Source:
EthnicNewz.org (formerly go-NEWz.org)
DANBURY, CONNECTICUT*
total population: 79,285
foreign-born: 26,667 (34.1%)
speak a non-English language at home (pop. 5 years and older): 30,787 (41.%)
population 25 years and older: 54,847
* Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2006 American Community Survey
Figures above are for 2006.
Wilson Hernandez, VP of the Ecaudorian Civic Center of Greater Danbury, and Councilor Tom Saadi, both of Danbury, Conn., disagree about a proposed agreement between their city's police department and the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency (ICE).
If passed, the agreement would give Danbury police officers the authority to act as ICE agents, under an ICE program known as "ACCESS," or Agreements of Cooperation in Communities to Enhance Safety and Security.
The News-Times of Danbury (
newstimes.com ) and New England Cable News (
necn.com ) have covered the unfolding hot-button proposal, which no city councilors had opposed publicly before meeting last Thursday, Jan. 3, 2008.
At the meeting, the Common Council was expected to vote on the ICE proposal, which the mayor openly supported. Instead, the Council delayed its decision.
New England Ethnic News spoke to Wilson Hernandez and Tom Saadi, Democratic minority leader in Danbury's Common Council, in separate telephone interviews on Jan. 4.
Following is an edited condensed transcript of the two interviews.
Why do you oppose or support the ICE-Danbury Police proposal?
Wilson Hernandez: The Danbury Police Department – which is short-handed – does not need to get involved in activities that belong to the federal government.
Our tax dollars should go to supporting our police department and activities that belong to the local community.
The (Danbury) chief of police has said that they are already cooperating with ICE, so the police don't need to get into any kind of Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with ICE.
Crimes are committed by all kinds of citizens. The argument that the Danbury Police Department needs this kind of understanding with ICE, it's not valid because the crime in Danbury is not a big issue (caused by) immigrants.
The police department and the city of Danbury should inform the community about the numbers (concerning ethnic background of criminals in Danbury) to see how accurate they are (if) they accuse immigrants of committing the majority of crimes in Danbury.
Councilor Saadi: I fundamentally support the general premise of the proposal to partner, through the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), the Danbury Police Department, with the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, because I believe in enforcement of the law.
Our federal government has failed us at the local level and in enforcing current immigration laws.
And oftentimes, when our federal & state governments fail us, we at the local level have to pick up the mantle for two reasons: one, to show them how to do the job right and, two, to do the job.
We will not replace what the federal government can do, but we (would) supplement what they're currently doing.
What is the 287(g) program of ICE, which the Danbury Police would implement if the ICE proposal passed?
Wilson Hernandez: 287(g) is a path of the ACCESS program. It's part of a larger bill approved in 1996 by the U.S. Congress.
It allows local communities to get in a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with local or state police to arrest immigrants who may have some criminal record.
If the city council authorizes Danbury to get into this agreement with ICE, some police officers will be trained by ICE as immigration agents, so they can act as immigration agents in the city of Danbury.
(Right now, if a driver in Danbury is stopped and pulled over by Danbury police), the police officer can immediately connect with the National Criminal Information Center (NCIC) and find out if the person has some kind of record.
The police officer can immediately call ICE.
But if ICE comes to Danbury, (the problem is that) we have many people who have been arrested – if police are looking for somebody else, and they don't find that person, they will arrest anybody that's in the way, for example, a person who didn't stop at a stop sign.
Councilor Saadi: This proposal goes beyond just that little (section 287[g]). It provides for additional enforcement that cannot be done currently in cooperation with ICE, absent an MoU.
However, the fundamental parameters are that individual Danbury police officers, pursuant to 287(g) and other provisions of ICE ACCESS, would be provided with training that would permit them to be able to ask appropriate questions and understand the complex immigration laws concerning (a person's immigration) status.
It would also provide the Danbury Police Department with immediate access to certain information that they currently – without training – cannot access.
Finally, there are certain offenses and times when the Danbury police would be able to detain somebody, incident to another offense, without having to contact ICE, and have an ICE agent effectuate that detention and/or arrest.
Right now, the Danbury Police Department can access the NCIC criminal database, which allows them to determine whether or not a criminal arrest warrant for certain crimes has been posted on to that database by ICE.
