Hispanics profiling victims by Border Patrol in West Palm, group says
West Palm Beach arrests based on looks, advocates say
By Luis F. Perez | South Florida Sun-Sentinel
July 30, 2008
An advocacy group filed a complaint Tuesday against federal officials for improperly targeting Hispanics in West Palm Beach, contending they check their immigration status based on their looks.

The Immigrants' Rights Group of Palm Beach County filed the complaint with the Department of Homeland Security Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties accusing immigration agents of violating department policy and federal law.

It's happening in Broward and Miami-Dade counties as well, said Cheryl Little, executive director of the Florida Immigration Advocacy Center. Her group, however, did not join in the formal complaint.

In addition, the Palm Beach County group complained to Mayor Lois Frankel about the city police department's role in recent arrests of immigrants along Broadway Street. Frankel plans to meet with the group to address their concerns, said Peter Robbins, a city spokesman.



"These specific incidents are not isolated," immigration attorney Aileen Josephs wrote in the complaint. "The community of immigrants along that area is living in constant fear because [immigration] agents drive along this street on a daily basis interrogating and detaining people that look 'Hispanic.'"

Federal immigration officials said they do not target groups of people based on their appearance, race or ethnicity. They do question people based on how they act, said Border Patrol Agent Robert Swathwood, who is based in Riviera Beach.

"We can behavioral profile," he said.

For example, he said, Border Patrol agents can stop and talk to any group of people hanging out on a corner who appear to be waiting for jobs, he said.

"If they talk to us, we can talk to them," Swathwood said.

One such encounter listed in the complaint led to the arrest of two immigrants at a Broadway Street laundromat on July 16. Agents entered the private business without a warrant, Josephs said, and interrogated one of the men who was folding clothes only because of his appearance. Others in the laundromat were not questioned, she said.

On the same day, Josephs wrote in the complaint, five or six men sought refuge in the New Jerusalem Evangelical Church across the street to get away from immigration agents "chasing those who seemed to run from them." In her letter complaining to Mayor Frankel, Josephs said West Palm Beach police were at the scene of "raids, which gives the appearance that they took part in it."

The city's spokesman, Robbins, said the police were called to assist federal agents in a chase, but they were not part of the original operation.

"We do not ask the immigration status of victims in any case," Robbins said. "We just assist the victims and bring the appropriate people to justice."

Advocates say local police involvement in immigration cases makes immigrants less likely to report crimes or help police solve them.

"The people are afraid not just of immigration agents, but also of the police," said Rosendo Gonzalez, New Jerusalem's pastor.
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