Please let me know if we can count on you for tomorrow's event! (and spread the word please!)

As folks have probably heard, a raid on the worksite and homes of employees of the Annapolis Painting Services picked up 45 workers early
this morning. We are still developing information and interviewing family members to have all the information, but wanted everyone in the broader NCIC community to know that we will have a rally outside of ICE in Baltimore tomorrow at 10:30 am at Hopkins Plaza, Fallon Federal Building, 31 Hopkins Plaza, Baltimore, MD 21201

We would really love to have as many people join us as possible. In little Postsville, Iowa, 500 people gathered for a rally after the notorious raid their earlier this Spring. We hope to have at least that many people tomorrow. A bus and carpools will be leaving CASA's Silver Spring offices tomorrow morning at 9:00 am (734 E. University Blvd., Silver Spring, MD 20903) and another bus will be leaving from a TBD
location in Annapolis. Please join us to defend these families and the value of immigrants in general.

Sincerely,
Alexis De Simone
Community Organizer
CASA de Maryland
734 University Blvd E
Silver Spring MD 20903
adesimone-AT-casamd.org
301.431.4185 x252

In addition here is coverage by The Washington Post:

"45 People Are Detained in Md. Immigration Raid"
By William Wan
(Washington Post, June 30, 2008; 1:20 PM)

Authorities raided the offices of an Annapolis painting company this morning and detained 45 suspected illegal immigrants, who officials say were hired and housed by the company.

The raids, executed simultaneously at the offices of Annapolis Painting Services and 15 private homes owned by the company, were conducted by a
force of 125 officials, including 75 federal immigration agents and 50 Anne Arundel County police officers.

The immigrants detained are being held by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials at an unspecified location while their status is
reviewed, said County Police Chief James Teare Sr. The owner of the painting company, Robert Bontempo Jr., could face federal felony charges,
Teare said.

The painting company is a well-known and long-running business in Annapolis that had more than 100 employees, county police said. The homes
raided this morning housed large groups of mostly men living in private, single-family houses owned by the company, police said.

At a news conference this morning across the street from the painting company's offices, County Executive John R. Leopold (R) touted the raid as the most significant operation against illegal immigration during his administration.

"It's unfair to those companies operating legally to be undercut by those who hire illegal immigrants," said Leopold. "This sends a clear message that it's not going to be tolerated in Anne Arundel County."

Leopold has come out strongly against illegal immigrants and enacted a series of policy changes since last year to deter their presence in the
county. Last August, Leopold issued an executive order declaring that the county would sever contracts with any business caught employing illegal immigrants. The order was largely symbolic as it included no enforcement measures.

He has also cut county grants to nonprofit agencies that offered social services to Spanish-speaking county residents, both legal and illegal.
Leopold also assigned a full-time county detective to a federal task force cracking down on counterfeit documents used by illegal immigrants. The county jails instituted a policy to notify federal immigration authorities
at U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement immediately any time foreign-born inmates are processed into county detention centers so that
their immigration status can be checked.