Thread: NM: Groups plan on suing Otero Sheriff's over arrests

Groups plan on suing Otero Sheriff's over arrests
By Louie Gilot / El Paso Times
Article Launched: 10/15/2007 04:11:19 PM MDT


Immigrants' rights activists are suing the Otero County Sheriff's Department over the arrest of nearly 30 undocumented immigrants in Chaparral last month, officials with the groups Border Network for Human Rights and Paso Del Norte Civil Rights Project said.

The groups said they would file the lawsuit in Las Cruces before noon Wednesday.

"This is done on behalf of community members," said Fernando Garcia, executive director of the Border Network for Human Rights. "We hope it brings attention to the kind of enforcement happening in Chaparral."

Garcia wouldn't give more details about the lawsuit but said a press conference would take place Wednesday.

Several human rights groups have been gathering testimony from Chaparral residents in the past few weeks and found that some said that Sheriff's deputies used trickery to get into their houses and ask about their immigration statuses. Immigrants' rights advocates said immigration enforcement should be left to federal agencies.

Officials with the Otero County Sheriff's Department have denied they targeted immigrants during their operation, which was funded by federal money under the program Operation Stonegarden.

Louie Gilot may be reached at lgilot@elpasotimes.com; 546-6131.

http://www.elpasotimes.com/newupdated/ci_7185416

found that some said that Sheriff's deputies used trickery to get into their houses and ask about their immigration statuses

What arrogance! Their whole lives revolves around trickery, deceit, lies and fraud!

Originally Posted by gofer

found that some said that Sheriff's deputies used trickery to get into their houses and ask about their immigration statuses

What arrogance! Their whole lives revolves around trickery, deceit, lies and fraud!

Hello, Kettle? Pot calling.

Illegal immigration is nothing more than an organized "undeclared war" on Americans and their resources and until legal Hispanics stop aiding and abetting these criminals we are going to keep seeing this abuse of our laws. Trickery indeed!

Oct. 17, 2007, 2:53PM
Civil rights groups sue county over impromptu immigration raids


By ALICIA A. CALDWELL Associated Press Writer
© 2007 The Associated Press

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CHAPARRAL, N.M. — A September series of immigration raids by local law enforcement prompted four civil rights groups to file federal lawsuits claiming that sheriff's deputies have arrested and harassed Hispanic residents without warrants or probable cause.

The lawsuits filed Wednesday by the ACLU, the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, the Border Network for Human Rights and the Paso del Norte Civil Rights Project allege that Otero County deputies launched illegal immigration raids in this town just outside El Paso, Texas.

The Associated Press reported in September that Otero County sheriff's deputies were routinely demanding proof of citizenship from residents either in traffic stops or at their homes. More than a dozen people had been arrested and turned over to the U.S. Border Patrol in August and September. Some were turned over right away; others were stopped for traffic violations the next day and were ushered to Border Patrol.

The suits claim the deputies sought out Hispanic immigrants under a federally funded effort aimed at curbing crime in border communities. Otero County received a grant under Operation Stonegarden, a federal program to help local agencies curb crime in border communities, Undersheriff Norbert Sanchez said in September.

Chaparral is about 30 miles north of the U.S.-Mexico border. A Border Patrol spokesman has said Operation Stonegarden grants are not to be used for immigration enforcement, but deputies can question the identity of a criminal suspect.

David H. Urias, a MALDEF lawyer, said the September raids were a clear violation of residents' due process rights and constitutional protections against unreasonable searches.

Norma Estrada, a U.S. citizen, said a pair of deputies harassed her on Sept. 10 after seeing her standing in her yard with her dog. When the dog got loose briefly, the deputies demanded to see her identification and then issued her a citation for a loose animal, she said.

"I felt humiliated," she said.

Another resident who signed on to one of the lawsuits using a pseydonym said a deputy tried to enter her home before dawn on Sept. 10. When someone spotted him coming through a window into her house, the deputy backed out, and banged on the front door.

When no one came to the door, the lawsuit said, another deputy began to yell, "Delivery! Mia's Pizza!" When that didn't bring anyone to the door, a deputy yelled, "Animal Control. Come outside."

The family stayed inside, the suit said, and a few minutes later, a deputy yelled, "Otero County Sheriff. Come outside."

One of the homeowner's teenage children, a U.S. citizen, opened the door a few inches to speak to the deputies, and was told that their dog had bitten someone, a claim they denied. The deputies forced their way into the home as the family stood outside. The family claimed the deputies ransacked their home, emptying bureau drawers and dumping the contents of the woman's purse onto the bed.

Otero County officials did not return calls Wednesday from The AP. But in September, Sanchez denied residents' claims.

"We don't enforce immigration laws, we enforce county and state statutes," Sanchez said. "We are not going down there targeting or profiling these people. We do the same operations in (other) parts of the county."

He acknowledged, however, asking for Social Security cards as a means of identification. Social Security cards are only work authorization documents, not identity cards, immigration law experts said.

Other local police agencies, including the El Paso County Sheriff's Office, have been accused of using similar tactics in the past.

In Panama City Beach, Fla., sheriff's deputies formed an Illegal Alien Task Force whose patrol cars parked at construction sites in force and arrested any worker who ran away.

Fifteen people in New York, including seven U.S. citizens, are suing the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, claiming it violated the Fourth Amendment during home raids there in 2006.

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/tx/5222546.html

Oh please, some of these stories sound like a SNL skit, pure fantasy!

This is so pathetic, amazing what these people are costing the American taxpayer with all these games, just send their a__ home to their own country. Enforce our Laws. Maybe we should sue all these groups who are costing us so much money defending the rights of people who shouldn't be here. We need judical Watch to sue for us!!


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Originally Posted by gofer

Oh please, some of these stores sound like a SNL skit, pure fantasy!

That's pretty much what I thought.

Originally Posted by MountainDog

Originally Posted by gofer

Oh please, some of these stores sound like a SNL skit, pure fantasy!

That's pretty much what I thought.

Yeah, I remember one from the Stillmore, Ga. raid where they said the agents busted thru the floor of the trailer!

Folks, it is becoming abundantly clear that the open border lobby is conducting a nation-wide effort to make arresting illegals more of a hassle than it's worth. These frivolous lawsuits, which are growing in number, are specifically designed to discourage the enforcement of our immigration laws! For example, towns like Hazelton, Pa., cannot afford to constantly defend themselves in court against well-funded organizations like the the ACLU and MALDEF. As I'm sure everyone has noticed, most of these lawsuits end up in front of a liberal judge who legislates from the bench.