Los Angeles Webster Commission records, 1931-1992

CARECEN article, report, 1992-06

(USC DC Other)

CARECEN article, report, 1992-06

PDF

Download a page range

Download transcript

Copy asset link

Request this asset

Transcript (if available)

Content w To: File BIRD, MARELLA, BOXER, WOLPERT & MATZ MEMORANDUM PRMLEGED AND CONFIDENTIAL; ATfORNEY-CLIENT PRMLEGE From: Ronald J. Nessim Date: September 1, 1992 Re: Webster Study - CARECEN Documents File No. 900.75 -------------------- Attached hereto are documents given to me by CARECEN. D:\WP51\DATA\RJN\9007505.M(5)[1] C A R E C E N BOARD OF DIRECTORS A NGELA CASTILLO Chair JO YCE S. FIS KE Vice-Chair REV LUIS OLIVARES, C.M.F. Honorary Vice Chair LINTON JOAQU IN, Esq. Treasurer DOUGLAS MIRELL, E sq. Loeb and Loeb Secretary LYNN A LVARE Z, Esq. Immigrants Rights Office CAROLYN ANAGNOS TIMOTHY BARK ER. Esq. M itchell, S ilberberg and Knupp ' BELTRAN 1rty Representative RU TH C APELLE, P hD. Professor of Art California State University. Fullerton MONICA LO ZANO-CENTANINO Associate Publisher La Opinion N ORA H AMILTON, PhD. As sociate Professor of Political S cience University of Southern California DR. SAUL NI EDORF Assistant Professor of Child Psychiatry UCLA School of Medicine S TEV EN l NUTTER. Esq. Western Regional Director ILGWU PAT RE IF, PhD. Chair, Feminist Spiritua lity Program Immaculate Heart College Center MARK D. ROSENBAUM, Esq. General Counsel ACLU Foundation of Southern California BA RBARA W AHL ROSOVE REV TIM SAFFORD All Saints Episcopal Church CARLOS V AQUERANO Community Representabve & 0 ~•1tive Director INE JANIS. Esq. 0 CARECEN DENOUNCES WIDESPREAD CIVIL AND HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS IN POST-RIOT LOS ANGELES June 1992 Contacts: Edward J. Flynn, Legal Director Madeline Janis, Executive Director Carlos Vaquerano, Communications Dept. The Central American Refugee Center (CARECEN) of Los Angeles has documented widespread violations of the civil and human rights of Latino residents living in the central Pico-Union district in the weeks following the riots of 1992. CARECEN's investigation has revealed that at least 452 persons were stopped for little or no reason by the Los Angeles Police Department, interrogated as to their immigration status and summarily handed over to the INS, with no criminal charges ever brought against them. As the LAPD has itself acknowledged, these incidents were in direct violation of city law and policy regarding the police department's intervention into immigration matters. Other Latinos were stopped, interrogated in the street and arrested by Border Patrol forces sent to the city supposedly to protect its residents, while yet others were arrested for alleged undocumented status after unconstitutional arrests and interrogations in the course of warrantless apartment-building raids supposedly targeted at suspected looters. After being delivered into U.S. Immigration & Naturalization Service custody, many persons were pressured by INS into signing voluntary departure requests, thereby giving up their rights to an immigration hearing, often through assertions by INS officers that failure to sign could result in lengthy detention and fines. INS imposed exorbitant bonds of up to $20,000 on many detainees, even in cases where they had no criminal records. Dozens of people were subsequently held in INS custody under appalling and overcrowded conditions, which drove some detainees to urgently seek 1 CENTRAL AMERICAN REFUGEE CENTER / CENTRO DE REFUGIADOS CENTROAMERICANOS 668 South Bonnie Broe Street / Los Angeles, California 90057 / (213) 483-6868 / FAX (213) 483-4407 ®~25 '• ' '~ deportation rather than remain in detention. As of late May, more than 700 persons arrested during the riots had already been removed from the United States by the INS, while more than 100 others were in detention awaiting hearings. One hundred nine persons were released from custody by INS after it was learned that they had lawful status. In the weeks after the riots, CARECEN and other free legal-services agencies found it exceedingly difficult even to gain access to detainees to provide them