The American Civil Liberties Union is condemning recent actions by sheriff’s deputies in Doña Ana and Otero counties, saying they are irresponsibly and inappropriately acting as Border Patrol agents.
In a news release sent today, the ACLU said deputies recently conducted “immigration raids” in Chaparral and Vado, which the organization claimed included “sweeps of immigrant neighborhoods, knocking on doors and checking identification… stopping motorists and entering private businesses” and possibly taking children from schools and entering homes without consent or warrants.
“This is irresponsible policing,” said Maria Nape, Director of the ACLU’s Border Rights office. “Immigrants in these communities may never again trust that they can report crimes to sheriff’s deputies, even if they are the victims. When local police become border patrol agents, it rips a hole in the fabric of public safety that takes years to mend.”
Sgt. Joe Reynaud of the Doña Ana County Sheriff’s Department said two department deputies conducted an operation on Monday as part of a federal program called Operation Stonegarden. He said the order to local law enforcement agencies is to increase presence in areas identified through intelligence as routes for smuggling and transportation of humans and narcotics. The order does not authorize the sheriff to enforce federal immigration law.
Reynaud said he couldn’t speak for
He also said the department does not enforce federal law; however, if deputies come across violations, they won’t ignore them. He said that would be true whether deputies came across illegal immigrants and called the Border Patrol or if they came across counterfeit money and called the Secret Service.
On Monday, Reynaud said, the department did not come into contact with or turn over to federal officials any undocumented immigrants, but he said they did investigate a possible meth lab and arrested one man in
“If we’re knocking on doors, we are following up on information such as tips or ongoing investigations that pertain to narcotics, smuggling, human trafficking or suspicious activity,” he said of deputies in
The ACLU filed a records request with both sheriffs’ departments today seeking more information about their use of the money provided through the federal grant program.
“These raids are symptomatic of the same reactionary policies that have failed to address nationwide concerns about immigration for decades,” Nape said. “Do we want to live in a country that makes life so intolerable for hundreds of thousands of families who live and work here that they leave? Or would we rather live in an
Reynaud said there is a good reason for local police to keep an eye on human trafficking. Such immigrants are often victims of false imprisonment, robbery, domestic violence and other state crimes. He said, in coming across immigrants, that such violations of state laws are the focus of the sheriff’s department.