Thread: Lawyer: Border Patrol should be investigated for racial prof

Lawyer: Border Patrol should be investigated for racial profiling
By ANDREW GLAZER, | Wednesday, May 31 2006 5:15 PM

Last Updated: Wednesday, May 31 2006 5:15 PM

A civil rights lawyer on Wednesday demanded authorities investigate a roundup of hundreds of undocumented immigrants in what he called a desert dragnet based on racial profiling.

In a letter to the Department of Homeland Security, attorney Luis Carrillo claimed U.S. Border Patrol agents only pulled over people with brown skin in the five-day operation known as "Operation Desert Denial."

More than 600 undocumented immigrants were detained from May 19 to May 24 along Interstate 40 near Barstow.

No light-skinned people were detained, Carrillo said.

"They gave people with blue eyes and light skin a free pass," he said.

Carrillo also criticized authorities for focusing efforts far from the border. He said he did not plan to file a lawsuit against the Border Patrol.

Tamara Faulkner, a spokeswoman for the inspector general of the Department of Homeland Security, said she was not aware of Carrillo's demand for an investigation and declined to comment.

Carl L. McClafferty, chief patrol agent of the Border Patrol division that handled the operation, said in a written statement that authorities were targeting a human smuggling route for immigrants who had crossed into Arizona and Texas from Mexico.

The statement said officers only pulled over vehicles that looked suspicious, but it did not reveal what criteria was used to make that determination.

Border Patrol spokeswoman Martha Silva refused further comment.

At a news conference, Carrillo introduced a child of a woman who was detained and deported. He called the girl "a victim of this harassment."

Teary-eyed, 12-year-old Wendy Ortiz said she and her two younger brothers were awakened by Border Patrol agents who shone a spotlight into a car being driven by her mother Violeta then bumped it and pulled it over.

The sixth-grader said the family had been traveling overnight to Barstow from their Phoenix home to buy wholesale kitchen supplies.

After determining that Violeta Ortiz was not a legal immigrant, the agents shouted at her and threatened to separate her from the children unless she waived a hearing and signed an order that led to her deportation to Mexico, the girl said.

"She didn't want to hear any more screaming, so she just signed," said Wendy Ortiz, who like her 7-year-old brother Jose and 4-year-old brother Miguel was born in this country.

The children are now staying with an aunt in Los Angeles.


http://www.bakersfield.com/119/story/54573.html?

The children are now staying with an aunt in Los Angeles.

Someone needs to check the immigration status of the aunt.

If you're here illegally then our government has the obligation to harass you.

If you don't want Border Patrol to yell at you then don't come here illegally and if you are here illegally then go back to wherever you came from.

Most illegal aliens are going to have dark skin, dark hair, and dark eyes since most illegals are from mexico or other latin countries. especially in a state that borders mexico. So yes the illegals you catch are very likely to have those features.

Originally Posted by CountFloyd

The children are now staying with an aunt in Los Angeles.

Someone needs to check the immigration status of the aunt.

Raid her too.

that lawyer is the reason they are called shisters.

Well now that story is a little different than the one I read. Maybe it looks different in Bakersfield.
The border patrol stopped every car. An alien that was arrested admitted that to a news reporter. When the BP were done they had illegal aliens in custody and legal residents went on their way. On this haul the patrol ended up with illegal Latinos. There will be different results when they pull these stops in NJ or NY where the Irish illegals are. I suppose they will claim racism and profiling if no Latinos are netted?

I saw this on CNN tonight, Carrillo is crying racism, in the same breath he uses the word "Gringo" over and over, he was so pissed off he was shaking while he spoke into the mic. Gringo huh???whos the racist??? can you guess?

well now if they stopped every car then that is a standard check point and not profiling. Sorry about that Mr Illllegal youre fishing with out bait.

I saw this on CNN tonight, Carrillo is crying racism, in the same breath he uses the word "Gringo" over and over,

Also saw this on CNN. He talks about race profiling and then calls us Gringo's.

Originally Posted by loservillelabor

Well now that story is a little different than the one I read. Maybe it looks different in Bakersfield.
The border patrol stopped every car.. An alien that was arrested admitted that to a news reporter.

I saw that on tv as well. The shyster making this charge was standing behind the person who said it. It didn't stop him from spewing the big lie though.