Activists cautious about deportation plan
By Jared Allen, jallen@nashvillecitypaper.com
September 07, 2006

Leaders of Nashville’s Hispanic and immigrant communities reacted cautiously this week to news of Davidson County’s desire to get directly involved in the business of screening and deporting criminals who are found to be in the United States illegally.

Along with the support of Gov. Phil Bredesen, Mayor Bill Purcell and Metro Police Chief Ronal Serpas, among other officials, on Tuesday Sheriff Daron Hall announced that he wants Nashville to become the fifth city nationwide to take advantage of a federal program that essentially transfers immigration enforcement procedures down to the local law enforcement level.

If Nashville is accepted into the Delegation of Authority Program — also referred to as section 287 (g) of the Immigration and Naturalization Act — Davidson County Sheriff’s Office personnel would be trained and authorized to screen arrestees and quickly determine their immigration status.

If someone processed by the Sheriff’s Office is found to have been deported previously, local law enforcement officials will be able to immediately start new deportation procedures on them, as opposed to having to wait for federal immigration agents to become involved.

The program in Nashville would mirror the one already up and running in Charlotte, N.C., Hall said this week.

A spokeswoman for the Mecklenburg County (Charlotte, N.C.) Sheriff’s Office said that the Hispanic community has embraced the program there.

“The Latino community has said, ‘Well, we don’t want them in our neighborhoods committing crime either,’” Mecklenburg Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman Julia Rush said in an interview last week.

Hispanic and immigrant advocate groups in Nashville, however, have yet to fully embrace the plan.

Yuri Cunza, president of the Nashville Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, said he was worried about the legal and constitutional “downsides” of the 287 (g) program, expressing a particular concern that law enforcement officers may engage in racial profiling in deciding whom to cite and release versus whom to arrest and bring into jail.

Tennessee Hispanic Chamber of Commerce board member Anthony Lucas said that while he supported the notion of enforcing the immigration laws currently on the books, he was concerned about setting a precedent of having local governments responsible for taking on a federal role, in part echoing statements made Tuesday by Bredesen.

Stephen Fotopulus, the policy director for the Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition, said at this point he is mainly concerned about possible abuse of the proposed system.

“We all have an interest in getting dangerous criminals off the street, whether they be immigrants or not,” Fotopulus said. “Our concerns are with the administration of the program.”

“While Davidson County may be getting a new computer, and it may have access to the federal database, whether or not the initiative will be successful depends on how accurate the database is and the procedures by which they enter names into it,” Fotopulus added.

At the same time, some in the community feel the program does not go far enough.

“It’s a good first step,” said radio talk show host Rev. T.J. Graham, who is hosting an anti-illegal immigration demonstration on Saturday at Legislative Plaza. “But do they have a plan in place that will also target those who are still on the street? Or do we have to wait until they get arrested before they’re targeted for deportation?”

Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman Carla Crocker said her office is encouraging any person or group to come forward in the coming weeks and share their concerns.

“As we hopefully approach the Memorandum of Understanding [with the federal government], the plan is to spend the next several weeks talking to different groups and getting their feedback while addressing their concerns,” Crocker said.




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