Thread: CA-Rio Vista PD Caught Up In Immigration Debate

Jun 28, 2010 6:30 pm US/Pacific
Rio Vista PD Caught Up In Immigration Debate
Department Says Feds Treating Illegal Immigrants Differently In Wake Of Ariz. Law

David Begnaud RIO VISTA, Calif.




The Rio Vista Police Department has been thrown in the middle of the raging debate on illegal immigration enforcement after an illegal immigrant was deported as a result of a routine traffic stop.

Local immigration attorney Hector Cavazos called the arrest and deportation of 21-year-old Jose Reyes as "Arizona comes to Rio Vista," and even the Rio Vista police chief said he was surprised federal authorities acted on the case.

Reyes was the passenger in a car pulled over for running a stop sign in Rio Vista, and the driver of the car was arrested after admitting he was in the country illegally and didn't have a driver's license.

Cavazos said local police had no authority to ask Jose Reyes his immigration status, since he was just a passenger. California penal code 834b allows police to arrest illegal immigrants, but it was preempted by a federal court.

"It's an invalid law," Cavazos said.

Reyes' family cried foul after he was arrested and deported, but Rio Vista Police Chief William Bowen said his officers didn't ask about his status, they asked if he had a driver's license.

Officers were asking if Reyes could drive the vehicle away from the scene, Bowen said, "so we don't have to tow it."

Cavazos said when Reyes told them why he didn't have a license, police should have let him go. Instead, officers called the Immigration and Custom Enforcement Agency (ICE).

ICE asked police to place Reyes under arrest, Bowen said.

"I was quite surprised when they put the detainer on him," he added.

In the past, ICE has acted quite differently, Bowen said. A Rio Vista officer pulled over a van with nine illegal immigrants inside last October, but when the officer followed procedure and contacted ICE, the federal agency told them to arrest the driver and turn the rest loose.

There is no doubt the controversy of Arizona's new immigration law has forced ICE to step up its game, Bowen said.

"You've got half the people in this country saying, 'They should be here with no problem,' you've got half the other people saying, 'They should be deported,'" Bowen said. "Unfortunately it places law enforcement in between these two groups, just trying to do the best we can."



http://cbs13.com/local/rio.vista.immigr ... 77936.html

Hey! A 2-fer, I love it.

There is no doubt the controversy of Arizona's new immigration law has forced ICE to step up its game, Bowen said.

"You've got half the people in this country saying, 'They should be here with no problem,' you've got half the other people saying, 'They should be deported,'" Bowen said. "

Did he mean "in this county" because in this country the breakdown is more like 20-80, not 50-50.

Feds acknowledge deportations followed Rio Vista traffic stop
July 3, 4:21 PM Solano County Buzz Examiner Nathan Salant

1 comment

Federal immigration authorities acknowledged Friday that two Latino cousins detained during a traffic stop in Rio Vista had been deported.

A spokeswoman for the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, part of the Department of Homeland Security, said the two men -- Joel and Jose Reyes -- were considered to be criminal aliens at the time of the stop and were subject to deportation.

"Joel Reyes and Jose Reyes advised ICE officers they were in the country illegally and signed documents agreeing to voluntarily return to their native countries in lieu of a hearing before an immigration judge," ICE public affairs officer Lori Haley said in a written statement.

Rio Vista Police Chief William Bowen said neither man had a driver's license and volunteered to the officer who pulled their car over that they were in the country illegally.

The two were arrested, and ICE officials were contacted and requested that both men be detained, according to The Reporter newspaper in Vacaville.

Bowen said his officer did the right thing by arresting the two men and contacting immigration officials. Bowen also rejected complaints by a Stockton attorney who said local police have no authority to question suspects' immigration status.

"I think the officer was very prudent," Bowen said. "I've been in this business a long time and I've learned that you just do what the federal government agencies tell you."

But the attorney, Hector Cavazos, who did not represent either suspect, told the newspaper that he believes the officer asked both men to verify their immigration status before arresting them.

"State and local authorities have no authority policing or enforcing immigration," he said. "As soon as they said they didn't have driver's licenses, they should have been told to leave. The inquiry should have stopped there."

But Bowen called the situation "difficult" and said he actually was surprised that ICE ordered the men deported.

He said that last October, a van with nine illegal immigrants was pulled over in Rio Vista and federal officials only wanted the driver arrested and deported. The other eight were released, Bowen said.

www.examiner.com

"State and local authorities have no authority policing or enforcing immigration," he said. "As soon as they said they didn't have driver's licenses, they should have been told to leave. The inquiry should have stopped there."

Well first off they were driving illegally on taxpayer funded roads. Not having a drivers license is a misdemeanor offense if found driving. Second, being in the country is illegal and law enforcement are sworn to uphold the law.

The lawyer is trying to rub Americans noses in this and it is creating more will and desire for Americans to put a stop to this and start deporting all illegal aliens. I would assume this lawyer gets all his clients from Hispanics so it is obvious where his motivation is.

Good for the Chief standing up for the law and his officer. We need more like him who will take the same stand and start running these illegals back to their home countries.