Published: 11.06.2007

Family deported after boy's arrest at school
Immigrant rights concerns raised; police say action was appropriate
By Brady McCombs
ARIZONA DAILY STAR
"While we don't want to put a chilling effect on anyone calling us, we are also obligated to do our job."
Roberto Villaseñor, Tucson's assistant police chief
A Catalina High Magnet School student and his family were deported after school officials found marijuana in his backpack and called Tucson police, who notified the Border Patrol after learning the family was here illegally.
The incident caused concern among immigrant rights advocates, but Tucson police officials say the officer acted appropriately in calling Border Patrol agents to the school.
On Thursday, police responded to Catalina High after school officials found a small amount of marijuana in the backpack of a ninth-grader who appeared to be under the influence, said Chyrl Hill Lander, Tucson Unified School District spokeswoman..
Police asked the boy's parents to come to the school, at East Pima Street and North Dodge Boulevard.
When the officer asked to see the drivers' licenses of the boy's parents, they said they had been living illegally in the United States for six years and that their 17-year-old son and his brother, a 12-year-old sixth-grader at Doolen Middle School, were also here illegally, said Roberto Villaseñor, assistant Tucson police chief.
The officer called the Border Patrol, which sent agents to the school, said Richard DeWitt, Tucson Sector spokesman. They took the boy and his parents into custody and escorted the family from the school, Lander said.
From there, they went to Doolen Middle School, where the couple's other son was waiting in the principal's office when the officer and agents arrived, she said.
The mother and two boys were processed and dropped off at the border by the Border Patrol to return to Mexico in a procedure called voluntary return. The father was held for a formal removal — formerly known as a deportation — because he had been apprehended various times by the agency, DeWitt said. Their names were not released.
Police officials and the union said the officer handled the case correctly.
The boy had committed a crime, and the department's policy allows officers discretion to call the Border Patrol when they suspect someone they encounter is here illegally, Villaseñor said.
"We can't lose track of the fact that an administrator came across a juvenile who was violating the law, in possession of marijuana," Villaseñor said. "That is a crime in this country, whether you are here illegally or not."
But immigrants' rights groups say allowing immigration officials into schools could create distrust and fear in the immigrant community. TUSD officials said police should have waited to call immigration agents.
"We would have preferred that they called Border Patrol once they left the campus," said Lander, who was unaware of any other apprehensions made by the Border Patrol at TUSD schools. "There were rumors that it was a raid."
A long-standing police policy that was most recently reviewed in May prohibits officers from stopping anyone "merely on suspicion that the person is present in the United States illegally."
However, if after a stop for other reasons the officer believes the person is here illegally, the officer can ask immigration officials to come to the scene.
Officers have discretion on a case-by-case basis on whether to call immigration authorities, Villaseñor said.
If Border Patrol agents can't respond or if it takes them too long to arrive, police officers can fill out a field interview form and release the person, according to the policy.
Reasonable suspicion is established if someone can't show a U.S. driver's license or immigration documentation, or sometimes an admission, which was the case with the boy's parents at Catalina High, Villaseñor said. It cannot be based solely on skin color, he said.
"It's not reasonable to think that every Latino or Hispanic person is an illegal alien; that is not a reasonable suspicion," Villaseñor said. "There has to be something much more than that."
Villaseñor said the Police Department doesn't want crime victims or witnesses who are here illegally to fear coming forward because they might be deported.
The department isn't interested in its officers becoming immigration agents, either, he said.
"While we don't want to put a chilling effect on anyone calling us, we are also obligated to do our job," Villaseñor said.
The Tucson Police Officers Association supports the policy, said union President Larry Lopez. It shouldn't matter where the crime is committed, he said.
"It doesn't matter if it's a school, a bank or grocery store; if they get called, they are going to respond," Lopez said.
The Border Patrol and Immigration and Customs Enforcement view schools more selectively.
"Typically, we won't enter the premises of churches or schools unless upon request of proper authorities or an emergency," said DeWitt, who called the school arrest a rarity.
ICE, which wasn't involved in Thursday's arrest but is responsible for enforcing immigration laws in the interior of the country, doesn't generally target churches and schools, said spokesman Vincent Picard. But that doesn't preclude them from making arrests at those locations if necessary, he said.
The incident at Catalina High could have wider implications, said an immigrant rights advocate.
"Now you have people who are afraid to call the police when they have been robbed because they are afraid the police will come and instead of investigating the crime will ask them about their immigration status," said Jennifer Allen, director of Tucson-based Border Action Network.
TUSD officials said they are dedicated to educating all children and don't worry about immigration status. "We hope it does not have a negative effect, and that all of our parents and guardians feel safe coming into our schools," Lander said.
On StarNet: Should Tucson police be helping to enforce immigration law? To vote in our poll, find this story online at azstarnet.com
"While we don't want to put a chilling effect on anyone calling us, we are also obligated to do our job."
Roberto Villaseñor, Tucson's assistant police chief
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