with legal assistance, due to obstructive visitation policies and administrative disarray on the part of the INS. The immigration sweeps by the LAPD in concert with the INS, and the dispatch of the Border Patrol to the Pico-Union district were outrageous attacks on the integrity of the law-abiding Latino community of central Los Angeles. In the days following the riots, the Pico-Union neighborhood, like many neighborhoods in the city, desperately needed a commitment by the authorities to protect its residents without regard to ethnic or national origin. Instead, Latinos in large numbers were subjected to unlawful interrogations about their immigration status by both local and federal authorities. This situation was undoubtedly due in large part to racist comments by the Chief of Police and the U.S. Attorney General singling out Latino and Central American immigrants as a major cause of the uprising. As a result of these civil-rights violations, CARECEN received reports of many inner-city residents too fearful of leaving their apartments even to go to the store to buy food for their families. Cases of civil and human rights violations identified by CARECEN in the last wake of the riots include the following: 1. Martha C.: An 18-year-old woman who was seven-months pregnant, she was drinking a fruit juice she had bought at a store near Grandview and 9th Street on Thursday, April 30, around 3 p.m., when LAPD squad cars pulled up and started interrogating bystanders about their names and countries of origin. The store was open for business, and no looting or other criminal activity was taking place. When she admitted having no immigration documents, she was arrested and taken to LAPD Rampart division. Never charged with any crime, she was soon thereafter picked 2 ' . up at the police station along with several dozen more arrestees by the INS, and was taken to the downtown Federal Building. INS detained her under a $20,000 bond, and held her under appalling conditions, transferring her nightly at about 1 a.m. from the Federal Building to the INS detention center at Terminal Island, San Pedro, and then back again at about 5 a.m., for a period of eight days running. Nearly two weeks after her arrest, on May 12, she was rushed to a hospital emergency room for fear she might miscarry. An immigration judge released her on her own recognizance on May 14, pending a hearing in her immigration case. 2. Lucia A.: A 24-year-old woman who is four months pregnant, she was walking with her husband on Olympic near Alvarado on Tuesday, May 5, shortly after midnight, when an LAPD squad car pulled up, and two officers emerged and demanded to know the pair's country of origin. When they were unable to produce papers, one of the officers said to her in Spanish, "You're going to be visiting your country very soon and for free." The officer grabbed her by the hair and pushed her up against a wall, referring to her as a prostitute, and then cuffed her tightly with plastic bands. The day after her arrest, INS presented her with a voluntary departure form and told her she could avoid detention and a high fine if she signed the paper. She went ahead and signed. She was placed in INS custody and suffered from frequent transfers, poor hygiene, inadequate diet and being forced to sleep on the floor or on cement benches. 3. Edwin P.: He was standing at a bus stop near Union and 8th Street on Saturday, May 2, at about 5 p.m. when police and uniformed INS officers pulled up in an unmarked civilian car and demanded to know of him and several "cholos" nearby whether they had any immigration papers. When he indicated he had none, he was taken into custody, never charged with a crime, but taken directly to INS offices at the Federal Building downtown. He believes the young gang members were later released, possibly because they had legal status. He believes his interrogation was due entirely to his ethnic appearance. 