Thread: "Police Take Action Against Loitering Day Laborers"

November 12, 2007, 5:48 pm] { Cool Video at link}

"Police Take Action Against Loitering Day Laborers"
Trespassing and loitering at one south Nashville intersection has gotten so bad, Metro Police were forced to take action.

In just four months, at least 20 calls were received from consumers and business owners alike at the Jack in the Box restaurant and Mapco gas station on the corner of Murfreesboro Road and Thompson Lane.

Authorities said the problem is dozens of workers, mostly Hispanic and mostly undocumented, are congregating in front of the business, looking for day jobs.

On the morning of November 7, News 2 captured dozens and dozens of men loitering in the parking lots at the corner of Murfreesboro Road at Thompson, looking for work....

...

Some of the men carry legitimate ID cards from their native countries but many more have fraudulent documentation.

Police officers said the south Nashville corner has one of the highest incidents of trouble in the entire sector.

Metro Police Officer Russ Ward said, "With all the deportation laws and ICE activity going on, these guys are fighting and running from us. They’ll do anything to get away from us. It’s the philosophy if they get away; they live to see another day… It all goes back to the quality of life.â€

This is not far from my house. I lived in this area a few years back. It's virtually unrecognizable from that time. It's one spanish business or sign after the other...people milling around, loitering around all the businesses. There is a concentration of cheap apts in this area and some of the sleaziest clubs you will ever want to hear about. There was a recent article posted about one such club where Hispanics were hustled out of their money by the local "ladies." 10 years ago, this was a very nice area and a decent place to live. Nobody in their right mind would move there now.

legitimate IDs????????????

gofer....most of Texas is like that now....South Austin is so crappy....it truely makes me want to rub Rick Perry's nose in the dirty poo filled pampers they throw in the parking lots

Cordan



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Undocumented Workers
November 12, 2007



Officer Russ Ward is linebacker big. His shoulders are broad, like a barn. His are arms solid like IBM stock.

He is so big, that his hulking frame barely fits behind the wheel of the tiny Toyota Camry he is driving.

Wearing a wireless microphone, we can hear the Hermitage Sector cop pull into the parking lot behind the Mapco at the corner

of Murfreesboro Road and Thompson Place.

"Paint. Paint," Ward says.

I watch as more than a dozen men run toward the undercover officer's open window.

The words are like raw meat to a mountain lion. The scent of "Trabajo Y dinero" thick in the air.

"11 an hour," Ward says as men push each other out of the way trying to get close to the tiny car.

"I need five," he says.

By this time, Hispanic men with little or no documentation are in full sprint, lunging for his car doors.

I watch as four men pile into the back seat. Two more men climb into the passenger seat in the front. It looks like a clown car at the circus there are so many body parts sticking out.

"Six is good," the officer says as the men manage to squeeze the 3 doors shut.

The car drives a few blocks down the street. From behind all you can see are hats and dark shadows and moving body parts.

The car is riding low as it moves toward the gauntlet of truth.




The wireless transmitter is working well and I can hear Ward talking about dry walling and painting. It is a bunch of half

English, Half Spanish small talk that won't make a bit of difference in thirty seconds.

The car turns off Murfreesboro Road into a vacant lot. Suddenly four marked Metro Police Cars swoop around the vehicle.

The men stuffed into the Toyota like a tightly wound egg roll, are shocked. Thirty seconds ago they were about to make 11

dollars an hour to paint a wall somewhere in Middle Tennessee. Suddenly they are being yanked out of the small car by glove

wearing Hermitage cops who are throwing around Gringo Spanish like a bad B movie.

"Easy," says one officer. Policia!" says another.

The officers segregate the men and move them safe distances from one another.

One of the Hispanic Men, bleary eyed and confused, asks in English, "Why"

The officers begin patting down the undocumented workers. "Pistola? Drugas? You speak English?" an officer asks.

"No," the shell shocked man responds.

The officers gloved hands run up and down the man's legs searching for weapons and contraband.



I see a number of ID's. Mexican driver's licenses and something that says Guatemala, but the id is so tattered, even I suspect it is fake.

"No problems senor," Ward says, placing the man's hands on the roof of the car. "Manos aqui," he says in a firm, but

respectful tone.

I hear the unmistakable sound of handcuffs clicking as the men are quickly escorted to the waiting squad cars where their IDs

and their stories can be checked out.

While the other officers are processing the men, I move to Sgt. Jon McWright. McWright helped set up this little sting

operation. He tells me about the high number of complaints from citizens and business people that is the source of today’s raid.




"We get requests for traffic enforcement. In the last 6 months, we have got a ton of calls and complaints about Murfreesboro

and Thompson. There is a jack in the box there, and a Mapco. And citizens are calling in, basically complaining, that when

they enter the parking lot they are accosted by 10 or 20 or 30 people surrounding their car trying to get work. All these

lots are posted no trespassing," McKnight says as officers pass a fake I.D. handbook back and forth to one another to make

sure that the men in their cars are not trying to pass fake documents.

