In a strongly worded unsigned editorial, La Prensa San Diego says Harassment by the INS Against Mexican American Communities Will Not be Tolerated!
The INS, which evidently has a very short memory is once again targeting the Mexican American communities and sweeping through the neighborhoods bringing terror into our lives. Brown skinned individuals walking the streets, riding the trolleys, going to work or school, are once again being treated like aliens in their own country. The residents of the North County of San Diego, Escondido and Rancho Bernardo, and the communities of Corona, Ontario, Fontana, Rancho Cucamonga, and San Bernardino are once again being targeted by the INS. They can be seen in the major supermarkets and stores such as Fiesta Foods, Cardenas, El Tapatio, and El Tigre. Reports of the INS being spotted at the local swap meets and rodeos shaking down the brown-skinned people for identification papers have been made.
Strictly speaking the INS no longer exists, it has been supplanted by U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS) - as well as the ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement http://uscis.gov/ and http://www.ice.gov/ — or at least that’s how I understand it. All of these services have been absorbed into the Department of Homeland Security.
I’m disturbed to hear about capricious security screens in SoCal. I have memories of riding the train from San Diego to Los Angales and there was always that point along the trip where illegals would be marched through the train handcuffed to each other and I suppose booted off the train.
But wait, when I google for US Border Patrol I now get the word that
The U.S. Border Patrol is now part of U.S. Customs and Border Protection
(CBP)
within the Department of Homeland Security. Information about the Border Patrol may be found in the Enforcement section of the CBP website
I’m having trouble simply keeping up with the various government entities responsible for harassing illegals - the alphabet soup is getting confusing.
Here’s the official site for San Diego Sector of US Customs and Border Protection.
Seriously, the officers responsible for policing the border are for the most part wonderful people doing a very important job. But at times in the history of this government, there have been abuses enacted in the name of security. One would hope that the officers involved adhere to the Mission statement, which values professionalism, human life, integrity, trust, and a shared effort with the community.
I was listening to the 3-6pm guys on KFI, and their contention is that while some sweeps are going on, the Latino lobby is blowing it out of proportion for political reasons.
Since they can’t get anyone to come on the show and refute them, I tend to believe it.
“One would hope that the officers involved adhere to the Mission statement, which values professionalism, human life, integrity, trust, and a shared effort with the community. ”
There is absolutely nothing happening in these sweeps that violate that mission statement.
Asking for proof of legal residency is not “harrassment,” and it is nowhere close to “shaking down the brown-skinned people.”
You yourself say that they are “doing a very important job,” but how can they do that job if they aren’t even allowed to check ID’s?
I agree they have a job to do, but there is precedent for misbehavior on the part of San Diego PD, Border Patrol and others in conducting their operations in “controlling” the traffic of illegals across the Mexican/US border.
The problem is when legitimate investigations cross over into harassment. If it were any other community in the country, the citizens who experience that line would be very vigilant. In that respect, the Chicano reaction to “La Migra” — to watch them closely and point out abuses — not only seems legitimate, it seems like a duty.
The North County times has more on this in Immigration sweeps stir cheers, protests — it appears to cover the issue pretty well.
Also check out MALDEF: The Mexican American Legal Defense Fund for more information.
Why would anyone suggest that the United States Border Patrol was doing sweeps? The Border Patrol was simply riding on the public transportation (bus and trolley systems) and performing Immigration Inspections. Either you are here legally or you are not. Can you tell me why Mexicans seem to feel they have the only illegal aliens? Illegal aliens are not a race. They are criminals. They are made up of people from all walks of life, all religions, all colors and races. So, how can any one group feel they are being singled out? Now, in San Diego (California for that matter) has a large population of illegal aliens. So, it makes since to have more people arrested that happen to be from Mexico. Nice try to confuse the truth with La Raza (a racist hate group) and that hate group’s position!