4. Miguel R.: He was visiting his girlfriend at an apartment building near the intersection of Los Angeles and Washington streets, Saturday afternoon, May 2, at about 1 p.m., when several vehicles apparently belonging to LAPD, the Border Patrol and the National Guard converged on the premises. There were items in the alley next to the building which were apparently believed to be remnants of looting from previous days. Although several bystanders ran from the building, he did not. He was in his girlfriend's apartment when officers burst in and took him into custody. Asked where he was from, he told the officers 3 . ' 4fV" Guatemala. Along with about 20 other people, he was taken to Newton Division, where he spent the next three hours or so. He was not charged with a crime, but was instead transferred to INS custody. On Monday, May 4, he signed a voluntary-departure request form after INS officials recommended he do so. 5. Enrique V.: He was walking alone on 3rd Street near Loma on Saturday night, May 2, at about 10 p.m. when an LAPD squad car braked to a halt beside him. Three officers leaped out, grabbed him and restrained him with plastic cuffs though he did not resist, and demanded to know his name and where he was from. He gave the officers his name and said he was from Mexico. He was brought to the Rampart Division, where he spent only about 15 minutes before the INS arrived to take him and others into INS custody. He was brought first to the Federal Building, and then was taken to the detention center in San Pedro on Sunday morning at about 3 a.m. On Monday, May 4, he was shown a voluntary-departure request form and was pressured to sign, the INS officer telling him he could be jailed for up to five years if he did not. He signed. 6. Manuel C.: He was a passenger in a car stopped by the LAPD on Friday night, May 1, near the intersection of Hoover and Washington, on apparent suspicion that the driver, his uncle, was intoxicated. The arresting officers demanded to know his name and country of origin (Mexico), and shortly thereafter, he was transferred to INS custody. His uncle was released by LAPD the next morning. 7. Jaime H.: On Saturday, May 2, at about 5:00 in the afternoon, he was walking down Kenmore Street near 9th, on his way to buy mangoes from a street vendor, when three LAPD squad cars suddenly pulled up. Six officers emerged from the cars and stopped him, one of them demanding to know his age and where he was from. Jaime, an 18-year-old lawful permanent resident, did not have his residency card with him at the time. He was arrested and taken by the police to Rampart station. After only about ten minutes at Rampart, he was taken into custody by INS and taken along with numerous other arrestees to the Federal Building downtown. Although he informed an INS processing official of his lawful permanent resident status, he was placed in detention, first in the Federal Building basement and later at Terminal Island. He was never brought before a judge, and was not released by INS until June 10, 1992. The practices of the LAPD in the days following the riots were a clear violation of city and state law, which prohibit the LAPD from detaining persons on 4 ... ' ( the basis of alleged civil immigration violations (illegal entry) or handing them over to the INS unless they have been charged with multiple or high-grade misdemeanors or felonies (Special Order 40). It is noteworthy that the INS participated directly in the LAPD sweeps, allegedly as "translators." The Border Patrol activities in Los Angeles, meanwhile, violated constitutional protections which mandate that interrogations and arrests be based on probable cause to believe a crime has been committed, and not on ethnic appearance alone. These developments pose a serious threat to the proper enforcement of criminal law in the multicultural city of Los Angeles. CARECEN has long urged the LAPD to adopt a clear policy dedicating itself to the protection of the residents of Los Angeles without resorting to the enforcement of civil immigration laws or automatically calling in the INS. The incidents of the post-riot period will only serve to heighten the tension and mistrust between the city's Latino community and the LAPD and other law enforcement authorities -- tension and mistrust which must be avoided in Los Angeles