Thread: Troopers train to catch illegal immigrants

www.accessmontgomery.com


October 10, 2005

Troopers train to catch illegal immigrants

By Mike Linn

Francisco Vazquez doesn't like driving on the interstate at night.

There are too many state police officers, he said, and as an illegal immigrant, he fears a traffic ticket could turn into a trip back to Mexico.

Civil rights activists say his fears are justified. The state will more than double the number of troopers who have the authority to arrest illegal immigrants, the Associated Press reported this week.

Gov. Bob Riley said 25 state troopers would undergo federal immigration law enforcement training at the Center for
Domestic Preparedness in Anniston.

After completing the five-week training course in mid-November, they
will join 21 others who went through the special training in 2003.

Alabama, Florida and Arkansas are the only states with the authority to use troopers as federal immigration enforcement officers.

For Vazquez, who already avoids driving long distances and stays within the speed limit, that's a frightening prospect.

"Their job is traffic laws not immigration," said Vazquez, who came to
America four years ago and lives in the tri-county region. "I never drink and drive, but it's still real scary to think they can pull you over and send you back to Mexico (and) you lose every thing that you've earned in this country. We come here with nothing. They should look for the real criminals."

Martha Earnhardt, a spokeswoman for the Alabama State Troopers, said that's exactly what the troopers intend to do. She said they would not conduct raids on businesses that hire primarily Hispanics.

She also said the program for bids biased-based enforcement of immigration law.

Since 2003, state troopers have been 145 immigration-related arrests, almost all illegal immigrants who have committed other crimes. She said there have been no complaints so far.

"Alabama troopers, who have been trained in immigration enforcement and are authorized to enforce federal immigration law, do so only in the course of their regular duties as state troopers," she said. "They have not become immigration officers."

She said authorized troopers also could arrest illegal immigrants who apply for driver's licenses.

The new program allows officers to do their job better, she said, and teaches them what to look for during traffic stops.

Joe Davis, assistant director for the Alabama Department of
Homeland Security, said the reason the program is needed is
there are too few Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers in the state.

But civil rights advocates say the new program opens the
door to racial profiling.

"The role of law enforcement is to develop a level of trust
within the community and to enforce the laws that are applic
able in that state, and this type of process undermines that abil
ity dramatically," said Mary Bauer, director of the immigrant justice project and an attorney with the Southern Poverty Law Center.

She said the booming immigrant population in Alabama is
fundamentally afraid of police, "and that's a bad thing because
immigrants are dramatically more likely to be victims of
crime than they are to be criminals."

Great news! added to the homepage!

http://www.alipac.us/article-801-thread-1-0.html

Zogby Poll indicates 86% of Americans approve of these actions.

Go Alabama!

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