Thread: Maids' incident stirs up tension (Update)

http://www.ocregister.com/ocregister/ho ... 114517.php

Saturday, April 22, 2006

Maids' incident stirs up tension
Carona opens inquiry into whether deputy erred in turning over women to Border Patrol.

By CINDY CARCAMO and RACHANEE SRISAVASDI
The Orange County Register

SANTA ANA – At least one Orange County Sheriff's deputy is being investigated for reportedly turning over three women to U.S. Customs and Border Protection, potentially violating department policy and straining relations between Sheriff Mike Carona and immigration advocates.

The women, who worked as housekeepers and were accused of theft, voluntarily returned to Mexico last week rather than face deportation. Dropped off in Tijuana, the women were divided from their families at a time when Carona is attempting to sell Latino activists on a plan to allow jailers and detectives to hand over serious felons in the U.S. illegally for deportation.

Under the proposed policy, patrol deputies wouldn't have the power to call immigration enforcement officials from the field.

"The sheriff was outraged," said sheriff's Sgt. Roland Chacon, who oversees internal affairs. "He immediately ordered an internal investigation into the matter."

Carona and other local law enforcement officials are concerned that enforcing immigration laws in the field would discourage victims from reporting crimes.

Immigration overhaul proposals have ignited an explosive debate nationally and in Orange County, sending Latino protesters to the streets and inspiring Carona and the city of Costa Mesa to consider enforcing federal immigration laws.

Nationally, about 160,000 people are deported every year, but hundreds of thousands more are "voluntarily returned," officials said.

It's too soon to tell whether the deputies involved violated department policy, sheriff's Capt. Tim Board said Friday.

However, not everybody was angry.

"That deputy was acting in accordance with federal law. I applaud that deputy," said Evelyn Miller, a member of the Minutemen Project, an anti-illegal-immigration group.

Carona doesn't see the incident as a setback but instead an opportunity to show the community that he is taking the matter seriously, Board added.

"The sheriff's proposal is limited to jails and investigations, not patrol," Board said.

Still, immigration advocates say the incident will hinder relations.

"This will have a chilling affect," said Amin David of Los Amigos community group. "This is what we've been trying to prevent. If you come in contact with the Sheriff's Department, you're coming in contact with immigration authorities."

Deputies went to a Rancho Santa Margarita home April 12 after a woman called to report a stolen purse and wallet. While deputies were there, Border Patrol officials showed up and the maids were taken into custody, Chacon said.

Sheriff's officials said they do not know who called federal officials to the scene.

However, Kurstan Rosberg, a Border Patrol spokesman in San Diego, said agents were called by the Sheriff's Department. Rosberg did not know which deputy made the call.

What happened that day appears to be against policy, Chacon said. Usually, deputies who encounter undocumented residents accused of crimes file a report that is forwarded to Border Patrol officials. Deputies would not be able to contact federal authorities without the approval of a supervising sergeant and a lieutenant, Board said.

The names of the women were not released, but Lucy Galan who supervises the trio at Maid Brigade in Irvine, identified them as Yolanda Gonzalez, Gloria Santacruz and Carmen Fernandez.

Galan said she showed up at the home and helped translate for the two deputies.

"'I want IDs and green cards, too,'" Galan said the deputies told them.

She said she and the trio waited in the squad cars for a couple of hours while one of the deputies entered the home.

"Next thing I know, a white and green car showed up," Galan said. "It was immigration."

The trio is now together at a home in Tijuana, said Fernandez's husband, Jesus.

Jesus Fernandez, a legal immigrant in Santa Ana, said he plans to pay someone to smuggle his wife back into the country within a week.

Santacruz's husband, Oscar Torres, said his wife's absence presents a financial and emotional burden for the family.

"We have a 6-year-old daughter who is really sad right now," he said.

stop breaking the law and you wont have a sad family.

You have had it so good for so long. finally it seems our voices of USA citizens are being heard...

boo hoo....cry me a river! What about the children of the American middle class workers who are struggling to make ends meet due to wages driven down by people like this?

With oil and gas prices rising rapidly means higher heating and utility bills and rising consumer prices for all goods due to fuel surcharges, which means we will be struggling to make ends meet even more. They are wiping out the middle class in this country. It is pretty bad when you get paid and the next day you have no money. It's been that way for a long time, but with rising prices most will be in the negative.

