Immigration arrests spark controversy from coast to coast
By FRANK ELTMAN | Associated Press Writer
1:02 PM EDT, October 6, 2007
Newsday.com
GARDEN CITY. N.Y. - Long Island officials complained loudly this week about a series of immigration raids, accusing federal agents of a "cowboy mentality" that could have put local police in harm's way.
The attack on the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency was so sharp that a congressman stepped in to try and broker a peace.
But such complaints are becoming increasingly common, with local officials from Nevada to Nassau County saying they are fed up with the federal war on illegal immigration.
"Think of some of the people who were arrested and picked up _ they have children," said Reno, Nev., Mayor Bob Cashell after 54 suspected illegal workers were arrested after raids at McDonald's restaurants last month. "They don't know where their mama or their daddy is. That's not right."
David Leopold, a Cleveland lawyer and member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association's task force on ICE raids, also criticized the immigration sweeps.
"How on earth is local law enforcement supposed to deal with a scared citizenry?" he said. "This new policy of immigration reform by law enforcement is going to wreak havoc on our communities, wreak havoc on our economy."
More than 1,300 criminal illegal immigrants were rounded up during sweeps in Southern California during the past two weeks.
U.S. immigration agents have also raided industrial facilities in recent months, including meatpacking plants, egg farms and a leather factory in New Bedford, Mass.
In New Haven, Conn., officials and immigrant advocates criticized ICE raids in June, saying constitutional rights and government policies were violated.
They contended the raids appeared to be in retaliation for the city's new identification card program for illegal immigrants.
Farmers in upstate New York blame a growing immigrant farm labor shortage on a dramatic rise in immigration enforcement.
On Long Island, Nassau County Executive Tom Suozzi and his police commissioner lashed out at the federal agency, declaring they would no longer cooperate in future enforcement actions because they felt misled by their colleagues.
ICE, which is part of the Department of Homeland Security, declared that of 186 arrested in a sweep across Long Island in late September, 157 were gang members or associates.
Nassau officials dispute that, saying only a fraction had legitimate gang ties. The other "associates" could have been bystanders picked up in the dragnet, they said.
Police agencies across the country are generally loath to join immigration sweeps because they rely on the goodwill of the community to cooperate in police investigations of traditional street crime. Nassau officials said they took part in the raids because they thought they were rounding up street gangs.
Michael Keegan, an ICE spokesman in Washington, said his agency stood by its numbers.
Suozzi also complained in a letter to Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff that federal agents ran roughshod over local police officers, refusing to share intelligence and at times pointing their weapons at cops.
"There were clear dangers of friendly fire," said Nassau County Police Commissioner Lawrence Mulvey.
ICE special agent Peter J. Smith said allegations by the Nassau officials "are without merit," but said they would be investigated. He called the roundup a "flawless operation _ the community was served extremely well." Smith pointed to neighboring Suffolk County, where police assisted in the same ICE sweep.
"We haven't had one complaint," said Suffolk Police Commissioner Richard Dormer. "Our position is that we're taking dangerous individuals off the streets."
Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y., who is trying to smooth things over between ICE and Nassau police, said the dispute "has to be resolved. You can't have local police not being involved with these operations."
He said Congress has encouraged stepped-up ICE enforcement since the demise of reform legislation. "I think it's the right thing to do," he said. "ICE does a terrific job around the country."
Peggy Delarosa-Delgado, a U.S. citizen from Huntington Station, told The New York Times her home was targeted by ICE agents during last month's sweep.
"Sure, look for criminals," said the Dominican Republic native, who became a citizen in 1990." But they've got to make 100 percent sure that the house they're going into, the person's there. They can't come in just because my address pops up in the computer."
The Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Education Fund filed a lawsuit last month in federal court in Manhattan on behalf of 15 people, including seven U.S. citizens, who say their suburban homes were raided earlier this year.
In one case, authorities raided a home in East Hampton, on eastern Long Island, in search of a man who had moved out in 2003, according to the lawsuit. The family still living there were U.S. citizens, except for a child who is a legal resident awaiting naturalization.
"It's not even whether politically you're in favor of immigration or not," said Patrick Gennardo, an attorney for the plaintiffs. "The real issue here is whether ICE has a right to do what they're doing ... This is a constitutional and legal issue."
previously posted on Immigration Prof Blog
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