Thread: AR: Rogers : National group asks U.S. to not let city ID ali

http://www.nwanews.com/adg/News/179381/

Rogers : National group asks U.S. to not let city ID aliens

BY MICHELLE BRADFORD

Posted on Saturday, January 20, 2007

The Mexican American Legal Defense Fund wants the city of Rogers barred from a federal program that lets police identify illegal aliens, saying the nature of the work violates the city’s settlement in a racial profiling lawsuit.

Erik Meder, an Atlanta attorney for the defense fund, has asked the Department of Homeland Security to deny the pending request by Mayor Steve Womack to let Rogers enroll in the Immigration and Customs Enforcement 287 (g ) program.

Rogers Police Chief Steve Helms said the city needs the program for two main reasons: So officers can determine more quickly if a crime suspect is an illegal alien and to help get illegal aliens deported and out of the city.

If Rogers is accepted, Meder said Friday, police through the course of their work in the program will violate two portions of the 2003 lawsuit settlement.

The portions ban Rogers police from demanding identification “for the sole purpose of determining a person’s civil, immigration status,” and prevents police from “initiating action against someone based solely on their perceived immigration status,” he said.

In a Jan. 5 letter, Meder asked Homeland Security’s Office of Civil Rights and Civil Liberties for a written opinion on whether Rogers can join the 287 (g ) program. He said the defense fund will seek a federal injunction to stop Rogers from enrolling in the program if necessary.

“Given the existence of this settlement agreement, we believe the city is prohibited from entering this program altogether,” said Meder, who is part of an ad hoc committee formed to monitor Rogers’ compliance with the settlement. “There’s no way police can participate in this without violating the settlement.”

The committee will address the issue at an emergency meeting Tuesday, Meder said.

The defense fund represented Hispanic motorists who sued Rogers in federal court in 2001, claiming police were guilty of racial profiling.

The parties reached a settlement that didn’t include monetary damages or an admission of guilt. But Rogers agreed to form the ad hoc committee, which meets at least twice a year. The Police Department also undergoes diversity training once a year.

Rogers City Attorney Ben Lipscomb said Friday that Meder is wrong to assume what police will or won’t do if accepted in the program.

The Homeland Security Department will set the criteria and perimeters if Rogers is ac- cepted, he said.

The program will in no way allow or call for police to seek identification in violation of the settlement agreement, said Lipscomb, adding that Rogers is in full compliance with the settlement.

“It’s a misconception that police will be knocking on doors demanding identification from people,” Lipscomb said. “Federal immigration agents themselves can’t stop brown people just because they’re brown, without probable cause, and we won’t either.”

Helms said if the city is accepted in the program, police expect to gain access to a federal data base that uses fingerprints, physical description and other information to determine whether someone is an illegal alien.

Police would use the data base and other tools from the program only with a suspect already in custody or when police believe probable cause of a crime exists, Helms said.

“We fully understand that we have to have reasonable suspicion and probable cause before we have this type contact with anyone,” Helms said. “We abide by this, and the program won’t change it.”

The program, created in 1996 after an amendment to the Immigration and Nationality Act, allows states and municipalities to contract with the federal government to enforce immigration laws.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement trains officers for about five weeks and designs a program that allows police to question, detain and process suspected illegal aliens they encounter during their daily work.

Rogers Mayor Steve Womack is waiting to learn if the city will be accepted in the program per his Nov. 14 request. He’s said he sees the program as a way to reduce violent crime and drug offenses committed by illegal aliens.

The Northwest Arkansas chapter of the League of United Latin American Citizens also has asked the Homeland Security Department to deny Rogers’ request to enroll in the program.

Despite the opposition, Womack said Friday he expects the city to be accepted.

“We’re on solid legal footing and still pursing the 287 (g ) designation,” he said. “We think the city’s character is worthy of the [designation ], and we think this is the right thing to do.”

The Mexican American Legal Defense Fund wants the city of Rogers barred from a federal program that lets police identify illegal aliens, saying the nature of the work violates the city’s settlement in a racial profiling lawsuit.

I didn't know the term illegal alien is now classified as a race.
Groups of this nature who are fighting to counteract the actions of all illegals should have their liscenses pulled, and their assets seized. It really goes against all logic to suggest that a group can actually request another group to stop enforcement of the law.

What a bunch of Crack Pots! The name alone Mexican American Legal Defense.

It should be Illegal Alien Criminal Defense Fund.

Anyone that ever gave money to these people should be very upset because your money is being abuse and you have been misslead into contributing.

Dixie