Judiciary Committee Members Call for Investigation of Sheriff Arpaio’s Disregard for Rights of Hispanic Residents

For Immediate Release February 13, 2009

Contact: Jonathan Godfrey (Conyers) Pedro Riberio (Lofgren) Ilan Kayatsky (Nadler) Larry Dillard (Scott)

WASHINGTON – House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers, Jr. (D-Mich.), and Immigration Subcommittee Chairwoman Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.), Constitution Subcommittee Chairman Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.), and Crime Subcommittee Chairman Bobby Scott (D-Va.) called on Attorney General Eric Holder and Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano to investigate allegations of misconduct by Maricopa County (Arizona) Sheriff Joe Arpaio.

Sheriff Arpaio has repeatedly demonstrated disregard for the rights of Hispanics in the Phoenix metropolitan area. Under the guise of immigration enforcement, his staff has conducted raids in residential neighborhoods in a manner condemned by the community as racial profiling. On February 4, 2009, Arpaio invited the media to view the transfer of immigrant detainees to a segregated area of his "tent city" jail, subjecting the detainees to public display and "ritual humiliation." Persistent actions such as these have resulted in numerous lawsuits; while Arpaio spends time and energy on publicity and his reality television show, "Smile… You’re Under Arrest!", Maricopa County has paid millions of dollars in settlements involving dead or injured inmates.

"Racial profiling and segregation are simply not acceptable." said Conyers. "Media stunts and braggadocio are no substitute for fair and effective law enforcement."

"The basic premise of our justice system is that people are innocent until proven otherwise," said Rep. Zoe Lofgren. "I’m concerned that in Maricopa County that basic premise appears to have been turned upside down and that Latino members of community are considered "undocumented" until proven otherwise. That’s not how our Constitution works and it’s time for the Departments of Justice and Homeland Security to take a closer look."

"We cannot tolerate vigilantes using the police power to violate the fundamental rights of anyone they can get their hands on," said Nadler. "Sheriff Arpaio has consistently abused his office in violation of federal law. It is time for the federal government to step in and uphold the rule of law in this country, even in Maricopa County." "Law enforcement is not a game or a reality show, it is a public trust," said Scott. "There is no excuse for callous indifference to the rights of the residents of Arizona, whether in their neighborhoods or as pretrial detainees."

The text of the attached letter is linked here.

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Activists accuse Balcones Heights of profiling

Is this a case of combining Racism, Xenophobia, Nativism to Profits? Just fill these jails in the Private Prison Complex anyway you can?

SOURCE:



Web Posted: 02/10/2009 12:00 CST

By Jeorge Zarazua - Express-News

More than 40 protesters rallied outside the Balcones Heights Police Department on Monday, accusing officers of racial profiling in efforts to detain unauthorized immigrants.

“Since early December there have been cases of racial profiling,” said Carlos de Leon, spokesman for the activist group Brown Berets of San Antonio. “The Police Department has been acting as immigration agents. As a result, they have been randomly stopping anyone who looks Hispanic and asking them for their papers.”

But city officials denied the allegations, saying officers understand they cannot enforce federal immigration policies.

“We're not acting as an ICE agent, no way,” said Police Chief Bill Stannard, referring to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. “We're just acting as a police officer.”

Stannard said officers do not stop anyone unless they have probable cause, such as a traffic violation. He said officers then question the suspect, and if the person doesn't have any identification and can't be identified via computer, additional steps are taken.

“If we think they are a foreign-born national, we will call immigration,” he said. “The officer will call immigration. The agent will come out immediately or they talk to them on the telephone, and many of the times immigration is the one who will identify these people,” Stannard said.

It's that practice that drew the ire of the Brown Berets and several other Hispanic activist groups Monday as they marched into the Police Department's front parking lot, carrying banners and posters and shouting for justice.

“Everybody knows we're here today to stop racial profiling here at Balcones Heights,” Tony Mandujano of the American G.I. Forum said through a bullhorn.

Mandujano, De Leon and others argued that local police officers have no business enforcing federal immigration laws.

Jim Harrington, director of the Texas Civil Rights Project, said he didn't understand why Balcones Heights would be calling immigration officials.

“I think that's pretty reprehensible,” Harrington said. “They really don't have the right to demand people give their identification unless they have some reason to believe that the identification that person is giving them is wrong. People are not required in this country to carry some sort of proof with them of their identity.”

Spokesmen for both the Bexar County Sheriff's Department and the San Antonio Police Department said they don't make it a practice to call immigration authorities regarding suspects they detain. But Ino Badillo, spokesman for the Sheriff's Department, said immigration officials do make daily stops at the county jail in search of possible unauthorized immigrants.

Stannard, a 33-year peace officer, said he feels his department is acting properly when officers detain people who can't be identified.

“I took an oath as a police officer,” he said. “I feel like we're not racially profiling and that we're doing the right thing. It's not about race. It's not about color. It's whether or not they are here legally or not.”