Thread: Activists say cops singling out Hispanics

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Activists say cops singling out Hispanics
Larimer sheriff: Rise in deportation cases not due to profiling

By Fernando Quintero, Rocky Mountain News
August 3, 2006

FORT COLLINS - Thanks to an increased presence of federal immigration agents, Larimer County has turned over 41 people to be deported since late May - compared with only three earlier this year.

But community activists say they believe law enforcement agencies are targeting Hispanics for traffic stops and taking more people to jail for misdemeanors - particularly for not having a valid driver's license or lacking proof of insurance.

Immigrants who in most jurisdictions would get a summons are instead getting booked and turned over to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, they say.

The result is a "climate of fear" in the county, says Jimena Peña, a member of the Fort Collins-based immigrant advocacy group Fuerza Latina.

Fort Collins and Loveland police, however, say they rarely take people to jail for misdemeanor license or insurance violations because it takes too long to process them. And they deny racial profiling, as does Larimer County Sheriff Jim Alderden.

Alderden says it is his department's policy to arrest drivers for license and insurance violations in accordance with his longstanding commitment to strictly enforce all laws - local, state and federal.

"If you don't have a valid driver's license or are driving under revocation or denial, in our jurisdiction we're going to take you in and book you," Alderden said.

He said he won't waiver in that commitment either, even though the jail is so crowded that he is considering asking the county to allow him to release misdemeanor offenders after they serve half of their sentences.

But Peña and other activists say they think the additional ICE agents and a new state law in effect since May 1 have led to greater attention on Hispanic drivers. The new law requires police to tell ICE about any suspected illegal immigrants arrested for any crime.

The law has led to few additional referrals to ICE by most metro-area law enforcement agencies, the Rocky Mountain News reported this week.

Alderden said the new law has had less impact than the daily rounds at his jail by ICE agents.

ICE, which checks jails for legal and illegal immigrants who should be deported, is shifting that responsibility to a division that can make more agents available to pick up inmates.

Larimer, along with the Jefferson and Denver county jails, are the first to benefit from that shift, an ICE spokesman said.

"Prior to ICE coming into our jail, we knew it didn't do any good to call," Alderden said. "Even if we knew someone we had in custody was illegal, ICE wouldn't come."

ICE officials have said that in the past limited resources and detention beds meant they had to focus on felons.

Nevertheless, Kim Salinas, a Fort Collins immigration attorney, and other advocates say Alderden is on a personal mission to crack down on illegal immigrants.

"The Larimer County sheriff is engaged in profiling and discriminatory law enforcement practices," said Salinas. "The actions of the sheriff's department are destroying families and our community."

She points to a May 12 opinion piece by Alderden that appeared in the Fort Collins newspaper.

"Given the huge numbers, many prefer to refer to the unregulated entry of foreigners across our borders as an invasion," he wrote. "My grandparents emigrated from Holland. The difference is that they did it lawfully. We are a nation of laws, and I am sworn to uphold our laws."

Alderden denies that his department's aggressiveness is racially motivated.

"On the one hand, I'm sworn to uphold the law. On the other hand, the Christian compassionate part of me sees that these people are here for a better life. It's not a clear-cut issue," he said.

But Alderden said he will continue to encourage arrests for traffic violations.

Representatives of other area police agencies said they don't necessarily adhere to such a get-tough policy.

"Our focus on traffic enforcement is more from a public-safety issue, not immigration enforcement," said Rita Davis, Fort Collins police spokeswoman.

Loveland police spokesman Rae Bontz said officers quit arresting and booking people for traffic citations "six to eight years ago" because of the lack of jail space and time it took to process them.

"Of course, there are exceptions to that. If we think you aren't who you say you are, or there are prior warrants, you'll be brought in," Bontz said. "Officers have that discretion."

Still, advocates say Hispanic residents are being stopped for offenses as minor as having a license plate light out. Few, however, are willing to have their cases documented for fear of being identified and deported.

Benjamin Morales, of Greeley, is an exception. He said that while he was on his way to his construction job in Fort Collins in June, he was followed by a patrol car for about four miles before he was pulled over.

"The officer asked me for my driver's license and proof of insurance, then he told me that my plates were about to expire," said Morales, an illegal immigrant from Mexico who managed to obtain a valid driver's license with a passport that has since expired.

Alderden said police and other law enforcement officials cannot stop someone without probable cause. He described Morales' experience as "suspect," but added that he had likely done something to raise the officer's suspicion, such as weaving across the road or rolling through a stop sign. Morales denies driving unsafely.

While Morales just got a warning, others aren't so fortunate, say activists. Reports of illegal immigrants being stopped and taken to jail are "paralyzing the immigrant community," said Peña.

"Immigrants here are living in constant fear - fear to go grocery shopping, fear of driving their children to school, or even to go to church," she said.

quinterof@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-892-5250

I just hate it when law enforcement officers enforce the law

"The actions of the sheriff's department are destroying families and our community."

Community? What community are you talking about?

"Immigrants here are living in constant fear - fear to go grocery shopping, fear of driving their children to school, or even to go to church," she said.

I'm sure you just forgot to make the distinction but you are talking about illegal immigrants and they should live in fear for they are law breakers and don't belong here.