DOJ Report Finds Arpaio Engaged in Practice of Civil Rights Abuses, Racial Profiling

December 15, 2011


This release comes from the American Immigration Council.  The American Immigration Council's mission is to strengthen America by honoring our immigrant history and shaping how Americans think about and act towards immigration now and in the future.

DOJ Report Slams Sheriff Joe Arpaio and DHS Restricts 287(g) and Secure Communities Programs
Washington D.C. - After a three-year investigation into the abusive practices of Sheriff Joe Arpaio’s Maricopa County Sherriff’s Office (MCSO), the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced today that it had found a pattern and practice of civil rights abuses, including extreme cases of racial profiling. The enormity of the violations, the majority of which were experienced by immigrants and Latinos, has led the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to suspend its cooperation agreement (under section 287(g)) with the sheriff’s office and restrict the MCSO’s access to immigration databases through the Secure Communities program.
The dual announcements from DOJ and DHS reinforce what many in Arizona and the broader immigration community have long argued: the practice of allowing local law enforcement to enforce federal immigration law increases the likelihood of racial profiling and pretextual arrests which leads to disastrous results for entire communities.
The DOJ’s Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division Thomas E. Perez commented on the investigation noting “MCSO’s systematic disregard for basic constitutional protections has created a wall of distrust between the sheriff’s office and large segments of the community, which dramatically compromises the ability to protect and serve the people. The problems are deeply rooted in MCSO’s culture, and are compounded by MCSO’s penchant for retaliation against individuals who speak out.”

The DOJ has requested a response from Maricopa County and writes “If MCSO is not interested or if we deem that MCSO is not engaged in good-faith efforts to achieve compliance by voluntary means, we are prepared to file a civil action to compel compliance.”

The report contains a review of the constitutional abuses rampant in Maricopa County including an analysis by a leading expert on measuring racial profiling who examined MCSO traffic stops and found that “Latino drivers were between four to nine times more likely to be stopped than similarly situated non-Latino drivers. Overall, the expert concluded that this case involves the most egregious racial profiling in the United States that he has ever personally seen in the course of his work, observed in litigation, or reviewed in professional literature.”

Today’s announcements also highlight the critical issues at stake in the upcoming Supreme Court review of Arizona’s SB 1070, a law that institutionalized the role of state law enforcement in federal immigration matters. Even under the best of circumstances, ceding immigration authority to state officers presents an array of complex and politically charged issues. Under the worst of circumstances, as illustrated by Sherriff Arpaio’s MCSO, state and local law enforcement agencies enforcing federal immigration laws can be disasterous.

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PHOTOS: Drawing the Line Between Police/ICE Collaboration

November 6, 2011

Salem, Ore.-- On Saturday, 75 people from around Oregon attended the Confronting the Polimigra: Drawing the Line Between Police/ICE Collaboration Summit at Willamette University in Salem.  The goal of the day-long summit is to strengthen the network of community organizations working across the state to address the damaging connection between ICE and local law enforcement.  It also gave the chance for community advocates to come together and learn from one another as we work to end the criminalization of our communities and improve the lives of immigrants in Oregon.

For more details on how you can get involved in this work, please contact Robin Wright at robin@causaoregon.org

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Oregonians to participate in National Week of Action against failed S-Comm Program

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 18, 2011

Contact:
Eliana Machuca, Portland Jobs with Justice, 503-703-1407,
Natalie Patrick Knox, CAUSA Oregon, 503-915-5701
Erik Sorensen, CAUSA Oregon, 503-488-0263

Oregonians to participate in National Week of Action against failed S-Comm Program

Members of the immigrant, faith, labor and civil rights community to deliver report to elected officials today

Portland, Ore--This Week, the Safe Communities Project, a coalition of immigrant and civil rights organizations, is joining with faith, labor, and community leaders in Oregon and around the country to ask elected officials at every level to stand against the Department of Homeland Security’s fatally flawed and misnamed “Secure Communities” (S-Comm) program.

