Ice - El Hielo (q1)

    L.A. based band La Santa Cecilia (named for the patron saint of music) has been making a stir in the music world, known for mixing blues and jazz with the traditional Latin sounds of their roots. The unique combination of music from multiple cultures not only makes beautiful music, but brings up a stronger message: that of combining two cultures to make one. The most recent song of theirs to garner attention is "Ice El Hielo".

  
     This song, as you may have seen, expresses the hope and heartache of Latin workers and their families who immigrate illegally in the U.S. in order to find trabaja and provide a better life for those they love. "Ice", as in shown in the title, is el hielo in Spanish. "I.C.E.", however, refers to the U.S Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The scenes portrayed in this music video are not propaganda, or some exaggerated artist statement. They are the types of real to life events that have happened, happen today, and will continue to occur unless reform is initiated.
     U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (hereby referred to as I.C.E.), hosts a number of necessary and worthy functions in the United States. National security threats, illegal trafficking of narcotics and humans, fraud, cyber crime, money laundering, and deportation of criminals are just a number of the offenses that I.C.E. seeks to prevent, control, and admonish according to the law. But perhaps the most widely talked about function is border and worksite enforcement. This encompasses searching out, apprehending, detaining, and deporting illegal aliens in the United States, whether actively crossing the border, or working under the radar in the U.S, as well as targeting those who aid in illegal border crossings and those who knowingly employ and/or abuse these workers.
   Most of the border and worksite enforcement cases dealt with by I.C.E. concern Latin Americans. Many are left with no choice but to try to enter the United States illegally to be with their families, or to find work. Those who are able to abide secretly are left to the devices of numerous injustices.
     Migrant workers, hospitality staff, construction workers, and more hardworking people face discrimination, sexual abuse, verbal abuse, exhibitionism, coercion, and threats of deportation at the hands of employers who take advantage of their employees' lack of resources and control. The fear of reprisals and the dread of being sent back or exposed leaves these men and women few choices to make this situation less hellish. Those lucky enough to avoid these situations are always at risk for being discovered, a price they are willing to pay to be with their families. It is a difficult risk to assume, but the unfairly and unnecessarily lengthy, expensive, bureaucratic, emotional,  and overall difficult  process of becoming a citizen is sometimes simply not an option in the real world. Those who are caught and/or prosecuted may remain in detention centers for an indefinite amount of time, even when their only crime is wanting a better life.
     Whatever your opinion of immigration reform is, reality remains as such: as the emotional, physical, and financial expense of all involved, innocent people who simply want to enter and live in the U.S. are attacked, abused, and prosecuted. These men and women, because we need to remember that these aliens are in fact men and women, deserve an easier path to citizenship, one that respects family unity, freedom for unnecessary detention, and does not abuse these people. It is what any human deserves, as someone willing to enter the supposed "land of opportunity".

You can read more about these abuses at Human Rights Watch.