If they notice that there is a warrant for (an) individual's arrest on NCIC, (the police) then have ICE come in and effectuate an arrest based on that.
(Editor's note: According to the ICE Web site, "the 287(g) program is designed 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.")
Why do you think this proposal is making such a big splash in Danbury, of all places? Danbury is not that big a city. Other cities, like Hartford, Conn., are larger in population and also have many immigrants. Yet they have a totally opposite stance, with their police not enforcing immigration laws.
Wilson Hernandez: I assume that the reason is because in Danbury, some people have profound anti-immigrant sentiment. It's just that these people don't accept people who look different!
These people are directing, almost pushing, our elected officials to do something that they want them to do. Unfortunately these elected officials are trying to please these people without having the proper information.
Also, I guess some elected officials promote themselves, and they are utilizing immigrants as scapegoats for anything that they imagine is happening in Danbury. You don't see violence in the streets in Danbury.
Immigrants have contributed significantly to Danbury's economy – through opening businesses, renting apartments, shopping locally, shopping at the mall. People are buying houses here! We are paying taxes to the city, the state and to the federal government.
Without immigrants, Danbury wouldn't be what Danbury is today. Main Street was dead just 10 years ago. Immigrants have re-vitalized the economy of this community.
If you come to a Danbury supermarket on any given day, just by looking at the employees, you will figure out that 50 to 70% of the shoppers are Hispanics! And that's not because we are 70% of the population (of Danbury).
In the restaurants, who is behind the doors? Who is cooking? Who is serving the food?
Councilor Saadi: Remember, this issue is not about immigrants. It's about illegal immigrants or individuals who came here legally and then went into an illegal status.
I know people don't like to use the word "illegal," but a violation of the law is an illegal act.
That being said, it has become a major issue in Danbury because you often have activist groups on both sides of an issue who drive something to the front page of the paper.
It also has become wound up in local politics (and Danbury's) recent election.
It has become wound up in reorganization of our police department and some staffing issues.
So there are several elements that sort of came together, in what you might call a perfect storm, to make this both a local media frenzy, a very hot-contested issue among residents.
Finally, it's an area where outside individuals on both sides of the issue have tried to influence local decision-makers, whether it is the ACLU [see newstimes.com/ci_7879067] or whether it is anti-illegal immigrant groups.
I think all those things have come together, and certain agendas have driven this as well.
Do you think the ICE proposal has any merits or disadvantages at all for immigrants or others?
Wilson Hernandez: Merit would be that, in some cases, some federal agencies can work with local agencies, but I don't think they should get into these kind of Memoranda of Understandings.
Whenever a local police department needs ICE, they should call, but that would be (maybe about) once every six months!
(We shouldn't get into an MoU with ICE because) first of all, that would spend our tax dollars by utilizing 2 or 3 police officers -- however many police officers that ICE would train to act as immigration agents.
These police officers should be used just for taking care of our streets and neighborhoods, not doing what federal government should be doing.
Secondly, and just as important, if our police department wants the cooperation of the community, either the immigrant or native community, they should sell as (their) message that nobody is going to be (prosecuted) just because they are immigrants!
If the police department want the cooperation of immigrants, the right message should be:
We are not going to ask you for your immigration status. We want YOU to HELP us in finding criminals if they are in the neighborhood. Finding drug dealers, if they are in the neighborhood. Finding husbands who are abusing wives.
If this is not the case, everybody's going to be afraid to report anything to the police.
Councilor Saadi: It certainly has disadvantages for those who are committing crimes and those who are out of proper immigration status. Of course, any program, by any government agency, always has some concerns.
Any person may have concerns if the law enforcement is not done properly, if individuals go beyond the scope of their authority, but the training is intended to prevent that.
The oversight by the chief of police and others is intended to prevent that. If there is a bad apple who abuses this [ICE ACCESS and 287(g)] program, rest assured that members of the Common Council will make sure that that is dealt with.
If something turns out not to have merit, then we certainly hope and will watch and make sure that that power is not abused. It's like any law enforcement.