Already several events raising awareness about the highly controversial program have happened around the country this week including in Los Angeles and Oakland, California, Tucson, Arizona, and Chicago, Illinois.
Today, as part of the national week of action, members of the Safe Communities Project will be going to city, county, and state elected officials, the offices of Oregon’s Congressional Delegation, and sheriff's and police departments in Portland, Salem and Bend to deliver a report released on Monday condemning the S-Comm Program.

RESTORING COMMUNITY: A National Community Advisory Report on ICE’s Failed “Secure Communities” Program, released by NDLON and a National Community Advisory Commission, is a shadow report to DHS’s S-Comm Advisory Committee that was convened to water down the wildfire of opposition. The report focuses on the failed and fundamentally flawed “Secure Communities” program and gives a firsthand account from individuals who have been swept into S-Comm’s deportation dragnet—mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, workers, and students from across the United States.

The full report can be downloaded by linking here: http://altopolimigra.com/s-comm-shadow-report/  

On August 5th, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security announced that they would unilaterally withdrawal the Memorandums of Agreement (MOAs) that they had originally signed with 39 states when implementing the program. Despite increasing national criticism from Governors, law enforcement officials, and community leaders, DHS said that these agreements, which provided a mechanism for states to “opt-out” of S-Comm, were never needed and that the program will continue to expand.

“In light of the widespread criticism of Secure Communities coming from an array of stakeholders, including community groups and public safety officials, ICE should suspend Secure Communities until the misinformation and misapplication that have plagued the program from the beginning are corrected,” said Ashlee Albies, Co-Chair of Portland Chapter of the National Lawyers Guild and civil rights attorney with Creighton & Rose. “ICE's recent actions undermine our system of democracy and weaken protection for already vulnerable communities in Oregon."

While sold as a program to target serious criminals, ICE’s own statistics show that 77% of people identified as a result of S. Comm. have been arrested for lesser offences, including traffic violations, while nearly one third of those had no criminal record. Additionally, ICE has consistently rejected calls for greater transparency. A federal judge hearing Freedom of Information Act litigation against ICE over S-Comm stated that “[t]here is ample evidence that ICE and DHS have gone out of their way to mislead the public about Secure Communities.” The program is currently under scrutiny by members of Congress.

Key Facts about the “Secure Communities” (S-Comm) Program:

• S-Comm separates families and destroys communities, violates our due process rights.
• DHS is using S-Comm as a vehicle to meet the agency's deportation goal of 400,000 people per year, subjecting people to detention and deportation regardless of whether or not they committed any "crime," the degree of severity of legal infractions, how long ago any charges occurred, what kind of rehabilitation has taken place, or what ties they have to communities.
• S-Comm compromises our communities' safety by driving a wedge between local police and the communities they are supposed to serve, adding to the already tenuous relationship.
• S-Comm encourages racial profiling and indiscriminately funnels immigrants into an unjust and dysfunctional immigration detention and deportation system.

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The Safe Communities Project is a coalition of immigrant & civil rights organizations which includes VOZ Workers’ Rights Education Project. Portland Immigrant Rights Coalition, Oregon New Sanctuary Movement, Portland Central America Solidarity Committee, North West Immigrant Youth Alliance, American Friends Service Committee, Jobs with Justice and CAUSA , Oregon’s Statewide Immigrant Rights Coalition.

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"Secure Communities"...Or Anything But?

"Secure Communities"...Or Anything But?

August 10, 2011
Chris Thomas, Public News Service - OR
AUDIO: http://www.publicnewsservice.org/mp3.php?f=rss-21628-1.mp3

ST. HELENS, Ore. - Oregon's immigrant community is raising concerns about public safety in light of a Homeland Security Department decision that individual states cannot opt out of the "Secure Communities" program.

