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Latinos lukewarm to ICE
By MATT MILNER and LORENA PEREZ Courier staff writers


— OTTUMWA — Chief Jim Clark knows there are a lot of questions about his proposal to add immigration to the Ottumwa Police Department’s list of responsibilities. But he thinks the benefits outweigh the concerns.
Clark wants the city to sign on with a federal program that allows local officers to initiate deportation proceedings against people who are in the country illegally. He said the program adds a new tool for removing violent criminals from Ottumwa.
The program is ICE 287(g). Immigration and Customs Enforcement uses the program as a force multiplier. Immigration is most often a federal enforcement issue, not a local one. But ICE 287(g) brings specially trained local police officers into the picture. That expands the number of people who can monitor compliance with immigration law.
“[ICE], I think, it’s pretty well known that they don’t have the resources that are adequate to enforce immigrations and customs law,” Clark said.
Not everyone is sold. Ottumwa’s immigrant community, which is overwhelmingly Hispanic, is concerned that the program will allow police to target anyone for removal. Jorge Garcia agrees with Clark that criminals should be punished, but he remains concerned about the proposal.
The gap between what police say will happen and what people fear illustrates some of the key issues in immigration and assimilation. Trust, or the lack thereof, runs through it all.
“Who is going to guarantee the families that this will be used in a just way? People that are here illegally are leaving, and people that are here legally are afraid the police might start racial profiling,” Garcia said. “There are many people trying to get illegal people out of here but who is to know, are they going to start branding the people with an I for illegal, an H for Hispanic or U for undocumented?”
Different departments have implemented the program in different ways. Clark envisions Ottumwa’s program as weeding out felons, people who commit violent crimes, or major drug dealers. There will be an internal vetting process. ICE proceedings can only begin with Clark’s direct approval.
“It will never be the officer’s sole decision,” he said.
The program’s main cost is associated with the initial, five-week training. He said once the program is running, the duties are part of the officers’ normal work and will not create new expenses. Clark estimates costs at $3,500 for room and board; the training itself is free.
Much depends on where the training takes place. Two locations are possible. The first is in Glencoe, Ga., at the federal government’s training facility. The other is Marshalltown. The cost difference isn’t what you might expect. Marshalltown adds the cost of a five-week hotel stay, while officers training at Glencoe may have the option of staying at the training facility.
There are more factors than money, too. Being in Marshalltown makes it easier for the officers being trained since they can come home on weekends. They are also closer in case of emergency.
The training itself raises some concerns. Norma Rosales, the former chairwoman of Davenport Civil Rights Commission and a member of Latinos Unidos of Ottumwa, questioned whether five weeks is sufficient to train officers to enforce immigration law.
“Immigration officials receive 17 weeks of training plus time at the border before they can become immigration agents. How can our local officers receive immigration training in only five weeks?” she asked.
Miguel Ornelas, the newest member of the Ottumwa Human Rights Commission, said many immigrants are wary of law enforcement because of corruption and abuse in their home countries. Father Bernie Weir with St. Mary’s of the Visitation Catholic Church in Ottumwa said many Latinos fear that even a well-intentioned program could be misused to exile people.
“Even if the program or document is intended to be good, whenever the word ‘immigration’ is mentioned, it threatens where and how people are going to live. People will constantly be living on the edge, not knowing if immigration is going to be coming. People that have documents are scared they will be taken away,” he said.
Clark conceded that some authorities in other areas of this country haven’t given immigrants many reasons to trust.
A situation in Nashville, Tenn., is a case in point. A mother of two was pulled over on a traffic stop. She entered the country legally, but her work visa had since expired. Local law enforcement brought in federal agents to begin deportation proceedings.
The woman’s family argues that she is a productive member of the community and came to the country properly. They also worry that gangs in her home country will target her when she returns. To them, this is a case of overzealous enforcement removing the kind of person communities want to have.
“I agree. That’s ridiculous. That should never happen,” Clark said. “This is the nightmare everyone is afraid of. This program should be used for violent and serious offenders.”
The Human Rights Commission backed the proposal unanimously, Clark said, with some reservations. He said the commission is worried that there is potential for abuse.
Commission member Ed Ball said the proposal sounds good, but said he would prefer approval “with the condition that a bilingual officer would be hired for this position ... and not just a bilingual officer, but someone who knows both cultures.”
That could take some time. There is an opening in the department, but it is not clear when it will be filled. The department has specific state guidelines it must follow on hiring officers.
“I was told by one person that in case of emergency, we should ignore the civil service laws,” Clark said. “We can’t do that. We have to hire off the civil service lists. We have one opening ... but because of the hiring freeze, we are unable to fill that position.”
The program cannot begin anytime soon, even if Ottumwa’s city council moves on it without delay. Training takes five weeks and there is no guarantee of a training session in the immediate future.
Clark said it could be a year or more before the program finally begins in Ottumwa. The council must approve the program before that clock even starts running.
Councilwoman Shannon Addison said she saw violent criminals among the immigrant community in Florida, but doesn’t see the same degree of criminality here. She said her concerns focus on whether the federal government will hold up its end of the bargain more than Clark keeping his word.
“We had a hard time getting the feds to come in and take them off our hands [in Florida],” she said. “I have no doubt that Jim Clark ... knows how best to implement the program. He wouldn’t be lackadaisical.”
Ottumwa would be among the smaller locations for local enforcement of immigration law. That concerns Addison. Clark said Ottumwa probably won’t be alone in Iowa if it adopts the program. Marshalltown’s police chief told Clark 20 different agencies in the state, including the Division of Criminal Investigation and Iowa State Patrol, are interested.
The proposal is scheduled for council discussion on Feb. 6.