Thread: Arrests rankle Chaparral residents

Arrests rankle Chaparral residents
Advocates urge sheriff to stop
By Erica Molina Johnson / El Paso Times
Article Launched: 09/20/2007 12:00:00 AM MDT

Betty Camargo, left, and Fernando Garcia, both of the Border Network for Human Rights, spoke Wednesday at Delores C. Wright Park in Chaparral, N.M., about the recent enforcement of federal immigration laws. (Norm Dettlaff / Las Cruces Sun-News)
CHAPARRAL, N.M. -- Chaparral residents are uniting to stop what they call improper enforcement of federal immigration laws by the Otero County Sheriff's Office.

The Border Network for Human Rights has completed a report documenting testimonies by Chaparral residents who say they have been the subjects of wrongful immigration enforcement.

Fernando Garcia, the group's executive director, said the actions of the Otero County Sheriff's Office as part of Operation Stonegarden go beyond the El Paso County Sheriff's Office's controversial Operation Linebacker, which was criticized for allegedly seeking out undocumented immigrants to turn over to the Border Patrol.

Operation Stonegarden is a federally funded effort that gives money to border counties for general border security operations.

"It is worse in many ways," Garcia said. "It's happening in a smaller community and the impact is larger."

The issue gained attention when deputies conducted an operation Sept. 10, detained 28 undocumented immigrants and turned them over to the Border Patrol.

Sheriff's officials could not be reached for comment Wednesday, but Lt. Leon Ledbetter previously told the El Paso Times that deputies were not using improper tactics to identify undocumented immigrants, but that immigration status knowledge was gained during their normal duties.

"If folks don't have an ID, we'll ask them," he said last week. "Eventually, it may come to that, but we don't knock on doors and ask, 'Are you here
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illegally?' "

But Garcia said the issue is one of public safety.

"You have local law enforcement going into houses and arresting people," he said. "What will happen when people lose trust in the local sheriff?"

He said some residents are not reporting crimes for fear of deportation, and others are not sending their children to school.

Last week, Ledbetter said this should not be an issue.

"I would hope that if a person needs us, they can call us and we'll help," he said. "If it's a call for service, we don't ask for citizenship."

But residents are unsure.

"I feel helpless. I feel angry. I feel sad that people are suffering these troubles," Chaparral resident Irma Castañeda said.

Brenda Sandoval of Chaparral said she knows firsthand the effects of the sheriff's immigration enforcement. Her husband, Enrique Aguilar, recently was deported to Mexico after deputies stopped the car in which he was riding. This is one of several cases in which families have been separated, advocates said.

"He was the one who worked. He worked in construction," said Sandoval, the mother of three young children. "I can't cross (the border) every day to see him.

"Who can you call to help you if it's the police who are supposed to protect you?" she asked.

Garcia said sheriff's deputies are going further than El Paso officials did because after asking for driver licenses, they then allegedly ask for Social Security numbers.

The Paso Del Norte Civil Rights Project is checking into the situation to decide whether to start legal action in response to potential civil rights violations. Garcia said New Mexico's American Civil Liberties Union is also reviewing the situation.

He said the network will send its recently completed report to the Office of the Inspector General as well as to the internal affairs department of the sheriff's office.

Garcia said the sheriff's office will be invited in the coming weeks to a public meeting in Chaparral to discuss the issue.

Erica Molina Johnson may be reached at emolina@elpasotimes.com; 546-6132.



What's next
# Border rights advocates will march at 5 p.m. Saturday in Chaparral to protest actions by the Otero County Sheriff's Office, and to call for an end to the alleged persecution of immigrant families.
# Chaparral residents will march from Rosecrans and Lisa streets to Delores Wright Park at 150 W. Lisa, asking for a halt to the persecution of immigrant families and communities.
# The network has also produced about 200 signs for residents to place in front of their homes.
# Signs outline the Fourth and Fifth Amendments to the U.S. Constitution, which state that agencies are not allowed to enter a home without a warrant or the owner's permission, and that people have the right to remain silent when being questioned by law enforcement.

http://www.elpasotimes.com/news/ci_6942526

Betty Camargo, left, and Fernando Garcia, both of the Border Network for Human Rights, spoke Wednesday at Delores C. Wright Park in Chaparral, N.M., about the recent enforcement of federal immigration laws. (Norm Dettlaff / Las Cruces Sun-News)

http://www.elpasotimes.com/ci_6942526?s ... EAE1F.html

Qne "attaboy" for the Otero County Sheriffs Office!!

Boo Hoo, it's too dam bad that they enforce the law! If you didn't break the law in the first place you wouldn't be afraid to call the police. Serves you right.
Don't give me the "seperating families" crap. You knew he was illegal, you took that chance. If you really loved the man you'd go be by his side. Tells me a lot about you!