Thread: Family deported after boy's arrest at school

"No matter if you're an illegal alien, you have the right to an education," Portillo said.
"How can we learn if we've scared the border patrol is going to come for us," said senior Jorge Guerrero, 18.

Yet another law that needs to be rescinded. Why should American taxpayers be forced to pay for the sins of illegal invaders. The fact that their illegal alien children are raised on 3 meals a day of how to evade the laws of a country you enter illegally really gives insight into what our country will be like if we don't get these criminal idiots out of here.

Keep in mind as you read this, the kid who started this event committed a felony when he brought marijuana on a public school campus and was also high at school...

Published: 11.07.2007

Opinion by Ernesto Portillo Jr. : Deportation stirs backlash
100 march in protest of Border Patrol going on Catalina High campus: Students were right to march, and we can expect to see more like it
Opinion by Ernesto Portillo Jr.
"We're doing something positive, something valuable. We're showing other students to stand up for what is right."
Daninza Bautista, 15, Catalina High School sophomore
Dozens of immigrant students took to Tucson streets with a peaceful message Tuesday.
"We're students, not criminals," said Erick Quintero, a 15-year-old sophomore at Catalina Magnet High School and one of the marchers.
About 100 bold young people marched some five miles from Midtown's Catalina Magnet High School to police headquarters Downtown.
Reminiscent of the mass protests last year over immigration reform, the students Tuesday hoped to convey unified opposition to the recent deporting of a classmate and his family.
The deportation started when school officials say they found marijuana on an undocumented student. It ended with the boy, his younger brother and both parents being sent to Mexico.
Quintero and the other student marchers are right to be upset. Schools in our community should be places where youngsters feel safe, regardless of their legal status.
But in today's hyper-charged environment there is no rest for undocumented immigrants. Bashing illegal immigrants has become a national sporting pastime.
The vilification of undocumented immigrants propels people to elected office. It garners high ratings for ranting hosts on cable television and hate radio.
Without a comprehensive immigration policy, there's a green light for this to continue. There is no real accountability for raiding workplaces, homes and neighborhoods in search of America's pariah.
Schools, where students supposedly learn about civil rights and due process, are not outside the reach of Homeland Security's long, snaking arm.
But there was an understanding that it was not good for cops and immigration officers to be yanking kids from schools.
In last week's incident, immigration agents were called to Catalina High when a 17-year-old student was found with a small amount of pot. His parents were called, as they should be.
But when they couldn't produce a driver's license, they admitted they were undocumented. Should legal status matter in what is a rather routine occurrence at our high schools? No.
Yet police summoned federal immigration agents who apprehended the parents and child, then went to nearby Doolen Middle School to round up a younger sibling.
Human rights be damned.
Undocumented immigrants, the bulk of whom keep our economy running, are being chased further underground by heavy-handed incidents like this.
Some at the march said they worried smaller schoolyard infractions, like ditching or fighting, could result in their families being deported.
The students said they are tired of being made to feel unwanted and treated with naked disdain.
"How do they want us to feel secure and to participate in school if the Border Patrol can come in?" asked sophomore Brianda Quintero, 15, no relation to Erick Quintero.
The hard hammer on undocumented immigrants is a sweet sound to some folks who dream of a United States that never was — empty of illegal migrant workers. While the incessant pounding is chasing some undocumented immigrants out of the country, it is doing something else.
It is pushing more people into the shadows of our society where there are no clinics, no parks, no schools. And where police can't even be trusted.
But it is also invigorating undocumented immigrants and legal immigrants across the country. Emboldened and threatened, they are organizing and protesting.
"We're doing something positive, something valuable. We're showing other students to stand up for what is right," said Daninza Bautista, a 15-year-old sophomore.
Listen to what the students are saying.
"They can't deport us all," Jorge Guerrero said defiantly. "How can you take out 12 million people?"
Sadly, we can.
But at what cost, both in human dignity and dollars?
This is the question the students ask.
Thankfully, by the end of the day police and school officials agreed that cops shouldn't be called to schools. (?????)
But the young marchers fear, like I do, that we are headed into a black hole where the power of vitriol fuels a lust to target a specific group of people.
As we seep into that abyss absent of decency and humanity, Tucson's immigrant students will likely march again in hopes of being heard over the hate-filled clamor. They should.
"We're doing something positive, something valuable. We're showing other students to stand up for what is right."
Daninza Bautista, 15, Catalina High School sophomore
â—

"They can't deport us all," Jorge Guerrero said defiantly. "How can you take out 12 million people?"
Sadly, we can.

