Rogers : Hispanics see pitfalls with plan
Posted on Thursday, November 16, 2006
A program endorsed by Rogers Mayor Steve Womack that trains police to support the federal immigration law faces opposition from Hispanic leaders in Northwest Arkansas.
The program could cause problems, including racial profiling, some Hispanic leaders said Wednesday.
Womack announced Tuesday at the City Council meeting that he intends to enroll Rogers Police Department officers in the U. S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement 287 (g ) program.
The program, created in 1996 after an amendment to the Immigration and Nationality Act, allows states and municipalities to contract with the federal government to enforce immigration laws.
The agency trains officers for about five weeks and designs a program that allows local law enforcement officers to question, detain and process illegal aliens they encounter during their daily work.
Womack sent a letter Tuesday to Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Julie Myers requesting to enroll at least six officers in the program.
The Oct. 20 shooting of Rogers detective Brian Culpepper prompted his action, Womack said in the letter. Culpepper was hit by a bullet from the gun of a Benton County sheriff’s deputy when he and nine other officers served a warrant at 703 E. Mimosa St.
A woman, who was later deported to Mexico, struggled with one of the deputies, and the gun went off, police said.
The letter also mentions “the death of an innocent motorist — shot and killed in a road rage incident in the Rogers / Lowell area — perpetrated by an illegal resident.”
“The citizens of Rogers have had enough,” according to the letter.
Womack, in an e-mail sent to aldermen Wednesday, said illegal aliens accounted for 31 of the 190 people arrested on felony drug charges in Rogers since Jan. 1, 2005.
On the most serious drug charges, 25 of the 57 arrested were illegal aliens, according to Womack, who obtained the figures from Police Chief Steve Helms.
Opponents argued Wednesday that allowing police officers to enforce immigration laws could further engulf the city in legal and social trouble.
Implementing the program now is premature, said Ana Hart, a board member for Just Communities of Northwest Arkansas, a nonprofit group that promotes diversity.
Womack hasn’t produced any information connecting illegal aliens to an increase in crime, Hart said.
The community needs to determine the problem that led to Culpepper’s shooting before training law enforcement officers to handle immigration matters, she said.
“How are we going to understand the circumstances that need solutions if we don’t have the basics ?” Hart asked. “There needs to be an assessment. Is the community ready ? Is the relationship that exists with the police a good relationship that’s trustworthy ?”
Jim Miranda, a Bella Vista resident who is organizing a local chapter of the Mexican American Political Association, said the immigration program would exacerbate prejudices surrounding Hispanic residents and lead to racial profiling.
“When an ethnic person is driving down the street in Rogers, they will be targeted directly or indirectly over a white person,” Miranda said. “You can’t help but draw inferences.”
In October 2003, Hispanic motorists sued Rogers and its Police Department, claimed racial profiling and agreed on a settlement that didn’t include monetary damages. The department was required as part of the settlement to form a committee that would meet at least twice a year to discuss efforts to connect with the immigrant community.
“The ink isn’t even dry on the racial profiling case, and it’s like going from the frying pan into the fire,” Miranda said. “The mayor is grasping at straws and knows he opened up a big can of worms.”
Others spoke in support of Womack’s efforts to strengthen community awareness.
Martin Montes, a Rogers resident who has met with local leaders on the immigration issue, said Womack has supported Hispanics by implementing the Rogers International Festival and supporting the Rogers Community Center.
But Montes cautioned that the program, if enacted, could lead to a decrease in the number of crimes reported to the Police Department if residents feel that they could be subjected to immigration status interrogations.
“Clearly it does have the potential of pitting neighbor against neighbor,” Montes said.
Womack refused to comment Wednesday, saying only that Miranda shouldn’t focus on issues that don’t affect the city he lives in.
“Jim Miranda lives in Bella Vista. He shouldn’t care what goes on in Rogers,” Womack said. “I’m not going to get into it.” Lt. Mike Johnson, spokesman for the Rogers Police Department, said the city’s next step is entering into a memorandum of understanding with U. S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement that will require federal officers to supervise local law enforcement officers trained by the agency. Johnson said he doesn’t expect the program to lend itself to racial profiling because trained officers will only respond to incidents officers encounter during daily police work. “We’re not going to have these people who are certified going out and knocking on doors. If they are out on a crime scene or at a traffic stop that’s when it will be used,” Johnson said.
To contact this reporter: lboch@arkansasonline. com
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