Thread: New Hampshire Police Chief In Middle Of Immig Fight

http://www.lowellsun.com/ci_2755555

Hudson chief in the middle of immigration fight
Protesters rally at police station against policy of citing illegal immigrants
By DENNIS SHAUGHNESSEY, Sun Staff

Jazmin Miranda-Smith, center, and Bereniced Cruz, right, of Manchester, make their positions clear as members of the New Hampshire Immigration Rights Task Force meet with Hudson Police Chief Richard Gendron at the police station yesterday. SUN / BOB WHITAKER

HUDSON, N.H. -- Police Chief Richard Gendron finds himself in the middle of a national debate centering on immigration laws after citing two illegal immigrants on charges of criminal trespass.

Yesterday, moments before a group of about 20 protesters entered the police station to voice their objections to the policy, a delegation from the Statehouse presented Chief Richard Gendron with a plaque commending his actions.

Applying a state law that governs criminal trespass, Hudson police cited two illegal immigrants on May 10 who were stopped for driving with a broken headlight. The pair, Sergio Robles Ruiz and Margarito Jaramillo Escobar, two Mexican nationals, did not have valid drivers' licenses and no documentation to prove they were in the country legally. Although they were never arrested, the criminal-trespass violation carries a maximum fine of $1,000. Ruiz and Escobar are scheduled to appear in Nashua District Court on May 26.

Speaking
for the New Hampshire Immigration Rights Task Force, state Rep. Hector Valez of Manchester told Gendron he is deeply troubled by the trespassing charges brought against the pair, as well as the arrest of Jorge Mora Ramirez in New Ipswich.

“We believe these charges represent unjust and unconstitutional denials of human rights,� Valez said. “We are concerned that the practices of the Hudson and New Ipswich police will lead inevitably to the profiling of motorists and pedestrians based on perception of immigration status.�

But Gendron defended the actions of his officers, adding that the illegal immigrants were never arrested.

“Our position is that if you entered the country illegally, you committed a crime,� he said. “The United States government has spent billions of dollars on Homeland Security since September 11, 2001, and it starts with illegal aliens. They should not be here.�

Gendron followed the lead of New Ipswich Police Chief W. Garrett Chamberlain, who has used the trespassing law to deal with undocumented immigrants.

Last July, New Ipswich police officers pulled over a van and found nine illegal immigrants inside. Several weeks ago, an officer in New Ipswich questioned Ramirez, a 21-year-old Mexican, while he was making a phone call from his car. Ramirez admitted he was in the country illegally and Chamberlain applied the trespassing statute when federal authorities refused to take him into custody.

According to New Hampshire law, a person is guilty of criminal trespass if he enters or remains in any place knowing that he is not licensed or privileged to do so.

Gendron said reaction to the policy has been positive, but protesters outside in the rain held signs that read, “Stop Profiling,� and “Stop Bogus Arrests.�

LouAnn Fornataro had harsh words for the police.

“The people of New Hampshire ought to be outraged,� she said. “These chiefs of police have become vigilantes. The fact that they wear badges does not make them less than vigilantes. A law-enforcement officer has the responsibility to protect citizens from vigilantes. At the moment the vigilantes in New Ipswich and Hudson are wearing badges.�

Cliff Miller of Windham and Tom Stilings of Westford, Mass., sat quietly in the back of a covered pickup truck that carried American flags and signs that read, “What part of illegal don't you understand?�

“We spent many years defending everyone else's rights to free speech and now it's our turn,� said Miller, who is 73.

Locally, Victoria Fahlberg, Executive Director of ONE Lowell, weighed in on the issue, saying she fears the New Hampshire cases will lead to racial profiling.

“It stems from this whole attitude that came out of September 11,� she said. “It gives legitimacy to people who want to get rid of all the immigrants. If they're criminals, by all means let them go through the process. But these people are being dehumanized simply because they're undocumented.�

Fahlberg said she supports new reform legislation what would allow undocumented immigrants to earn their legal status.

“Aren't there enough real criminals that we should be concerned about? This is a total waste of taxpayer money,� she said.

As the protesters filed into the police station, state Rep. David L. Buhlman from the House Immigration Caucus presented Gendron with a plaque that read, in part, “in recognition of his dedication to protect the rights of citizens who are legally residing in the United States and to apprehend those who are in the United States illegally and therefore breaking the law.�

Before stopping in Hudson with a petition signed by over 100 people, the task force went to New Ipswich, where they presented a similar petition to Chamberlain. Mark MacKenzie, a spokesman for the task force, said the citations sent the wrong message to the rest of the country.

“And the message is not receiving a lot of support. Immigration is a complicated issue. People are in different phases of the immigration process trying to become legal citizens of this country,� MacKenzie said.

Dennis Shaughnessey's e-mail address is dshaughnessey@lowellsun.com.

There are 2 WORDS that are a constant now with these Law Breakers....
RACIST & VIGILANTE

They're a 2 note act {thanx Bush---you gave them the license to repeat this lie}

“The people of New Hampshire ought to be outraged,� she said. “These chiefs of police have become vigilantes. The fact that they wear badges does not make them less than vigilantes. A law-enforcement officer has the responsibility to protect citizens from vigilantes. At the moment the vigilantes in New Ipswich and Hudson are wearing badges.�

You have to be a real idiot to make a statement like this.
A law-enforcement officer has the responsibility to protect citizens from lawbreakers. Illegal aliens ARE lawbreakers. Simple concept to grasp.