LAKE ELSINORE: Border Patrol raid targets undocumented workers

Some downtown merchants say enforcement drives away their customers

By MICHAEL J. WILLIAMS - Staff Writer
Thursday, January 1, 2009 5:07 PM PST

LAKE ELSINORE ---- A Border Patrol raid this week on a downtown street scattered immigrant workers and apparently resulted in the detention of at least a couple of suspected illegal immigrants, witnesses said.

The owners of a cell phone shop on Graham Street between Spring and Main streets captured video of a U.S. Border Patrol officer chasing a man into their store at 10:25 a.m. Wednesday and capturing him. The manager of a nearby supermarket catering to Latinos said a Border Patrol officer entered that store about 10:15 a.m. that day and detained a man.

The raid apparently targeted a cluster of workers, mostly from Guatemala and Mexico, most of whom authorities presume to be in the country illegally. The workers gather daily on Spring between Graham and Franklin streets near Ibarra's Market while waiting to be hired for odd jobs.

Calls made Wednesday afternoon to the U.S. Border Patrol were referred to the service's public information office in San Diego, but the office had shut down in advance of New Year's Eve. Referrals to media representatives were only available for major incidents, officials said.

Based on a description of the Lake Elsinore incident, a Border Patrol official said it appeared to be routine enforcement activity. Wednesday's arrests came about four months after a group of activists staged protests downtown and at a City Council meeting against stepped-up Border Patrol enforcement, which they contended was provoking widespread fear among Latino immigrants and breaking up families.

Some accused the city of arranging the raids. While city officials denied that was the case, City Councilman Daryl Hickman, who was mayor at the time, said he had contacted U.S. Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Vista, in seeking to move immmigrant workers hanging out on Main away from there so they wouldn't discourage visitors from entering businesses.

While some merchants in the area said immigration enforcement has remained a constant, others said it had died down in recent weeks after the raids in the summer had reduced the number of workers congregating.

The current mayor, Bob Magee, said he drives along Spring on his way to work each day and had not observed the Border Patrol there recently. However, he noted that the Bush administration had heightened national security efforts.

"There absolutely is an increase in Border Patrol activity throughout Southern California and in our town, but there is no coordinated effort between our local jurisdiction and the Border Patrol," Magee said. "The Border Patrol operates on its own accord."

He said he has seen a growing number of workers on Spring Street over the last couple of weeks. He estimated that about 50 workers have been gathering there.

"I have noticed, just like anything else, that if enforcement starts going up, then the (loitering) activity starts to reduce," Magee said. "The activity started to increase and I guess the Border Patrol decided it was time to step up enforcement."

Nonetheless, some merchants who count on a largely Latino clientele view the Border Patrol activity with mixed feelings.

Gerson De Leon, whose surveillance cameras caught the Border Patrol pursuit in his store, said he has had to close a restaurant and another phone shop because of shrinking business, which he attributes in part to customers being deported or moving elsewhere to avoid the hassle.

De Leon also said he was bothered by the pursuit taking place in his store, in which both the fugitive and pursuing officer went through a door into the store's private office. His wife, Lupe De Leon, who was in the store at the time, appeared shaken by the incident.

"This day is terrible," she said.

Others expressed sadness over the timing of the raid or that it might result in a father being deported and his family left behind. Robert, who declined to provide his full name, was performing some work outside De Leon's shop when the man in flight and the officer raced past him into the store.

"They got to do a job just like everybody else," he said of the officers, but added, "It's New Year's Eve. Let them alone. Let them have a warm meal tonight."

Carina Garcia, a friend of the De Leons, said she believes the enforcement unfairly singles out Latinos and is a waste of money.

"I know the law is the law, but one of the reasons this country is crashing is we're spending a lot of money deporting people," she said. "The Hispanic people are going to go back to their countries because they won't have any jobs here."

Veronica Nicolai, who runs a shop next to De Leon's offering Internet service and assistance with immigration paperwork, said the enforcement has cost her customers as well.

"Some days, we're dead because nobody is here," she said.

Ibarra's Market manager Norma Carrillo said Wednesday's action was the first time in a while an officer had entered the store and that enforcement activity had decreased from what it was around the time of the protests. However, each incident like Wednesday's hurts business, she said.

"I know they're doing their job, but it scares people," she said. "We had all our registers opened and (the lines) were full, and when that happened, everybody was gone."

Magee said he had not heard any complaints tying declining business to immigration enforcement.

"Everybody's hurting," Magee said. "My business is down. If you've got money, you don't want to spend it. This is a very tough time."

He emphasized that immigration remains a law-and-order issue whether it's in Lake Elsinore or elsewhere. He urged any business owners who blame their problems on the enforcement activity to contact him.

"Lake Elsinore has a long tradition of being a melting pot and we want to continue to be that," he said. "We want to continue to be a welcoming, friendly town, but there are also state and federal laws that need to be enforced and as long as those laws are on the books, there is a responsibility on the part of local, state and federal authorities to exercise their roles."

Contact staff writer Michael J. Williams at (951) 676-4315, Ext. 2635, or mwilliams@californian.com.

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