Sadly? I find nothing sad about upholding the law. The SAD thing is that it doesn't seem to happen in most cases!!!!

High school students are always clamoring to be treated like adults (I know we were), well, this is how adults are treated.

A student brought narcotics onto a public school campus.
Student was found out.
Police were brought in (as is only right).
Parents admit to school that the whole family is in the country illegally.
Whole family gets picked up to be returned HOME.

Where's the problem kids? He was treated like an adult. Or are we all about just getting to run free, forget the repercussions? Uh-huh, that's kind of what I thought (and remembered).

You are young and in school, LEARN FROM IT. Drugs in schools don't cut it, illegal immigration doesn't cut it, they are things that will get a person arrested and appropriate legal actions taken against them. Don't do these and you might just be safe from "migra." (if you don't do the latter they will surely leave you be)

I gave this columnist my 2 cents today. He normally lists his e-mail or comments at the end of his column, but today they left all of that off. Gee Whiz...

Ernesto:
You are one sick puppy. There have been times I've given you the benefit of the doubt or figured you were just playing devil's advocate, but after reading "Deportation stirs backlash," I no longer believe there is an ounce of logic in your soul.

You said, "Quintero and the other student marchers are right to be upset. Schools in our community should be places where youngsters feel safe, regardless of their legal status." Was the kid who was high at school and committing a felony with marijuana on his person making the school a safe place with his actions? Was the kid showing how grateful he was to be receiving a free education with no questions asked? Was he behaving like a "youngster" as you put it or was he a troublemaker on a school campus?

You said, "Bashing illegal immigrants has become a national sporting pastime." Is this a general statement or does it pertain to this case? TPD was following policy at the time, and were they "bashing illegal immigrants" or dealing with people who showed up at a crime scene with no proper ID? Would a comprehensive immigration policy today have any baring on his being in possession and high at school and his parents living here for 6 years on false documents and no ID? No, he'd still be high and they'd still be illegal aliens and his father would still have been deported and returned three times.

You said, "Should legal status matter in what is a rather routine occurrence at our high schools? No." It wasn't at first and you call this routine? I guess every kid commits felonies on campus. If you drove over and couldn't produce ID, I guess you'd be in trouble too.

You said, "Human rights be damned. Undocumented immigrants, the bulk of whom keep our economy running, are being chased further underground by heavy-handed incidents like this." What here has any relationship to human rights? Were they cursed at, spat upon or manhandled? If not, I don't think there was a human rights violation here. I guess if someone chooses to be here illegally, underground is the best place to be to avoid trouble like "being high at school." And your crap about keeping our economy running, pure activist talking points. I always say I'd like to see it put to the test after the forced removal of all these people keeping the economy running.

These kids who are illegal aliens and the children of illegal aliens should be scared. If they cherish their free education that is no questions asked and they don't want to jeopardize their parents better than Mexico cushy situation they have here in Tucson, they should be well behaved and not skip school or bring shame on their parents. And for you, you should look for logic in what you spew and not feed us columns with the type of comments you made in this one.

Mapwife

The reporters expression "go after crooks and not cooks" did not matter. If the crook is a cook he is still deported. He did not believe the punishment fit the crime, but the issues was that they were illegal. That expression would not fly with ICE anyway.

The paper did an editorial on this today where they didn't let people comment. Check out the comments that people listed under the letters to the editor!

