Posted on 07/20/2006 12:45:01 AM PDT by sonsofliberty2000
WHEELING — The American Civil Liberties Union of West Virginia will monitor the handling of illegal immigrant detention cases by several law enforcement agencies, including the Ohio County Sheriff’s Department, officials for the organization said Tuesday.
Ohio County Sheriff Tom Burgoyne, who has been outspoken about detention of illegal immigrants, said Tuesday he recently responded to a Freedom of Information Act request from the Charleston-based ACLU for information on a variety of issues related to immigration status determination.
West Virginia ACLU Executive Director Andrew Schneider said the organization was “very concerned” about the actions of the Wheeling-based law enforcement agency.
“We have been receiving complaints of law enforcement agencies detaining illegal aliens,” Schneider said. Such handling, he said, “often leads to racial profiling, partially because officers are untrained in immigration law.”
He noted Terri Baar, legal director for the ACLU, asked in her letter to Burgoyne whether the law enforcement agency had any training information on immigration law.
“Their response was, ‘No,’” Schneider said.
Schneider declined to identify the other law enforcement agencies the ACLU is monitoring, but noted the sheriff’s department is among those being watched.
Burgoyne said at least 80 illegal immigrants were detained after traffic stops between May 2005 and this June. However, he noted that between Jan. 1, 2005, and June 30, 2006, deputies made 7,875 traffic stops for a variety of reasons.
He said he declined to provide for Baar specific information on the stops, citing privacy issues.
“If they want to submit a more narrow request, we will weigh it against the need for privacy,” Burgoyne said.
All deputies, he said, are trained at the West Virginia State Police Academy in making traffic stops. Within the department, new deputies are paired with department veterans for further training.
Burgoyne admitted his deputies have received no specific training on immigration law issues. As for determining citizenship of individuals who are stopped, Burgoyne said common sense prevails.
“If a deputy asks for a driver’s license and they don’t have one or they have one from Mexico and they can’t speak English, the next logical question is, ‘Are you an illegal alien?’” Burgoyne said.
Burgoyne said he speaks a little “broken” Spanish, sufficient to ask detainees if they are in the country illegally. Deputy Chester Bise, he added, speaks Spanish fluently. He is called upon for assistance when he is available or “nearby,” Burgoyne said.
And the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency has further furnished the sheriff’s department with a phone number to connect the detainees with interpreters, he said.
So far, none of the illegal immigrants detained in Ohio County have answered falsely to the question, he said.
“It’s almost as if they are proud of it,” Burgoyne said. “It’s almost like they don’t feel like it’s illegal.”
Unlike other areas of the country, none of the incidents have resulted in violence, except for one in late June in which several illegal immigrants were arrested after a 1.8-mile pursuit on McGraws Run Road, he pointed out.
Burgoyne said his department has no specific policies regarding its relationship with federal immigration officials. The officials initially told Burgoyne that because of manpower constraints, they would be unable to pick up detainees unless there were criminal warrants on file against them.
“We took the stance early on that they’re here illegally and ICE is going to come down and pick them up,” Burgoyne said, describing illegal immigration as a crime in itself.
“We have been receiving complaints of law enforcement agencies detaining illegal aliens,” Schneider said. Such handling, he said, “often leads to racial profiling, partially because officers are untrained in immigration law.”
Just incredible.
(Go Israel, Go! Slap 'Em, Down Hezbullies.)
ping
That's because ACLU lawyers need them as gardeners and au pairs while they "summer" at Martha's Vineyard.
Duh. Look at how ineffective we are.
Bet it was the ACLU who first coined the term "Racial Profiling" LOL
It is an interesting use of words - and undoubtedly made up - because it is inherently wrong, by definition. It's a straw-man neologism. Criminal profiling is what the issue is.
Thanks for posting this. I live in Wheeling and the host of WWVA, Steve Navotney, was talking about this yesterday. He said he was going to try to get hold of the ACLU guy to interview him on the air. If anyone gets 1170 WWVA between 3-6pm, listen to the show.
BTW, our sheriff not only arrests these people, he also confiscates their vehicles. Steve had the Belmont Co Sheriff on the radio a couple of weeks ago (Belmont Co. is right across the Ohio River from Wheeling) and people were complaining that he was letting these illegals go. He said he was going to start doing what Burgoyne is doing.
Hard to believe that little ol' Wheeling is having some excitement! I think if the ACLU starts any of their crap here, they are going to be slapped down hard and fast!
I listen to Steve, too (was even interviewed by him once). He's a great guy.
Oh, I also live in Wheeling.
Need to get Kongress to declare the ACLU a domestic Terrorist organization.
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