McKnight tells me that the parking lots are clearly posted as no trespassing and no loitering zones. The signs are in Spanish

as well as English.



"It might seem petty, and just a minor law, but many of the guys being arrested for misdemeanor trespassing, It goes farther

that that. Some of them have outstanding warrants some have I.C.E. detainers, and they are wanted. We get a lot of them

trying to pass fraudulent documents and id's, stuff they bought that is obviously fake. When we encounter that, we charge

them with felony forgery and criminal simulation," the Sgt tells me.

I ask McKnight what happens to the men now.

He tells me; if they qualify for a state citation, they are treated like anyone else.

That means 1) they have no outstanding warrants. 2) They have IDs that can be verified. 3) They don't have a history of

missing court. If the men meet these three requisites, then the officers write them a state citation and cut them loose,

making sure they know they must come to court in the near future on the trespassing charges.

Several of the men qualify and are cut loose. Several of the men have suspicious or fraudulent IDs and they are brought to

jail.

I am told that the sheriff's department and I.C.E. officials will more thoroughly examine these men as to who they are and

why they are here.

These men might be deported.

It is for this reason that Officer Ward tells me that there has been a definite shift in the attitude of these workers when

the police arrive.

"Back in the day, maybe a year ago, these guys didn't fight," Ward says, his CBS football hat pulled low on his brow. His

dark glasses conceal eyes that have seen a lot of violence in this section of town.

"Now with all the I.C.E. activity and deportation, we see a lot more fights. I think the philosophy is if they get away they

live to see another day. It all goes back to the quality of life issue," Ward says.
"You don't want to pull into Jack in the Box to get a biscuit when there are 75 to 100 people in the parking lot.


On this day, Officer Ward is playing the part of the workman who needs cheap day labor. I ask McKnight what happens to the

construction guys who get caught picking up these men.

"Well as far as local law enforcement, we don't do anything to that guy? Zero. That is an issue for the feds."

I ask about money under the table and W-2 forms that never get filled out.

The Sgt Smiles a smile of sad realization that this is just the way things are right now.

"That is messed up," he says. "Those guys are out there cause of that guy driving the truck. Absolutely. that is absolutely

messed up. They have legislation, trying to make it is a crime for individuals to go and hire undocumented or illegal aliens.

They haven't done that yet. Until they do, our hands are tied.
We do all we can. Addressing the concerns of the citizens.

I talk to several of the men who police have written citations to.

Their English is bad and my Spanish is poor, but we manage to communicate the essentials.

Freddie Vasquez is from Guatemala. He tells me that he works to sell money back to his family. He tells me that the work is

difficult.

When asked if he has Drugas or a Pistola, Lorenzo Ruiz, laughs and says, "No No. I am Christian."

Ruiz knows just enough English to answer my questions. He has puppy dog brown eyes and leathery skin. I don't know how old he

is, but he tells me that he is from Guatemala and has many children to support.

"Mi mucha familia en Guatemala," Ruiz says. "Yo soy mucho children, necessito dinero aqui y yo tengo trabajo, trabajo un

patron en Lebanon. Si, y yo tengo trabajo, yo estoy hablando con un amigo alli oi el trabajo a esperar a mi patron."

Loose Translation:

"I have a lot of family in Guatemala, a lot of children, I need money here and I have work, I work for a guy in Lebanon. I

have work and I'm talking to a friend over there about more work and I'm waiting for my boss.


He tells me that he makes 12 dollars an hour. He also tells me:
"Yo pienso de superarme para salir la familia adelante."

TRANSLATION: "I want to better my situation/myself to help my family get ahead."

Armed with a trespassing citation, police let Ruiz walk away. Before he does, he shows me a card, holding it before my lens.

He laughs out loud, hoping that I will put his card on TV, perhaps to get him a free commercial for more work.

This is funny in any language, and we all laugh as Mr. Ruiz disappears around the corner, 5,000 miles from his home and

family.

I ask the Sergeant if these 9 or 10 men will make a dent, send a message.

He flashes me a grin and shakes his head as if to say "What? are you kidding?"


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Poll At Web site

What state did this happen in?..........The poster person was "Valencia"...I used to live in Valencia & I do not recognize the street names....I still have friends in Valencia and was going to forward this to them......

Take the poll asking what should be done with these people....

http://www.news2wkrn.com/tickedoff/2007 ... php#031569

Originally Posted by grandmasmad

What state did this happen in?..........The poster person was "Valencia"...I used to live in Valencia & I do not recognize the street names....I still have friends in Valencia and was going to forward this to them......

It was in : Tennessee wish they would do that in Valencia

The story is in Nashville, TN.

Thanks for the info about Tenn....My friends would have been jumping for joy if this happened in Valencia....can hope....can't I?????????????

The Sheriff's dept. STOPPED issuing "Notices to Appear" to illegals because they weren't showing up for court. Now if you get caught with 287(g), you stay in jail. This is a BIG plus for our side, since about a third of them were released!