Published: 11.08.2007

TPD was wrong to involve Border Patrol
Our view: When the community is afraid to ask police for help, we all suffer
The Tucson Police Department undermined its credibility last week by getting immigration authorities involved in a minor drug-possession incident at Catalina High Magnet School.
The incident led to the deportation of a 17-year-old boy, his 12-year-old brother and their parents, who were all illegal immigrants, the Star's Brady McCombs reported Tuesday.
We don't condone the teen's alleged transgression — the student had a small amount of marijuana in his backpack, said a Tucson Unified School District official — nor the fact that the family was in the country illegally. Also, the immigration officials who went to the school were only doing their jobs by enforcing immigration laws.
The incident is regrettable because we fear it will create mistrust of the Police Department in the immigrant community and could hinder crime-fighting efforts in our city.
The good to come out of the affair is that on Tuesday, following a protest march by dozens of Catalina High students, the Police Department and TUSD came up with a new policy in which police will no longer summon Border Patrol agents or immigration authorities to school grounds.
However, the damage may already have been done.
We have stated on this page previously that it is unwise for police to enforce immigration laws. First and foremost, illegal immigration is a federal issue that is best left to federal authorities. Police departments don't have the resources to effectively become de facto border agents and already have enough responsibilities trying to keep the community safe.
Just as important, we believe that to be effective, Tucson's police need to be able to cooperate with the entire community. Episodes like the one at Catalina High could make one segment of the population very suspicious of police — if it wasn't already.
Illegal immigrants who are witnesses to illegal activities or victims of crime may decline to seek help from police. They may also go out of their way to avoid coming into contact with officers under any circumstances for fear of being shipped out of the country.
The distrust could lead to more crimes because outlaws who might otherwise be caught with the community's cooperation could remain on the street. That's bad news for everyone — illegal immigrants, legal residents and U.S. citizens.
Illegal immigrants might also become bigger targets for crime if perpetrators begin to assume their victims will be less likely to seek help from authorities.
The first ripples of distrust were seen Tuesday when about 100 Catalina High students marched to the federal building and police headquarters Downtown to protest the deportation of the teen and his family.
"Some students aren't going to school because they don't feel safe. We can't have this at schools," student Lizeth Grijalva, 17, said in a Star story Wednesday.
Student Mario Portillo, 16, told the Star, "I still think the Police Department shouldn't be allowed to ask someone about their citizenship. That's not their job. Their job is to keep us safe and ensure our rights."
Roberto Villaseñor, Tucson's assistant police chief, said in Tuesday's Star that the department isn't interested in its officers becoming immigration agents. However, by getting immigration agents involved in routine police matters, that's exactly what they become.
In the eyes of some Tucsonans, the Police Department is less trustworthy today than it was last week. The promise to not call immigration agents to school might lessen some fears, but it may already be too late.
http://www.azstarnet.com/sn/printDS/210491

"Some students aren't going to school because they don't feel safe. We can't have this at schools," student Lizeth Grijalva, 17, said in a Star story Wednesday.
Student Mario Portillo, 16, told the Star, "I still think the Police Department shouldn't be allowed to ask someone about their citizenship. That's not their job. Their job is to keep us safe and ensure our rights."

this is great,we need a forum and post that lets alipac members and public know of police,sheriff depts etc that refuse to do thier jobs for example rockingham county sheriff dept(wentworth nc) has been notified of convicted illegal who is currently out on bail for 2 new charges -continues to drive with revoked licence to work everyday -claims 4 people (kids and married wife live in mexico)on his tax work stubb though he lives with american women who he is no married to -yet this dept ignores calls about him -funny, guy who works with me's freind took out communicating threarts warrent against his brother and this same dept came to his work at walmart the next day and served him in front of everyone.

Published: 11.09.2007

Protesters confront Tucson police over immigration call policy
Police say they'll stick to their plan
By Dale Quinn and Brady McCombs
ARIZONA DAILY STAR

Up to 100 people gathered at TPD headquarters Friday to protest the Tucson Police Department’s recent announcement that it would no longer call immigration officials to schools or churches.
The protesters, holding American flags and signs that read “Enforce our lawsâ€