Quote:
The trio is now together at a home in Tijuana, said Fernandez's husband, Jesus.
Jesus Fernandez, a legal immigrant in Santa Ana, said he plans to pay someone to smuggle his wife back into the country within a week.
Santacruz's husband, Oscar Torres, said his wife's absence presents a financial and emotional burden for the family.
"We have a 6-year-old daughter who is really sad right now," he said.
__________________________________________________ __
Your illegal wife cannot come back. If you are feeling sad by being apart from your wife and child, go back to Mexico. Its that simple. You dont have any special circumstances to remain in our country. Every single illegal alien has a hard luck story. TELL VINCINTE FOX to stop sending you here, and make Mexico a better place to live.

I think a copy of this article should be sent to INA and the FBI...the husband admits in the article, that within one week he will make arrangements to smuggle his wife back into the country...that is called aiding and abetting. Since they already know who this family is, they could easily keep tabs on that matter, and if she reappears, arrest both her and the husband this go around.

Pinto Bean

http://www.ocregister.com/ocregister/ho ... 123603.php

Saturday, April 29, 2006

Migrant trio cleared in purse case
Woman who accused illegal-immigrant maids of theft left her bag at restaurant, investigation finds.

By CINDY CARCAMO
The Orange County Register

A Rancho Santa Margarita woman who accused three illegal immigrants of stealing her handbag, prompting federal officials to return the housekeepers to Mexico, actually misplaced the purse at a restaurant, an Orange County sheriff's investigation found.

The Sheriff's Department is investigating whether at least one deputy violated policy by reportedly handing over the three women to U.S. Customs and Border Protection, damaging relations between Sheriff Mike Carona and immigration activists.

Earlier this week, family members in Orange County said, the women - Yolanda Gonzalez, Gloria Santacruz and Carmen Fernandez - paid smugglers about $3,000 each to bring them back to the county.

The developments came as officials with the Mexican Consulate in Santa Ana hope to set up a meeting with Carona to discuss the incident, which immigration advocates said has had a chilling effect in the community.

"If they were non-Latino, they wouldn't have been asked for residency," said Amin David of the Latino-advocacy group Los Amigos of Orange County. He said the "horrible aspect" of the case was that immigration authorities were brought into it, and that it was made worse by the fact that the woman found her purse. David said the case was a "domino effect" from anti-immigrant feelings.

The incident highlights a tug of war between two groups - one that believes illegal immigration hurts this country and another that sees a place for undocumented immigrants in American society. The episode is a microcosm of a higher level of tension that's playing out in Congress and on the streets on Monday.

The case began April 12, when deputies went to a Rancho Santa Margarita home after the woman called to report a stolen purse and wallet. While the deputies were there, Border Patrol officials showed up and took the housekeepers into custody. Border Patrol authorities said someone at the Sheriff's Department made the call.

What happened that day seems to be against department policy. Deputies who encounter illegal immigrants accused of crimes usually file a report that is forwarded to immigration officials. Deputies cannot contact federal authorities without the approval of two supervisors.

Sandra Valdez, an Orange resident who has been following the case, said she left a telephone message with Carona to complain about the department's policy. She said immigration authorities should have been called regardless of the purse's being found.

"If they're here illegally, they should've been deported anyway," she said. "The deputy was doing his job in enforcing immigration policy."

Sheriff's spokesman Jon Fleischman reported Friday that the purse had been found but said he didn't know the details.

Yolanda Gonzalez's daughter Miriam Elizalde said the incident imposed unnecessary economic and emotional hardships on her family.

"I want her to apologize," Elizalde said of the accuser, whose name has not been released. "She knew what she was doing."

Elizalde said her mother told her that deputies called immigration authorities to find someone to translate for the three women.

Lucy Galan, who supervises the trio at Maid Brigade in Irvine, said in an earlier interview that she went to the home and helped translate.

Galan said the two deputies asked for identification and green cards right away.

"You can't trust the cops anymore," Elizalde said. "If they can get away with this and the Orange County sheriff can't do anything, then (deputies) can do anything they want. No wonder everyone is scared of them."

Consular officials aren't the only ones hoping to speak with the sheriff. David of Los Amigos said he also would like to schedule a meeting.

Earlier this week, family members in Orange County said, the women - Yolanda Gonzalez, Gloria Santacruz and Carmen Fernandez - paid smugglers about $3,000 each to bring them back to the county.

if these people are so broke, where are they getting all this money to pay smugglers? I wouldn't be able to afford $300.00, let alone $3,000.00. If the pay in Mexico is $3.00 a day, $3,000.00 would go a long way in providing a living for a family -- that's almost 3 years salary.

PintoBean

he's also admitted to conspiracy to commit a felony ...

I agree one woman said she paid $5,000 for each of her children to be brought into the US, where do they get this money if there are no jobs down there?

Drugs