these days at all cost. (CARECEN et al v. Daryl Gates was filed in Los Angeles in May 1991 by CARECEN along with the Immigrants Rights Office of the Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles, the Mexican-American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF), and the National Immigration Law Center. This lawsuit challenges the LAPD practice of illegally inquiring into people's immigration status -- victims and suspects alike -- and calling in the INS to take custody of undocumented persons. CARECEN has long been concerned about this policy, which has led to widespread fear of the police in Los Angeles' Central American community and elsewhere, and to a profound reluctance by victims of violent crime to seek the involvement of the LAPD). 5 -----,- •. r· ~..:. . -2·6-'9~ TLE 21:19 \,. . TEL NO: ,..J · --·o; °/·2 2 i·,·2 · · ~i J ·, ·1; · · · i-iix 1·c; -·coiis ui:i.. r1:· · · -· · ·2· i j- -6 2 ,·:. s ;·~ ' \ .( .. -- ... ,; . ..:,__ ·,·\ . . ~ \ .·, . \ ~t:,· I . -. -. ' ,. . I • ,I • UNrrBD STATBS DHPAR.TYENT OF JUSTJCB DIMIGRATION AND NAnJ1A.LIZATION SD.VICI! ~ . ' ,•· . ..,. ·•.... - 300 N. I.DS ANJELES ST., LOS ANOELBS, CA 90012 PioM 'rR! ciip~I OF tRS DlfflJC'I' DllBCTOl P19t Number 1 May 20, 19.92 LOI ANCELZS DlSTRlOT USINS RIOT ALIENS PROCESSED 1. Ali•n• arreated at LAPD deployment sic••---- 2. Total Riot Alien releaatd to INS custody from tlCJ vlth detainer--------------------· 3. Total Riot Aliena rel••••d tc INS cu1tody from LlCJ with NO detainer------------------ 4. ~ot•1 Alien received fro~ LACJ/tAPD/OTH!R -- 4a. L•••i Relea1ed from cuatody (Not neportablt) ---•----------••---•-- 5. ~otal Deportablt Riot Alien• proct1sed -----• - 5a. Total OSC/WA ---·---------------------- 5b. ~otal Voluntary ~•turne -------------- &. Alien• in INI custody T.t. --------·-----·--- May 19 " 22 ' l 23 0 23 22 l 33 6a. OIC/WA (avaitin; h1arin9) -------- 13 6b. YR (awaitin9 travel documtnta) --- 20 , • Alien• traneferrtd t'!> cth•r r~·~ f.eci \ iti•• outeid• ~OS---------------------------•------ 50 I. Allene removed from tht United St1te1 ------- 13 ••• Daported •------~----------------------- 0 Sb. V/l ---------------------·-----·-------- 13 ... .. si2S1 PC3 ·o..:-- ---..... . p. Totale 332 425 198 955 109 846 127 719 2~1 11·: 144 826 ~4 762 - ·-.-- ·MH,-.?6-'9~ Tl.£ 21:19 TEL l'-0: · - o s r2 2 rt 2 · · ·i; ·, ·i; · · · isti i ·c;. •• · co?i s ui..·..: rt" · · · · · °2" i j - -6 2 ,-_-a 9·9 · .. -........... -- . , , , P•9• Number 2 Nay 20, l9i2 IY Day and Count~y ,. llot Al 1 •rj• by Country of birth: ~otal Interviewed AltMIMIA 1 IILlll 3 eo,TA RICA 2 COil 5 IL SALVADOR '' GUATIMAt.l 51 IONDUlll J3 l'l'At.Y 1 NIXICO 747 lC!CAllAOUA ' PIJL%PPU1ZS 1 ltJS1%l 1 Total--- 955 (' • .. . -------- Proce11•d for removal AaMBNIA alt-?ZI ' COSTA RICA CDaA It. IAt.VADOl COATINALl HONDUlll %Tlt.Y MIXICO NICARlOUl PIII,tP,IN!I RUllll 0 3 l 4 11 '' 27 1 Sil • 0 0 1,1 p.C · ... .... ( A C. ,., .. "t "- i .:, .L ;) u-.o • ., • .,,..~. -· ____ r" ~ lmlftllratfon and Natur1Uut1rm 8ervic, ta1-:1m-e .n, NeflA lM A"'•' au,,, Loi A,.,_,_ CA IIIUI JUN 091992 Mr. Allan ,araehini DL~•etor of •••••rah and Publia Altair• ACLU Foundation ot 9outhern California IG1C l•v•rlf loulevard, P.O. lox 2A917 Lo• An;•l•••_Ca1S.forni• 9002••9931 O-ar Nr. Paraahini• Th• ~Dllowin9 £• £n re•;o~•• \a your rr••do• of Jnfor atian r•Que•t ol lfay 2e, 1912. AlLlntlllh th£.• .,~,o• do•• not have en• dncuunt. \l\lt llUSl\Ule• Ute ,ntormation ••t fort.h in )' UI' reQu••t, ? aan prc,v,o• you vU,h th• ~igui-9• IJ•••d upon • rev£.•w ol .. 1.vant doou •nt1 pre,ar•~ durtn; ~h• ~1~•• ape,c1f1•~• 1) Th• nu•b•r ol individu•1• ~urned ov•r ~a ~h• INB ••ah -•Yb~ the La• Ana•l•• Po11a• Dtpart••nt, tart1ng Apr11 2,, 1,92 ihrou9h th• date ot Jour requ••t, lay 28, 1992, Th1 •l•c 1nG1wd•• ~h• oountri•• at origin, Ohly date, in vhioh actual turnover• ••r• ••d• ar• li ted. QATE PF TUIN QYSB "•)' 1 • 2& 2 - 19 ~ • 115 4 • 41 I - •s & • 41 7 • 14 • - 9 ,. . , ,. - ..lZ To\rel• 412 NATIQ16LIU Jl•x1oo 11 Salvador G\1Jt•1111a Handura leliae Nicaragua Ja atoa UIIR • 344 - 44 - 4J • 13 i • 3 1 • --1. Tot.ala 412 2> Th• nu•~•r ul £nJ1viduel• \urn•d ov•r to th• JII ••oh daJ ~y ~h• Loa An9•l•• Polle• Depar~••nt lraM A,r1l 22 through £pr11 24, 1vva ,. •• Collow•• P6tl Rt TURN DVEft Apr zz • e • 2:1 - • 24 • I I ,,,,../ t ( ( ..., u ., . O> The nu•b•r of Lndiv1dua1• turn•d ovar to the XNI ••oh day by th•~•• Aftt•l•• eouftty lh•rltf'• Oftloe 1tartlnf April at, 1112 ~hrough t"- 4at• of your ~•Qu••t. ftay 21. 