what... they gonna start stopping cars driven by little old white women now???
Posted on 05/23/2006 2:39:18 PM PDT by SwinneySwitch
EL PASO — Worried about possible racial profiling in El Paso County, a South Texas lawmaker has asked Gov. Rick Perry to specify how the Texas Border Sheriffs Coalition is permitted to spend nearly $10 million in border security grant money. Sen. Juan “Chuy” Hinojosa, D-McAllen, sent Perry a letter Friday expressing concern that El Paso County Sheriff Leo Samaniego is using a $376,500 grant to run roadblocks and raids aimed at ferreting out illegal immigrants.
Hinojosa asked the governor to detail rules for the “appropriate use of funds for Operation Linebacker.”
Hinojosa expressed concern that people are being detained in both the roadblocks and the raids on a hunch that they “look” illegal. He said some residents have even complained that they were asked for a Social Security card as a tactic to figure out if they were an illegal immigrant.
Operation Linebacker uses local deputies as a second line of defense for the U.S. Border Patrol in 16 counties along the Texas-Mexico border. Linebacker is the one-year-old coalition’s first substantial initiative.
Webb County Sheriff Rick Flores said Monday night that his department does not do roadblocks.
“As far as roadblocks go, it’s not part of what we do and not part of Operation Linebacker,” he said. “I don’t know what Sheriff Samaniego would be doing. He knows what we do around Operation Linebacker. Roadblocks have never been mentioned or discussed.”
Flores said Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas, is working on a bill to give local law enforcement the right to detain illegal immigrants. Yet Flores also said currently there are no monies earmarked for housing illegal immigrants in the area.
Sheriff’s department spokesman Tom Sanchez said “Operation Linebacker isn’t about to ferret out immigrants.
“That’s why it’s called Operation Linebacker so we can back the Border Patrol 25 miles away from the border,” he said.
For his part, lawmaker Hinojosa said he believes Samaniego’s roadblocks are against the law.
“Texas law does not allow police officers to engage in raids and roadblocks designed to uncover illegal immigration,” Hinojosa said.
Samaniego denied any wrongdoing Monday.
“We welcome any scrutiny, any investigation of how we spend the money, of what we’re doing,” Samaniego said.
Rick Glancey, the coalition’s interim executive director and Samaniego’s spokesman, said the coalition’s actions are legal and dismissed Hinojosa’s letter as a political ploy based on the Democratic sheriff’s support of a Republican in a state senate race.
Glancey added that checkpoints like the ones Hinojosa cited are designed to keep unlicensed and uninsured drivers off the road and have long been used by police agencies. And the checkpoints in the El Paso area, he said, have not involved Operation Linebacker deputies.
Will Harrell, executive director for the American Civil Liberties Union in Texas, disagrees.
“In my opinion, this is patently illegal,” Harrell said. “To target (with) selected enforcement on the basis of a person’s race or perceived national origins is a violation. We won’t tolerate it.”
Perry spokeswoman Kathy Walt said the governor has not formally responded to Hinojosa, whose letter arrived Monday.
She said the money given to the counties was awarded to reduce crime, including drug and human trafficking, along the border. So far, Walt said, the overall operation has been successful.
County sheriffs across Texas’s 1,200-mile border with Mexico were each awarded $367,500 in December to pay for Operation Linebacker. According to invoices detailing some of the counties’ expenditures, money has been spent on equipment, vehicles and overtime costs for deputies. In Hudspeth County, Sheriff Arvin West bought a 2006 Mustang GT.
West could not immediately be reached for comment.
About $4 million will be distributed to counties based on security needs, according to Glancey.
(The Laredo Morning Times contributed to this report.)
Paging Sheriff Joe Arpaio!
Unless something has changed since I lived down there, within a set number of miles, the rules are very lax on who you can stop and question over citizenship status.
When on earth will this country stand up and protect our borders?
"Chuy" Ping!
In 2001 heading east into Texas and, to the best of my recollection, east of El Paso I arrived at a permanent roadblock. It immediately reminded me of one of the inspection stations one would see entering California or, way back when, Arizona.
The guard was very tight lipped but it seemed to me that were looking for illegals. In walking around the car the guard leaned on the trunk lid obviously (to me anyway) checking to see if we had anybody (or a body?) in the trunk.
I was glad to see it but it was so un-PC that I'm still surprised to this day. Anybody know for sure what it's about?
what... they gonna start stopping cars driven by little old white women now???
Hinojosa Calls for National Guard
Texas State Senator Says Anything But the Minutemen
Lou Dobbs Tonight - CNN - June 7
Dobbs: How would you suggest, sir, if you're concerned with border security... if the Minutemen demonstrated great success, why would there be problem?
Hinojosa: Two things. I would question the success in Arizona. They just moved the migration of illegal aliens to other parts of the border. Number two, besides the Border Patrol we have the National Guard which are located in local communities...
Dobbs: Are you suggesting that we call out the National Guard then?
Hinojosa: I'm suggesting that the National Guard should help
"Chuy" is the state Senator they arrested trying to carry a 9 mm handgun onto an airplane and the judge threw it out.
He also had a running feud with the Texas DPS when they pulled him over for having his windows tinted too dark!
yea, I bet he just can't sleep at night and all that
"Hinojosa expressed concern that people are being detained in both the roadblocks and the raids on a hunch that they “look” illegal"
Oh my, Chuy, you are not trying to say that they should not have been pulled over because "they all look alike," are you? That would be very un-PC!
Perhaps `ol Chuy is still a little ticked off at the video the South Texas Specialized Crimes and Narcotics Task Force released when he was pulled over by one of their officers. Why DID the South Texas Specialized Crimes and Narcotics Task Force pull you over Chuy?
Texas has permanent checkpoints on all highways leading away from the Mexican Border.
Come on down to South Texas.
Told an hispanic in the Valley last week, that "If I were in Mexico, I'd be trying to get up here too." He said, "But we're here now, and we need to keep it for our children and grandchildren."
McAllen, Laredo and Brownsville are so close to the border that they can just walk them back across. McAllen is 10 miles from the border. Surely, the police officers can find a donut and cup of coffee at the border cafes.
"...they can just walk them back across."
They'll be back tonight or tomorrow night!
Troops, tent cities and a fence!
I kinda like the idea of razor wire on the fence.
I watched Lou's show last night for the first time. He seems pretty obsessed with the illegal issue. Even though he's on CNN, he mirrors many of my opinions. Give um HELL Lou!
If you were on I10, you had to go through a BP checkpoint at Sierra Blanca. It's been there for more than 30 years.
Yup, that was it. I'll be doggone and thanks for the info.
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