Thread: AR: Halt sought in local efforts to enforce immigration laws

BY SCOTT F. DAVIS Northwest Arkansas Times

Posted on Sunday, April 6, 2008

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A national Latino advocacy group is citing the fourday detainment of Adriana Torres-Flores as evidence that local police should not be allowed to enforce federal immigration laws.

Torres-Flores, 38, of Springdale spent four days without food or water in a secure holding area of the Washington County Courthouse last month after a court bailiff apparently forgot about her.

The Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF ) sent letters on April 1 to top Bush administration officials asking for suspension of local enforcement of Section 287 (g ) of the Immigration and Nationality Act.

Local officials say the two issues are completely unrelated. A minority rights activ- ists says the 287 (g ) program creates a "tense climate"that has dehumanized illegal immigrants.

The MALDEF letter to U. S. Attorney General Michael Mukasey also calls for an investigation into the Torres-Flores incident by the Department of Justice's Special Litigation section.

A letter to Secretary Michael Chertoff of the U. S. Department of Homeland Security claims the incident "illustrates that violations of basic civil rights resulting from untrained and unsupervised local law enforcement officials acting in 287 (g ) certified jurisdictions are no longer theoretical."

"Providing local authorities with federal immigration powers conflicts with years of community policing practices and discourages cooperation and communication with local law enforcement," John Trasviña, president and general counsel for MALDEF stated in the letter to Chertoff.

About Torres-Flores Torres-Flores appeared before 4 th Judicial Circuit Judge William Storey on March 6 to enter a negotiated plea on charges of illegal copying of recordings. She is accused of selling pirated compact disc and video cassette recordings at the Pleasant Street Flea Market in Springdale. Torres-Flores decided not to enter a guilty plea in the case. After the plea agreement collapsed, Storey revoked her bond for violating a condition of her bail, and she was escorted by the bailiff, Cpl. Jarrod Hankins, to the holding cell. Hankins failed to have her transported to the Washington County Detention Center. Storey was out of town on March 7, a Friday, and apparently no one - including Hankins - realized she was still in the cell. She was found on Monday morning, March 10, when court resumed. Hankins was suspended without pay for 30 days.

Torres-Flores is represented in the pending criminal case by Nathan Lewis, a Fayetteville attorney. She has retained a Little Rock attorney, Hugh Crisp, to presumably handle her settlement talks and possible litigation against Washington County. Crisp would not comment on potential litigation or settlement talks. He said she has another attorney representing her on pending federal immigration charges. Washington County Attorney George Butler said he made a settlement offer through her attorney, but they have not responded. Efforts to contact Torres-Flores for comment were unsuccessful.

Sheriff responds Washington County Sheriff Tim Helder said the mistake that resulted in the detainment of Torres-Flores "had nothing to do with skin color"and is unrelated to the county's participation in the Section 287 (g ) program. She was arrested and brought to court on state charges, he said.

Helder said if the Department of Justice conducts an investigation, the sheriff 's office has nothing to hide.

"We are an open book," Helder said. "I have accepted responsibility. I have been open, apologized... There is nothing there. This was an accident."

Helder said he has been pressured by local Hispanic activists to terminate Hankins, but he said the suspension is appropriate. If there was any indication the incident was intentional or racially motivated, Hankins would have been fired and criminal charges filed, Helder said.

What is 287 (g )? Some officers from four Northwest Arkansas police agencies - Springdale and Rogers police departments and the Washington and Benton county sheriff's offices - are trained to take part in the 287 (g ) program. These agencies signed agreements last year to work under the supervision of federal immigration agents. The program allows the officers to question, detain and process illegal aliens they encounter during their daily work Helder said the program has two parts - a task force that focuses on criminal enterprise activities such as drug trafficking and a process that focuses on screening inmates who are in county jail. Helder said he has jailers trained to identify and interrogate inmates who appear to be illegal immigrants.

"Our primary focus is not looking for people who are here illegally," Helder said. "We are under really strict guidelines on (racial ) profiling. "Womack Defends 287 (g )

Rogers Mayor Steve Womack said the recent unfortunate incident involving Torres-Flores has nothing to do with the 287 (g ) program.

"You can no more blame her (unfortunate detention ) on 287 (g ) than you can blame it on the recent flooding," Womack said.

Womack is not surprised MALDEF is trying to use the Torres-Flores incident to stop the 287 (g ) program because they fiercely opposed it after Rogers applied for it in 2006. Womack has been an outspoken proponent of implementing the program.

Womack said the program is popular and necessary and it has shown a "high degree of success."

"The general public is in overwhelming support of this local initiative," Womack said. "I am tired of people trying to make excuses for illegal immigrants.

"People are tired of waiting on the federal government (to enforce immigration laws ). If I could do more I would. I'm just sorry we don't have all the (region's ) law enforcement agencies involved. " Activist: Rethink 287 (g )

Jim Mi randa of Bella Vista, a minor ity r ights activist, said he agrees with the Latino advocacy group that the 287 (g ) program is a bad idea and should not have a place in local jurisdiction Miranda, an active member of the American Civil Liberties Union, said the program "grants too broad of powers to local law enforcement and those kinds of power can be abusive.

"The community is going to have to rethink 287 (g ). It makes a worse mess out of a mess."

Miranda said he met with Helder and found him sincere, credible and wellintentioned. Still, Miranda believes the 287 (g ) program "dehumanizes"illegal immigrants and "creates a climate of extra scrutiny."

"I believe the sheriff when he says this was a mistake," Miranda said.

Still, he wonders if officials would have forgotten about a well-known, prominent citizen for four days.

"Why is it so easy to forget a voiceless immigrant ?"

Miranda said the 287 (g ) program is not completely to blame for the Torres-Flores detainment, but it has created a "tense environment "that dehumanizes people.

"In that environment when someone has become unmemorable... when someone is devalued to that point... It's not a stretch to see how someone could be forgotten for four days and reduced to a subhuman levels."

Miranda said Hankins should have been terminated or at least reassigned.

"When you almost kill someone and reduce them to lapping up urine to survive and sleeping in feces, it is appropriate to lose your role," he said. "We can not forget what that woman suffered."

Miranda agrees there needs to be an investigation by the Department of Justice or a third party. He believes Helder is willing to be transparent and sincere.

"An investigation would go a long toward putting to bed any question marks," he said.

Miranda said the uproar over the incident may not blow over simply by writing it off as a mistake.

"This was almost an international incident," he said," The media scrutiny is still very much alive... There is going to be more coming...

"It troubles me when the community I live in is cast in this kind of ligh."

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It happens , GET over it