Thread: Immigration demonstrators can't sway Waukegan

Some pictures at the source link.
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Immigration demonstrators can't sway Waukegan
Thousands protest, but city still wants deportation authority

BY BOB SUSNJARA AND JASON KING
Posted Monday, July 16, 2007

Waukegan was in the spotlight on the national debate over illegal immigration Monday night through the city's plan to have police gain special federal deportation authority.

As more than 3,000 people on both sides of the issue chanted on the street outside city hall, Waukegan aldermen and Mayor Richard Hyde voted 8-2 against the idea of reconsidering a vote last month giving permission for police to file an application to enforce the federal immigration laws.

"If we don't obey the law, we don't have a country," said Alderman John Balen, who initially wanted to reconsider but retreated after giving the issue further thought.

Alderman Tony Figueroa, who voted in favor of revisiting the issue, said while he's against illegal immigration, he has concerns about "demonizing" against certain ethnic groups. He said the federal government is to blame for the growing number of illegal immigrants.

"They (the government) have continued this problem," Figueroa said, "and now Waukegan is the lightning rod for the entire United States."


On Martin Luther King Jr. Drive outside city hall, the decision by elected officials to not reconsider whether to have police pursue the special deportation authority was followed by thousands of protesters filing out and a bilingual prayer that ended with a vow that the fight was not over.

"We will be back," they shouted alternately in English and Spanish.

The final vote outcome ended a seemingly unprecedented day in Waukegan.

Late in the day, a Lake County judge told the city it had to change the way it was distributing the limited number of tickets available for people to attend the meeting.

Associate Judge Mitchell Hoffmann said the city's plan to distribute the tickets at the Waukegan Public Beach violated the rights of people who may not have the means to drive to the remote location to pick up the tickets.Supporters numbering in the hundreds filled in an area designated on the north side of Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue, while 100 yards to the south, thousands of protesters chanted, sang and prayed for upward of five hours.

As the council meeting began, hundreds of police in riot gear, 14 K-9 units and four police officers on horseback filed into the expanse as tensions ratcheted up.

Despite the opposing sides - which took verbal shots at each other from time to time - the protest ended peacefully.

Supporters applauded as the vote was taken.

Police Chief Bill Biang said Waukegan could have summoned up to 300 officers if the crowd got out of control. The evening's detail included officers prowling the police headquarters roof adjacent to city hall, dogs and four officers on horses.

If Waukegan gains approval from the Department of Homeland Security, the special federal program would allow police to identify, process and detain immigration offenders they encounter on the job. City officials said it might take up to a year to receive federal permission, with rejection a possibility.

Biang said two officers would be trained to enforce the federal immigration laws. He said it would be a way for Waukegan to prosecute suspects in felonies such as homicide, rape and child abuse - not minor traffic offenses.

"You've got to remember," Biang said, "this is for documented and undocumented aliens."

At a town-hall meeting last month, Hyde pledged the city won't participate in or condone raids on employers or community institutions. About 1,500 mostly Hispanic spectators attended the meeting at Holy Family Catholic Church, while another 5,000 were outside because of fire code regulations.

However, many in the crowd demanded the city reconsider its vote to seek the special powers to enforce the federal immigration laws.

Some activists have accused Waukegan police of racial profiling in the past.

Several signs carried by Hispanic protesters Monday night reflected a wariness of Waukegan police and city officials.

One sign read: "Forget Iraq. Waukegan Has Its Own Private War with the Mexicans."

Another placard stated: "Mistrust Unreported Crime."

Alderman Patrick Needham spoke for some of his colleagues when he said officials just want police to have as many tools as possible when fighting crime. Needham reiterated only accused felons who are illegal immigrants would be targeted by police.

"Not one of us will tolerate any abuses," Needham said.

Hyde said police, with the federal deportation powers, likely would need one to two weeks to send an illegal immigrant out of the United States. He said the current process is exceedingly slow.

"The immigration office right now doesn't have the money to deport them," Hyde said.

http://www.dailyherald.com/story.asp?id=332038

Waukegan won't reconsider immigrant measure
By NATHANIEL HERNANDEZ
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER

July 16, 2007

WAUKEGAN, Ill. -- Officials will not reconsider a proposal that could lead to local police enforcing federal immigration laws, a measure that has galvanized activists on both sides of the issue in this city north of Chicago.

The 8-2 vote by the Waukegan City Council Monday night allows police to apply for a special program through U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement as early as Tuesday. Once trained, officers could identify, process and detain immigration offenders they come across on the job.

The council voted 7-2 in June to apply for the program, but a member who voted for it then tried to call it back for reconsideration. Monday's majority included Mayor Richard Hyde, who did not vote in the previous meeting.

Seats at the council meeting were in such demand that police distributed 400 tickets for admission. But the chambers held less than 200 people, and so about 100 people waited in line outdoors, hoping for a seat.

A news conference, prayer vigil and rally before the vote drew hundreds of people opposed to Waukegan joining the federal program. About 50 supporters of the measure - some singing songs like "God Bless America" through bullhorns - demonstrated across the street.

Police Chief William Biang said being part of the program would streamline the deportation process and cut down on bureaucratic hurdles.

"It has nothing to do with race," Biang said. "This has to do with getting criminals out of Waukegan."

According to a 2005 Census report, the city has about 82,000 residents, with about 53 percent of the population identifying themselves as Latino or Hispanic.

Iris Lobo, 23, lives in Waukegan but is originally from Honduras. She held her 2 1/2-year-old son in her arms at the rally outside City Hall.

While police say they want to deport criminals, Lobo - like many who oppose the proposal - said she fears they will overstep the boundaries, leading to abuses against the immigrant community.

Hyde and other officials have said the program would allow officers to start deportation proceedings for both legal and illegal immigrants convicted of crimes such as murder, rape and drug-related felonies.

Hyde has said the city won't participate in raids on employers or community groups, but that the deportation procedures would apply to offenders police encounter on the job.

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/642 ... ority.html