Thread: NM: Civil rights groups file lawsuits against Otero County

CHAPARRAL — A series of immigration raids by southern New Mexico law enforcement agencies has prompted four civil rights groups to file federal lawsuits claiming that sheriff's deputies have arrested and harassed Hispanic residents without warrants or probable cause.

The lawsuits, filed in U.S. District Court in Albuquerque on Wednesday by the ACLU-New Mexico, the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, the Border Network for Human Rights and the Paso del Norte Civil Rights Project, accused Otero County deputies of launching illegal immigration raids in Chaparral.

The Associated Press reported in September that Otero County sheriff's deputies were routinely demanding proof of citizenship from residents in traffic stops and at their homes. More than a dozen people were arrested and turned over to the U.S. Border Patrol in August and September.

The lawsuits claim the deputies sought out Hispanic immigrants under a federally funded effort aimed at curbing crime in border communities. Otero County received a grant under Operation Stonegarden, a federal program to help curb crime in border communities, Undersheriff Norbert Sanchez said in September.

Chaparral is about 30 miles north of the U.S.-Mexico border. A Border Patrol spokesman has said Operation Stonegarden grants are not to be used for immigration enforcement, but deputies can question the identity of a criminal suspect.

David H. Urias, a MALDEF lawyer, said the September raids were a clear violation of residents' due-process rights and constitutional protections against unreasonable searches.

Norma Estrada, a U.S. citizen, said a deputy harassed her Sept. 10, as two others stood by, after seeing her in her yard with her dog. When the dog got loose briefly, the deputy demanded to see her identification and then issued her a citation for a loose animal, she said.

"I felt humiliated," she said.

Estrada, a married mother of three, said she was issued a $360 ticket for the loose dog violation.

Another resident who signed on to one of the lawsuits using a pseudonym said a deputy tried to enter her home before dawn Sept. 10. When someone spotted him coming through a window into her house, the deputy backed out and banged on the front door.

When no one came to the door, the lawsuit said, another deputy began to yell, "Delivery! Mia's Pizza!" When that didn't bring anyone to the door, a deputy yelled, "Animal Control! Come outside!"

The family stayed inside, the lawsuit said, and a few minutes later, a deputy yelled, "Otero County Sheriff! Come outside!"

One of the homeowner's teenagers, a U.S. citizen, opened the door a few inches to speak to the deputies, and was told that their dog had bitten someone, a claim they denied. The deputies later barged into the home as the family stood outside, the lawsuit says. The family claims the deputies ransacked their home, emptying bureau drawers and dumping the contents of the woman's purse onto the bed.

Otero County Attorney Dan Bryant said he had only read the ACLU lawsuit Wednesday afternoon.

"The county's reaction is we will be looking into the allegations and investigating the facts," Bryant said. "We'll find out what's going on and respond accordingly."

In September, Sanchez denied residents' claims.

"We don't enforce immigration laws; we enforce county and state statutes," Sanchez said. "We are not going down there targeting or profiling these people. We do the same operations in (other) parts of the county."

He acknowledged asking for Social Security cards as a means of identification. Immigration law experts said Social Security cards are only work authorization documents, not identity cards.

Other police agencies, including the El Paso County Sheriff's Office, have been accused of using similar tactics in the past.

In Panama City Beach, Fla., sheriff's deputies formed an Illegal Alien Task Force whose patrol cars parked at construction sites in force and arrested any worker who ran away.

Fifteen people in New York, including seven U.S. citizens, are suing the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, claiming it violated the Fourth Amendment during home raids there in 2006.

Estrada said Wednesday she believes the only reason deputies stopped at her house on Sept. 10 "is because I am Mexican."

She said she's not in fear of the deputies "because I know my rights. I ask questions." But she said she is pressing forward with the lawsuit in hopes that the harassment stops.

Associated Press Writer Tim Korte in Albuquerque contributed to this report.

http://www.abqtrib.com/news/2007/oct/18 ... -against-/

I want to follow up on this one !!!

No way the criminals win
if the sheriffs had the right to ask for proff under the laws waste of money for any body that side with the soon to be dearly deports