Model citizen or no, illegal alien about to be deported
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
By Kurt Eckert
The Hillsboro Argus
The Argus

Friends say her experience raises specter of local racial profiling

Immigration officials say being a model citizen doesn't give you a free pass to American citizenship.

A 20-year-old college student, Alejandra Trujillo, is probably going to be deported after being arrested on misdemeanor fraud charges on Nov. 16.

Her academic advisor, Brenda Maldonado, said it's also true that Trujillo is a student leader at Portland Community College's Rock Creek campus, giving back to her community by mentoring Latino youth to set high goals and achieve success through higher education.

Unfortunately, she produced incorrect identification when she went to have her driver's license renewed at the Hillsboro Department of Motor Vehicles' office.

She'd already filled out paperwork and had her picture taken, but under stricter rules regarding licenses for immigrants, DMV officials detained her until she was arrested by Hillsboro police and booked into Washington County Jail.

When her family tried to pay her $1,000 bail, they were told she was being held indefinitely.

While in jail over the weekend, she probably didn't realize that her life was about to change forever.

At a Nov. 19 hearing in Washington County Circuit Court, Trujillo was sentenced to time served and a $67 fine. She was then taken into custody by the federal office of Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

ICE is the agency responsible for the enforcement of federal immigration laws. According to ICE spokeswoman Lorie Dankers, Trujillo doesn't have the legal right to remain in this country, though she's been here since she was 8, never once returning to her native Mexico.

Agents regularly scan the rolls of county jails up and down the West Coast, looking for individuals that are foreign-born, Dankers said.

ICE has the authority to flag an immigrant in custody of another law enforcement agency if they have probable cause to believe an immigration law has been violated. They may also detain foreigners that are here legally on suspicion of terrorism or some violent crimes, Dankers said.

When the person finishes his or her local sentence, ICE agents detain them, and begin deportation proceedings, Dankers said.

"The sentiment across the country is these people are committing crime across our community, and they're not even here legally," Dankers said. "Do you want those people as your neighbors?"

As of Friday, Maldonado said they don't know where Trujillo is.

As of Monday, Dankers said the Thanksgiving holiday made Trujillo difficult to track down, but said she is likely being held at ICE's 1,000-bed Tacoma holding facility.

Inmates are allowed unlimited free calls to foreign consulates and pro-bono attorneys, Dankers said. They may also make unlimited collect calls to family.

A judge at the Executive Office of Immigration Review will ultimately decide Trujillo's fate, Dankers said.

Maldonado and Trujillo's family and friends, along with other community members, believe deporting Trujillo does a disservice to the community.

They marched in front of the Washington County Jail Wednesday, carrying signs reading, "No human being is illegal," and other slogans.

Maldonado said the march was also meant to bring attention to ICE's new protocols for quick deportation, regardless of the severity of crimes committed.

While not blaming judges, she says they have been conditioned to inquire about the ICE status of Hispanics during court appearances.

"(They don't) ask every white person, or every black or Asian," Maldonado said.
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