Immigrants Panicked by Rumors of Raids

By NINA BERNSTEIN

False rumors of random federal immigration raids have sent panic through immigrant communities around the country this week, emptying classrooms, work sites and shopping areas and sending thousands of people into hiding.

Towns in New Jersey and on Long Island have been among those most affected by the snowballing fear, say immigrant advocates and public officials, who described terrified mothers pulling their children from a Head Start program in Freehold, N.J., and deserted streets in usually bustling areas of West Hempstead, N.Y.

But the pattern of rumor and panic has played out nationwide. It was apparently set off by last week's announcement by Michael Chertoff, the secretary of Homeland Security, that the arrest of more than 1,180 employees of IFCO Systems of North America in 26 states was the start of a new crackdown on employers of illegal immigrants.

Spanish-language television and radio accounts of rumored raids may have lent credence to people's fears, as did a bulletin the American Immigration Lawyers Association sent to its members, citing the reports of raids as consistent with the federal agency's new direction.