That program gives local sheriffs the responsibility of turning over immigrants accused of crimes to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the federal immigration authorities. But an Oregon attorney says more than half the detainees are not criminals. Stephen Manning, with the Immigrant Law Group, says the program is alienating local police, who make the initial arrests, from those they are trying to protect.

"Those individuals, if they end up getting booked into the jail, they will be deported, they will be detained; they will be sucked into this very nebulous system. And the police take the blame for that - and it's not the police's doing. It's ICE's doing, and it's the sheriff's doing."

In rural areas, where local law enforcement is often focused on building relationships, Secure Communities has put police and sheriffs' departments at cross-purposes, according to Amanda Aguilar Shank, Columbia County organizer for the Rural Organizing Project, who says the result is less security.

"As we're in this budget crisis, it becomes even more important to have a level of trust and community-building in the community. When you're targeting one minority and making the community unsafe for them, that means that more crimes go unreported."

Manning says a simple traffic stop can throw a person into jail - and that person's family into turmoil.

"People call us in crisis all the time. They don't understand what's happening; it's a completely opaque process. And people call us frequently because people have disappeared - 'We don't know where this person is. They were coming home from work, and then suddenly, we get a phone call and they're now in this detention facility in Texas. How did that happen?' "

ICE sees Secure Communities as an effective partnership that has increased deportations. But three states - Illinois, Massachusetts and New York - have refused to be part of it. Oregon has not taken a stand on it, although Gov. John Kitzhaber has said he sees the need for clear boundaries between local law enforcement and federal immigration enforcement.

Click here to view this story on the Public News Service RSS site and access an audio version of this and other stories: http://www.publicnewsservice.org/index.php?/content/article/21628-1

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DHS tells states they can't opt-out of flawed program

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 5, 2011

Department of Homeland Security tells states they can't opt-out of flawed program

Salem, Ore. – During a teleconference today, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said that they are rescinding the Memorandums of Agreement (MOAs) on Secure Communities (S-Comm) with states like Illinois, New York and Massachusette that want to withdrawl from the program. DHS maintains that the Secure Communities program is mandated by federal law and that agreements were never necessary. The Department said it intends to implement the program regardless and that it will be made mandatory in 2013. The statement by the Department of Homeland Security contradicts their original position that the program would be optional for cities and states.

CAUSA, Oregon's Statewide Immigrant Rights Coalition, joins with public officials, law enforcement and public safety and immigrant rights advocates around the nation in expressing serious concerns over DHS's and Immigration and Customs Enforcement's continuing to force a program onto states that they recognize as severely flawed.

CAUSA joins with others in calling on DHS and ICE to:

1. Amend their rules so that states and localities, and not the federal government, decide if Secure Communities is appropriate for them.
2. Meaningfully address the erosion of public trust in law enforcement created by the Secure Communities Program.  
3. Address the severe flaws in the Secure Communities Program, as it lacks the internal safeguards to prevent profiling. ICE must also address bias and discriminatory practices that are feeding people into the program.  

Although no jurisdictions in Oregon have signed any letters to opt-out of the Secure Communities Program, there has been serious concerns raised in many counties around the state including Multnomah and Marion. In community meetings,  members of the public have made their serious concerns be known to county law enforcement over the program.

A study recently conducted by the City of Portland Human Rights Commission concluded that, among other disturbing findings, the flawed and costly program makes Oregonians less safe by undermining community trust of police and encourages local police to target immigrants.  During a recent interview with Univision Portland KUNP-TV, Oregon Governor John Kitzhaber said that a line needed to be drawn between federal immigration enforcement and local law enforcement.

As this controversial program is shrouded in lies and deception, CAUSA maintains that the Secure Communities program must be halted immediately until these and other issues are addressed.