1112, Th1a alao lholud•• \h• ocuntr1•• •f erlain . • R6tE Pr tYftH QYIB H6tXQHALITY Apr 29 - U, Ketc1eo •••• ~- - 19 El lalvador • •• Hay 1 - 26 Gu•t•Mala - II 2 - n Nonduraa - 2, , . I Cuba 7 4 - i:a Ar•en1a - ~ I - d2 - C•l••b£a - 3 ... ., ; Miaar••1ua .. 3 7 • 1~1 Yi.e,ft•• - 3 I • 1:11 .. rr•noe - 2 • • 13 tr•'I 2 11 • 71 rranoe I 11 - 31 Da inio n Rep, - 1 12 • 39 Norocoo 1. 1~ - ,. Syr11 1 14 • 41 COit R1ca - ' 19 - 12 Italy 1 11 • 13 Na•bia 1 17 • 33 Brasil 1 18 • 21 C1nad1 1 lt • 23 Trinidad - 1 21 • ..7J.. "•l•V•L• • l Et.hiops.a - 1 lndone il .. -l Totals 1,111 4> Th• nu•b•r ot lnd1vidual• tu~n•d av•r to the %NI ••Oh day by t.he Lo Angel•• COYftty 91\er1~f' • Offic. tro April 22, \t\rough Apri1 24, ltt2. ThL a1 e ~nclud•• th• countr1•• ot orL;tn, RAIi gr tYBlf PYIB Apr 22 • a• aa • 2, 34 • U. Totals 76 z I tuTIQH6bIO IC•Kiaa El Sal.vadar rhilippinn l•lis• Ol' t.e11eL• llvnd1iar•• J•••io• P•n••• CYba - ,1 7 2 • 1 ' 1 1 • 1 ... J. Totala 76 ',.. • .JU 11 ! U , .. : . . If yoY have any fyrth r ~~• tion, pl•••• oentaot.,. at <2131 89t• 2711, • a1naereJ.)', Robet\ N, No1oh0rak Di \rial Dlr•ator 3 , . . -~~- - :·· ··. 9' TABLE OF PERSONS DETAINED BY lAPO DURING DISTURBANCES WITHOUT CAUSE OR FOR MINOR CRIME AND TURNED OVER TO INS' . Prepared by CENTRAL AMERICAN REFUGEE CENTER NAME NATIONALITY DATE DETAINED CHARGES LOCATION REMARKS DETAINED BY FILED 1. Lucia A. Guatemalan 5/4/92 LA.P.D. none INS/TID2 Turned a1er to INS. 4 mot Chi pregnart. Detained wtth no motive. Verbal abuse by police. 2. Alex 0. Salvadoran 5/5/92 LA.P.O. none INS/TIO Turned over to INS. Entire buldlng : .. . : . : searched because d suspedad looters. 17 year old boy taken away although no stolen goods In apartment. 3. Salvador M. Salvadoran 5/2/92 LA.P.O. none INS/TIO Turned a1er to INS. Detained on ,., . I street after buying donuts. Police I called him a ,UCktng asshole.· told I : him he'd 900n go to his country ,or : free,• puled his hair, pushed him, and handcuffed him tlghdy. 4. Leslie R. Honduran 5/6/92 LA.P.D. none INS Turned over to the INS. 6 months pregnant. Pollce treated her roughly. ' The C.ntral American RlfugN Center (c.ARECEN) ha conducted a total of ee lnteNfew9 wf1tl detm""9 Md/o, their famlty members lince May 2. 1992. Of the•. we haw been able to document 22 ewe of lmpropef and/Of Illegal coope,atlon between the I.APO and the INS. Of the balance, 13 ~ _.,. arrelted by of'9f authoritiN (mottty the SheriffA Department) and In 31 cu .. we..,. not able to obtain 1uffldent lnfo,matlon. Full namn of al dlents will be made available at a later date upon cfient consent. 2 TIO la Terminal Island Detention c.,,w located In San P9dro, Cafffomla. Alt pert0n1 lilted u M/TIO were In INS custody Hof the week of May 11, 1992. Some may haw been deported. " 5. Ana R. Salvadoran 5/1/92 LA.P.D. none 6. Marta C. Salvadoran 5/1/92 LA.P.O. none 7. Jose L Salvadoran 5/5/92 National none ' Guard ' /'\. ) ' . ,,;w\~ .. (,. 8. Mauricio A. Salvadoran 5/3/'n LA.P.O. curfew vlolatlon 9. Javier M. Mexican 5/1/tn LA.P.O. none I 1 O. Arturo S. Guatemalan 5/1/92 LA.P.O. curfew violation 11. Juan M. Honduran 4/'J0/92 LA.P.0. none 12. Eddy V. Guatemalan 5/1/92 LA.P.O. none 13. Marlo S. Mexican 5/1/92 LA.P.O. none : /I I I I .. 