Protesters speak out on immigration enforcement
Dianna M. Náñez
The Arizona Republic
Apr. 20, 2007 04:17 PM

People from as far as Michigan and Minnesota joined local immigration-rights groups Friday ) to protest against what they view as Gilbert's unjust treatment of undocumented immigrants.

Many of the approximately 40 protestors said they were there to denounce Gilbert Mayor Steve Berman's comments regarding stricter immigration enforcement, as well as the deportation of three undocumented teens who were stopped by the Gilbert Police Department last month.

Rocio Olivas, 49, of Gilbert, said that she was stopped by a Gilbert Police officer last month. "He stopped me and asked me if I had been drinking," she said in Spanish. "I'm a citizen. I'm not scared of them. I told him I was not drinking, I was going to work. He told me, "Do you drive to work drunk?" I told him, 'Why did you stop me, because of the color of my skin.'"

Olivas said she does not believe all Gilbert residents have a racist attitude, but that she is upset with recent comments she heard from Berman on Spanish radio regarding undocumented immigrants not being welcome in Gilbert.

Aldo Castaneda, 47, of Mesa, said he hoped his presence at the protest would help stop Gilbert Police Department from enforcing immigration.

"We are hear today to protest against all of the public declarations of the Mayor of Gilbert and the City of Gilbert Police Department who are systematically detaining members of the Hispanic community," he said.

Berman said that Gilbert Police Department is not stopping residents on the basis of race.

"There is no racial profiling in Gilbert," he said. "I have not given instructions to our police department to go to construction sites, day labor sites or any place looking for illegal aliens. What I have said and what I will stand by and repeat is if you are person in our country illegally and they come to Gilbert and break the law, I want to send them home."

Joy Heine said she came with a conference of ministers from the Diaconal Ministers of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America to welcome members of the immigrant into community.

"Many of the members felt it was important to live out our call from jesus to love our neighbor as ourselves," she said.

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