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CAUSA, Oregon's Immigrant Rights Coalition, is the largest Latino and Latina civil and human rights and advocacy organization in the Pacific Northwest. We work to defend and advance immigrant rights through coordination with local, state, and national coalitions and allies. For more information, visit http://www.causaoregon.org

For more information contact Erik Sorensen, Communications Director at 503-488-0263 or at erik@causaoregon.org

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FBI Prevents States from Opting Out of Flawed Secure Communities Program

It has now become clear that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) won’t let states that are concerned with the flawed Secure Communities program opt out of participating.

According to Mahwish Khan at America's Voice, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is playing a major role and is the reason states are being forced to comply with DHS’ greatly flawed Secure Communities program.  Khan says that, "it’s all part of a much larger scheme, with even bigger problems."

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Immigration Reform Champion Visits OR

June 27, 2011
Chris Thomas, Public News Service - OR
Audio: http://www.publicnewsservice.org/mp3.php?f=rss-20781-1.mp3

WOODBURN, Ore. - Advocates for immigrants' rights in Oregon have had some setbacks in this year's legislature, but a U.S. Congressman is advising them to look at the bigger, national picture. Rep. Luis Gutierrez is in Woodburn today for a community meeting with immigrant families. The Illinois Democrat has championed comprehensive immigration reform.

On a cross-country tour that began this spring, Gutierrez says he's getting the message that Latino voters are looking ahead to 2012, and they're not happy with what they have seen so far from the White House.

"They're saying, 'We want the President of the United States to keep his word. We're disillusioned, we're disgruntled, we're saddened.' But almost in the same breath, they say, 'But we're ready to make up! We're ready to reconcile.' We really want to be with him. We just hope he can be our champion."

Opponents of comprehensive immigration reform see it as a form of amnesty. Gutierrez also supports the DREAM Act to allow children of immigrants to attend college in the U.S. if they were raised here. A similar bill at the state level, allowing children of Oregon immigrants to pay in-state tuition, was held in committee.

Gutierrez believes Oregon's restrictive driver's license law and law enforcement crackdowns on immigrants in some communities are having a chilling effect on families and employers.

"It's important that America understands that it's about people's lives - Washington state and Oregon both depend on immigrant labor - and that the immigrant community is working and contributing to the economy, and they're vital to the economy. Their voices should be heard."

This month, Homeland Security officials issued new guidelines for the "Secure Communities" program, in which local law enforcement shares information with federal immigration agents. They say the changes will prevent deporting people who do not have criminal records. Still, Gutierrez says some states have decided not to participate.

"These are friends and allies in states that elected this president. Yet, all of these friends are saying, 'This isn't working, because it's turning our police departments into immigration agents, and thereby dividing the community from the very population they're there to serve and protect."

Eight counties in Oregon participate in Secure Communities, and four of them have joined since April.

The meeting is scheduled for 6 p.m. tonight at Woodburn High School, 1785 N. Front St., Woodburn.

http://www.publicnewsservice.org/index.php?%2Fcontent%2Farticle%2F20781-1

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Hispanic Affairs Commission calls for end to Sheriff’s Office collaboration with ICE

Hispanic Affairs Commission calls for end to Sheriff’s Office collaboration with ICE

Portland, Ore. -- The Oregon Commission on Hispanic Affairs (OCHA) has sent a letter to Chair Jeff Cogan of the Multnomah County Board of Commissioners expressing concerns over the Multnomah Co. Sheriff's Office’s participation in the "Secure Communities" Program. This voluntary collaboration, they say, “has diminished trust in law enforcement and other County services”, and has “degraded public safety”.

The “Secure Communities” program allows state and local police to check the fingerprints of an individual they are booking into a jail against Department of Homeland Security (DHS) immigration databases. If there is a “hit” in an immigration database, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is automatically notified, even if the person has not been convicted of any criminal act.

The critical problem with this program is that immigrant communities that know or believe police are involved with ICE are less likely to go to police for assistance. Crimes go unreported and victims go unprotected when entire communities fear the police. Even legal immigrants fear cooperating with or seeking help from law enforcement if they fear they could somehow be placed into removal proceedings, or if they have family members who are undocumented.

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