Group finds police aiding the arrest of immigrants

By Louie Gilot / El Paso Times

Article Launched: 12/11/2007 12:00:00 AM MST

In their annual civil rights report, immigrants' rights activists found that local police acting as immigration agents continued to be a problem for immigrants living in El Paso County in 2007.

The report, by the Border Network for Human Rights, collected 58 complaints, including 36 against local police officers and sheriff's deputies.

One of the cases was reported by Gabriella Castañeda of the far East El Paso neighborhood of Aguadulce. Castañeda said her husband, a brother and a friend, all undocumented immigrants, were stopped for speeding on their way to work at a construction site about two weeks ago.

"The sheriff's deputy asked for their driver's license and then for their Social Security number and because they didn't have any, he called the Border Patrol and they took them away," she said.

Border Network officials said that such practices divert resources from crime fighting and make crime victims and witnesses distrustful of the police. Immigration enforcement is the responsibility of federal agencies, but local agencies can legally refer cases to the Border Patrol.