Alienating Illegal Aliens?

Source: NC Times

Some Latino immigrants say recent cooperation between Carlsbad Police Department and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents has resulted in the deportation of at least 15 people and is creating an atmosphere of fear in the community.

Immigrants said police officers are frequently calling immigration authorities after stopping them for traffic violations. Some immigrants said they are specially concerned about patrols in the area around Jefferson Elementary School in the heart of the city's Latino neighborhood.

TRANSLATION: We are living in "an atmosphere of fear" because the police are enforcing laws we're breaking!

One woman who was picking up her son from Jefferson Elementary School on Thursday afternoon said she has been driving without a license for four years. She said she has seen police and immigration officers in the area but can't avoid driving, because she said it's not safe for her children to walk home.

"It's a risk, but I have to drive," said Guadalupe, a 45-year-old Carlsbad woman who spoke to the North County Times on the condition that her last name not be used. "I have to risk driving or I have to risk letting my children walk home from school."

TRANSLATION: I'm breaking the law just by being here, but how dare you make me live in fear that I might suffer consequences for this other law I've been breaking for 4 years?

There is an Option B available, Guadalupe...shag your ass back to whatever country you came from ILLEGALLY, and take your kids with you.

At the meeting, several people told the chief they were stopped for minor violations, such as a missing front license plate or a broken window, and were detained while immigration officials arrived.

TRANSLATION: No fair! The cops aren't allowed to stop us for minor violations!

The key word here isn't supposed to be minor -- the key word is violations. It's like a guy with a dead body in his trunk crying foul because it's discovered during a routine traffic stop. If you don't want to draw police attention, don't break the "minor" laws. If you don't want to be deported, DON'T COME ILLEGALLY.

Organizers of the meeting said they did not want the gathering publicized because it would hamper their efforts to work with the Police Department. They declined further comment.

TRANSLATION: We have nothing to hide...except what we won't say in front of a camera...or any citizens who want the law enforced...or anyone else who's not one of us...or, well, anyone else period.

Ramirez said police departments need a clear policy on how they approach illegal immigrants who drive without a license. He said if police departments call immigration authorities on routine traffic stops, they run the risk of alienating the community.

"If the Carlsbad Police Department wants to create the perception that they are Border Patrol agents, that comes with a toll for the relationship with the community," Ramirez said.

TRANSLATION: If you insist on enforcing the law, we're going to make your life hell.

How deliciously ironic: threatening that the enforcement of the law will result in the alienation of...illegal aliens.

Technorati Tags: Illegal Immigration, Illegal Alien, Law Enforcement, Deportation, Border Patrol, Carlsbad, ICE