Thread: Immigrant Rights Activists say feds use racial profiling on

Immigrant Rights Activists say feds use racial profiling on Greyhound buses

Contra Costa Times
By Stephen Wall, Staff Writer
December 17, 2009

SAN BERNARDINO - Immigrant rights advocates on Thursday launched a campaign urging Latino passengers not to ride Greyhound buses.

The community leaders, part of a group known as the Immigration Raids Response Network, say Greyhound closely cooperates with the U.S. Border Patrol to target Latino riders.

The transportation company allows the Border Patrol to conduct immigration checks of riders upon their arrival at the San Bernardino Greyhound bus station located at 596 North G. St., the group says.

At a press conference in front of the station Thursday, activists said they will call for a nationwide boycott of Greyhound if the activities don't stop.

"If companies like Greyhound don't take measures to protect their passengers, they will lose the trust and business one of one of their most faithful customer bases: the Latino community," said Emilio Amaya, executive director of the San Bernardino Community Service Center, which provides legal help to immigrants.

Greyhound issued a statement responding to the group's concerns.

"Greyhound only recently became aware of these practices," said Maureen Richmond, spokeswoman for Dallas, Texas-based Greyhound Lines, Inc. "We plan on reaching out to (immigration) officials for further information. Greyhound seeks to balance the lawful and reasonable activities of law enforcement with the dignity and privacy of our valued customers."

Immigrant advocates on Thursday also said they will pass out fliers at churches, swap meets and other places frequented by Latinos to advise illegal immigrants of their rights if they are detained.

The fliers urge immigrants to avoid using Greyhound "due to their cooperation with the Border Patrol and the use of racial profiling."

Border Patrol agents have conducted frequent operations at the San Bernardino terminal for about a year, but the activities have increased in recent months, Amaya said.

With the consent of Greyhound security guards, Border Patrol agents board buses and ask riders who appear to be Latinos to show proof that they are in the country legally, Amaya said.

Border Patrol spokesman Keith Croxton said that agents based out of the Border Patrol's Riverside office "routinely" conduct immigration checks at transportation hubs, such as bus stations, and use "roving patrols" on highways.

Border Patrol officials declined to discuss their specific methods for screening bus passengers but denied engaging in racial profiling.

"Racial profiling is not and will not be used by the Department of Homeland Security and all of its component agencies," Croxton said. "That would be counterproductive to our operations. We deal with people from all walks of life from all over the world."

Besides protecting the nation at the ports of entry, the Border Patrol's mission is to stem the flow of drug and human smuggling and illegal entries in the interior of the country, Croxton said.

Daniel Guzman, a 43-year-old San Bernardino resident, said he witnessed Greyhound security working with Border Patrol officers a few months ago.

When a bus arrived from the border city of Calexico at about 10:45 p.m., Guzman said Greyhound guards closed off the boarding area until passengers were checked by immigration officers and the bus was empty.

"They (Border Patrol officers) shouldn't even be here," said Alphonse Romain, a 34-year-old San Bernardino resident. "This is private property. Greyhound has the right to tell them to leave."

Even though the Greyhound terminal is on private property, Croxton said the Border Patrol has the authority to operate there.

"We can go anywhere the public is free to go," he said. "If the public can come and go freely at a public place such as a Greyhound station, so can we. We don't have to request permission from the owner to be there."

The owner can ask for Border Patrol agents to leave, but whether or not they choose to do so is up to agency supervisors, he said.

Under federal immigration law, agents have the authority to conduct a "field interview" to ask basic questions about someone's immigration status, Croxton said.

"We can arrest that person if the officer has reason to believe that the person that is questioned is here in violation of immigration laws," Croxton said.

http://www.contracostatimes.com/califor ... ck_check=1

"If companies like Greyhound don't take measures to protect their passengers, they will lose the trust and business one of one of their most faithful customer bases: the Latino community," said Emilio Amaya, executive director of the San Bernardino Community Service Center, which provides legal help to immigrants.

They are taking measures to protect their passengers. They are cooperating fully( which means they are obeying the law) with immigration authorities to ensure that those who entered this country in violation of our immigration laws are identified and deported, thereby eliminating any potential risks to American citizens.

If you don't like it, keep your beloved illegals off Greyhound !

Greyhound will probably fold up when Obama builds the $500 billion high speed rail system.

I wish ICE would do this up here. I am getting afraid to take Greyhound anywhere along the I-5 route.

Greyhound needs to be thanked for obeying the law and protecting the safety of their passengers with the legal right to be in US!!!


Corporate office
972-789-7000

Greyhound Lines, Inc.
P.O. Box 660362
Dallas, TX 75266-0362

Absolutely, Greyhound needs to be thanked, as soon few American citizens will be able to afford to fly.
Let's see what Napolitano proposes as a new regulation.

If I break a law, will Greyhound protect me against arrest? Will Greyhound refuse to cooperate with police, or the IRS, or another agency to protect me?

Is that what these pro-amnesty groups expect? Cooperation with lawbreakers to prevent and obstruct our law enforcment agencies?

It's called obstruction and Martha Stewart went to jail for refusing to testify against her stockbroker friend. Only enforceable it seems against people other than illegals.

As long as everyone on the bus is questioned about their status then these pro-illegal adovocates cannot scream racial profiling.

Dont thank them yet, see if they bend over for the non-citizens first!
Private property! When did the illegals give a rat about are private property. The U.S. To bad Greyhound didn't give free one way trips south

since this is a duplicate post.

ill address this since im a former greyhound driver.

border patrol stop my bus in an area not near the border. ABILENE, Texas.
after they finished i asked them if i could talk to them for a minute and i asked two questions. what were they looking for, and what would happen if as a driver i refused to let them go on the bus,. because they ask the bus driver, or at least when this happened they did.

they said the driver could be detained while a search took place, and possible charges in interfering with a federal officer. and they told me at the time that they had the right anywhere in the country to search. they also said the bus wouldnt be allowed to move if a driver refused to let them saerch

this group says that only target hispanic people, and i can attest that this is dead wrong because since i ran interstate ten across the southwest from texas to california, ahd the i-8 and i-5 check points, i can attest that asked EVERYONE for papers, not just hispanics.

so this group is wrong in their thinking. i looked up their number and called their hotline and actually spoke to someone and told this this very thing

http://www.alipac.us/ftopict-182053.html

dupicate