Police and customs working together
Source: Nashua Telegraph
Author: Eduardo A. De Oliveira
Date: Oct 22, 2007
On TV two years ago, immigrants in Nashua saw police officers in Arizona teaming up with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to arrest undocumented workers. They were concerned but somewhat relieved it was not happening in their own backyard.
Now workers' advocates say the relief is gone, as officers in Massachusetts – and even closer by in Hudson – may soon be the Feds' newest partners.
Last week, the Framingham (Mass.) Police Department confirmed that two officers have just completed a five-week training session taught by ICE officials to enable them to investigate, process and, when necessary, arrest immigrants who are unlawfully in the U.S.
The revelation sent waves of uncertainty over communities in Nashua, Manchester and beyond.
So far, 17 police officers have signed up for the training in Massachusetts, while in New Hampshire two officers from Hudson have volunteered to attend, according to Paula Grenier, a spokeswoman for ICE in Boston. Nationally, a total of 319 police and correctional officers from 11 states have already been trained.
Framingham police spokesman Paul Shastany said the officers "will only combat the rising of local gangs with international ties."
But many undocumented workers fear the program will lead to their deportation. Critics also foresee the new partnership destroying efforts to build trust between police and local communities.
"We believe immigration enforcement remains a federal government responsibility," said Marcony Almeida, a policy specialist at Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition.
When immigrant communities get suspicious of their local police officers, says Almeida, who'll be left to protect them?
Framingham Police Chief Steven B. Carl, who has been working closely with community leaders since 1994, shares the concern.
"I have nothing to hide. These gangs will prey upon the immigrants, too. While some are concerned about their families, I have to protect all residents," Carl said.
And when the community discovered the two Framingham officers speak fluent Portuguese and Spanish, the suspicions skyrocketed.
"They always say they have no intention on arresting us workers. But when they find us on the streets you bet they will call ICE," said Jose Paulo, an undocumented factory worker from Nashua.
There were some local fears here two years ago as police officers in two southern New Hampshire towns began charging undocumented immigrants with trespassing for being in the country illegally all on their own. Officers from New Ipswich and Hudson tried the practice, while other departments refused to follow suit. The courts later ruled it was unlawful for local or state police to be enforcing federal immigration laws.
Now, police and ICE officials are working together. The difference here is the person being detained must be suspected of committing a crime.
ICE says the new training program is meant "to enable state and local law enforcement personnel, incidental to a lawful arrest and during the course of their normal duties, to question and detain individuals for potential removal from the United States, if these individuals are identified as undocumented illegal aliens and they are suspected of committing a state crime."
The subject has fueled community newspapers and radio shows in foreign broadcast languages.
Those who look hard enough may find a hint of common ground between the pro-deportation crowd and the pro-legalization folks. For instance, one can hardly find any regular immigrant worker who opposes Operation Community Shield, a nationwide effort that led to the arrest of 1,313 gang members and associates across the country during the last two months.
Then there is the fear of becoming a cross-path casualty.
"I used to live with people who came through the (Mexican) border and missed their court order to return. I moved out," Paulo said.
And Paulo is already thinking about moving again. This time to New York, where he could have a state driver's license if Gov. Eliot Spitzer's intentions are carried out.
"I know exactly what Governor Spitzer's trying to do, and it makes a lot of sense because he's trying to get people out of the shadows. He's trying to say, 'O.K., come forward and we will give you this license,' " Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., recently told The Telegraph editorial board. "But without a federal policy in effect, people will come forward and they could get picked up by ICE tomorrow."
While political pundits praise the willingness of officers who signed up for the new ICE program, many in law enforcement don't want to have anything to do with it.
"We have neither the resources nor the will to perform immigration agents' job," Marlborough, Mass., Police Chief Mark Leonard said.