There's due process and 6th, 5th, 4th Amendment rights. There's also the 14th Amendment, which guarantees certain rights through the federal government and under the Civil Rights Act and Section 1983 of the U.S. code.
Do you think the proposal would lead to racial profiling?
Wilson Hernandez: Of course, because some police officers will assume somebody who looks like an Hispanic, who speaks broken English, who doesn't understand what he's telling him, it's an illegal immigrant.
And it may happen that this person is a legal resident of the United States. He (or she) has immigrated recently because parents, brothers or sisters, a wife or husband, have sponsored him, so he came here legally.
But it takes time for us immigrants to learn the language, to get used to the system.
If we are not able to communicate with the police officers, they will assume that we are illegal!
Councilor Saadi: Racial profiling is brought up always in context of law enforcement.
If an officer engages in it, that is improper conduct. That officer or agent will be dealt with accordingly. Racial profiling will not be tolerated in this program – or in our current police department.
And in fact, Danbury now records the ethnicity or race of those who are detained. So those records will be available to determine whether or not there's profiling going on.
Question to Councilor Saadi only:
Why did the Common Council move last night to delay the decision on the ICE program, when just earlier yesterday (on Jan. 3), it was considered a slam-dunk that would be passed?
Under the rules of procedure, any one member of the Common Council can send a matter (to committee) that has not been previously reviewed by a committee [in which case, the Common Council may not immediately vote on the matter].
Any one member who was concerned about not having information could send it to committee.
It only took one person (Councilman Paul Rotello) that wanted more information to send it to committee.
There are others, I believe, that liked to have it go to committee. More than one (councilor), I believe, wanted to have additional information.
Basically our rules of procedure of read that no item shall be voted on unless that item has been reviewed and reported by a committee, except by unanimous consent.
I support the program. It will be presented, as a matter of public record, at the committee as a whole: what different aspects of the ICE ACCESS program (that) Danbury will be seeking to engage in and what the likely parameters of the Memorandum of Understanding will be.
It's all going to be in the public forum, and much of the information is available to anyone who wants to go through the Homeland Security Web site and look at the ICE ACCESS program.
Anything else you want to add?
Wilson Hernandez: We don't need to rush with this compromise with ICE. The Common Council should take a close look at the facts and realize that immigrants are not a threat to the community.
I would like to see the Common Council study this issue in a more extensive way and find out the facts – concerning the contributions of immigrants and their low (criminal involvement).
I'm sure the final numbers will show that we give to the community more than we take from the community.
The Council will find that if an immigrant committed a crime, it doesn't have to do with him or her being an illegal immigrant. It's just the fact that human beings sometimes act in a stupid way. It doesn't have to do with your legal status.
What we really need is immigration reform in the United States. Everybody agrees that the system is broken.
What's really a threat to the community are those who are disseminating anti-immigrant sentiments, either because they are xenophobics, either because they are racist or just because they are intolerant of people who are a "threat" for this community, for Connecticut, for United States or for the world.
Councilor Saadi: I'm first-generation, a descendant of Middle East and Italian immigrants. Just two years ago, I had an uncle die of cancer while waiting for a visa in Lebanon to come to this country just to visit the family here.
So I understand the frustrations of individuals having to go through the immigration system. I
I have relatives now waiting for visas, and it is very daunting and frustrating.
But that frustration and that level of bureaucracy doesn't justify violating the law and then turning a blind eye to those violations.
We should try to fix the existing system so that it works better for those who want to come here legitimately – while enforcing the existing laws for those that come here either illegitimately or overstay their visas.
GET MORE INFORMATION:
U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE):
ICE ACCESS program:
www.ice.gov/partners/dro/iceaccess.htm?searchstring=287g
ICE ACCESS fact sheet:
www.ice.gov/doclib/pi/news/factsheets/accessfactsheetv31.pdf
Q&As by ICE about 287(g) (scroll down):
(* includes "Agenda" and "Common Council Minutes" for 2008)
Danbury Police Department:
Ecuadorian Civic Center of Greater Danbury:
EcuadorianCivicCenter.com
Source: EthnicNewz.org
Copyright 2008 New England Ethnic News, EthnicNewz.org. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the express permission of the news source. Contact Newz for more information.
Story Location
Danbury,
CT,
06810United States
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