a gang member. They also say that some of the crimes happened as many as 10 years ago.

Many protesters are also asking why the vast majority of those deported from the area were Mexicans, as if they are the only nationality that immigrates to the Unites States illegally.

The spokeswoman for the ICE office in Chicago was unavailable for comment Friday. According to ICE's national office, the agency was only trying to deport dangerous criminals.

The U.S. Marshals Great Lakes Fugitive Task Force, Lake County Sheriff's Department, and the Waukegan and Mundelein Police Departments assisted ICE in the enforcement effort.

The Sun-Times News Group Wire contributed to this report. Copyright Chicago Sun-Times 2006.

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