Thread: NJ: Latino leaders meet with AG

Latino leaders meet with AG
Home News Tribune Online 09/9/07


By CHRISTINE SPARTA
STAFF WRITER

A group of Latino leaders welcomed the chance to have a dialogue with state Attorney General Anne Milgram on Saturday concerning her recent order to local law-enforcement agencies to inquire about the immigration status of people they arrest. The leaders, however, have some reservations about the implementation of the directive.

Members of the Latino Leadership Alliance of New Jersey met with Milgram at the Days Hotel & Conference Center in East Brunswick to discuss the directive, which specifies that police may only ask about someone's immigration status when they're being arrested for an indictable offense or for driving while intoxicated. Victims and witnesses are not subject to inquiries.

"We welcome these guidelines, but we have concerns," said Martin Perez, president of the alliance. "We understand the attorney general has good intentions but we have to make sure there's a mechanism to make changes in the guidelines."

Perez said Latinos are often portrayed unfairly in society and emphasized that they are integral to the community with homes, jobs and memberships in chambers of commerce.

Perez noted that some members of his alliance are concerned about the effect of Milgram's directive on the issue of domestic violence. For instance, he said, a wife might want to report her husband because there is domestic violence in the home but doesn't for fear of deportation. He added that sometimes people fight and get back together making this a complicated issue.

A big fear is racial profiling.

Perez said sometimes people get arrested on a trumped up charge, it is then downgraded and there may be no evidence to support the case, but the person's legal status is revealed and he is then deported before the case can be disputed.

Perez said the attorney general agreed to randomly pick between 10 to 20 police departments to monitor the number of arrests to see if there is a pattern of profiling Latinos.

Milgram did not address the press after attending the closed-door meeting with the Latino leaders.

Richard Rivera, an official with the New Jersey chapter of the National Latino Peace Officers Association and a retired police officer, would like to see personal communication and cultural diversity issues addressed at police academies on the first day of training.

"The problem inherent in any type of guideline is that it needs to be fluid and there needs to be an open dialogue with the attorney general's office," he said.

Rivera said he would like to see people feel free to speak up if a crime is committed instead of fearing deportation. He asked the attorney general to open a toll-free, anonymous hot line for people to call if they feel victimized without worry of repercussions because of immigration status.

In addition, Rivera said that every police department in the United States should have compliment and complaint forms in English, Spanish and any other language that was prominent in the community.

Churches have also been very vocal in this issue. The Rev. Miguel Rivera, president of the National Coalition of Latino Clergy & Christian Leaders, supports the efforts of the LLANJ.

The Rev. Rivera said New Jersey is ahead of many other states in tackling immigration issues. He said the problem centers around Congress, adding that if Congress doesn't seek a solution to the problem, it trickles down to a municipal level.

"We believe that instead of police officers calling immigration officers, let the judges do that. It's more fair and avoids the possibility of racial profiling," he said.

However, he's quick to add that he's not condoning criminal activity like the murders of three people last month in Newark by Jose Carranza, an illegal immigrant from Peru.

The Rev. Rivera said his group has a moral standing to fight for the rights of immigrants in the same way Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. did in the '60s with his Southern Christian Leadership Conference.

The Rev. Rivera said that mistakes can be made — including computer glitches and missing documents — that could lead to the deporting a legalized citizen or one who is in the process of applying for citizenship.

The reverend is mobilizing affiliated church congregations to take an active, vigilant role. He said he is in the process of creating a database with the names, badge numbers and license plates of police officials who may have been guilty of racial profiling and is encouraging congregants to step forward with information.

His organization is engaged in litigation in Georgia and Oklahoma regarding similar cases of discrimination. He's also planning seminars for other pastors to show them their legal options in similar situations.

As far as a resolution goes, in the end, Rivera said it comes down to an issue of humanity.

"Try to understand each other. Maybe the color of our skin or accent is different, but we are neighbors," he said.

http://www.thnt.com/apps/pbcs.dll/artic ... 90453/1001

OH FCOL. WHY IS IT A BIG DEAL TO ASK SOMEONE'S STATUS? AS FAR AS VICTIMS OF CRIMES GOES, IF THEY WERE IN THEIR OWN COUNTRY THEY WOULD NOT HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT THEIR STATUS WHEN REPORTING CRIMES. SO THE FASTER WE DEPORT THEM THE BETTER OFF THEY WILL ALL BE.

Agreed. You read my mind. I am so sick and tired of the race card being played and these criminals and their raza mouth pieces who want to have it both ways.