14. Jaime H. Salvadoran 5/2/'n LA.P.O. none 15. Victor C. Mexican 4/'J0/92 LA.P.O. none 16. Jorge M. Honduran 4/'J0/92 LA.P.O. none Released from INS td under deportation Released from INS tu under deportation Released from INS tu under deportation INS Released from INS bul In deportation INS/TIO INS/TIO INS INS/TIO INS/TIO INS/TIO Deported .,- Turned over to INS. Hands tied tightly with plastlc. Police caned her a prostitute and said she'd soon get a free trtp home. Saw others on the bus being hit by INS. I Turned over to INS. 18 years old, 7 months pregnant and I. Nol allowed to see a doctor In INS custody for 8 days. Turned OV8f to INS. Detained wtlh no motive on the way home from wort<. Turned over to INS. Turned over to INS. Was In a car. with his uncle, who was arrested. No motive to arrest him, so Immediately turned CNer to INS. Turned over to INS. Polltlcal asylum applicant. Turned over to INS. Turned over to INS. Detained drMng mother to work. Turned over to INS. Turned over to INS. Turned over to INS. Minor (17 years old). Turned over to INS. . I I i I 17. Guadalupe Mexican 5/2/92 LAP.O. C. 18. WIiie M. Salvadoran 5/1/92 LA.P.O. 19. Samuel S. Guatemalan 5/1/92 LA.P.O. 20. Car1os S. Salvadoran 5/2/92 LA.P.O. 21. Jose P. Salvadoran 4/'J0/92 LA.P.O. 22. Israel F. Mexican 5/2/92 LA.P.O. none INS/TIO none INS/TIO possible INS/TIO curfew vlolatlon possible INS/TIO curfew vlolatlon curfew county lal vfolatlon curfew unknown vlolatlon Turned aiiet to INS. Turned fNet to INS. Turned fNet to INS. Turned OYet to INS. Has TPS. WII be ttmed OYet to INS after S8Nlng sentence (INS hold). Believed to be In INS custody. .. i 1 I ! I i I . I DECLARATION I, Martha Campos, do hereby declare the following: 1. I am an 18-year old woman. I am presently seven months pregnant, and am in detention in the INS detention center at Terminal Island, San Pedro, California. 2. On April 30, 1992, I was arrested and detained by the Los Angeles Police Department. The circumstances were these: at about 3:00 in the afternoon, I was standing in a store that was open for business near Grandview street, drinking some fruit juice. Suddenly several police cars pulled up, and the police began to interrogate everyone in the vicinity. An officer demanded to know my name, and if I had any immigration papers and what country I was from. I responded that I had no papers and I told him what country I am from. I was then taken to a police station with many other people. 3. After I had spent about 20 minutes at the police station, Immigration arrived in several vans and took me and many other people away. There were about 10 other people in my van. They took me to the main Federal Building in the center of Los Angeles. Later that same day, at the Federal Building, some officials from Immigration gave me some papers to sign, for my deportation back to El Salvador. They said that if I did not sign, I could be held in detention for a long time. I went ahead and signed the papers. 4. For the next eight days, until Friday, May 8, I was detained during most of the days in the basement of the Federal Building. I was held along with numerous other women, some of whom were also pregnant, in a cell with no furniture apart from a ,_ \ ( bench along the wall. This bench was narrow, and it was impossible for me to sleep in this cell, except on the floor. Each night at about 1:00 a.m., we were woken up and put on a bus, and taken to the INS detention center in San Pedro. We were held there every night until about 5:00 a.m., when we were taken back to the Federal Building. At San Pedro, we had to sleep on hard cement benches. I never got a good night's sleep during this entire time, and it was difficult to endure this treatment because of my pregnancy. 5. On May 8, I was brought to San Pedro and have not been taken back to the Federal Building since. During the entire time that I was being shuttled between the Federal Building and San Pedro, I was not permitted to shower and bathe. Also during that time, I was not given a change of undergarments and clothing. Since I have been at San Pedro, I have been given a change of clothing only once. The meals I have been given both at the Federal Building and at San Pedro have been very bad and small. A typical meal has been some dry meat and old bread, and a small orange. I have been given little milk to drink, and very few fruits and vegetables. I had not been given vitamins until Wednesday, May 13. I have lost weight and feel very weak. I believe the food I have been provided has been totally inadequate for a woman in her seventh month of pregnancy. 6. On Tuesday night, May 12, around midnight, I was rushed to the emergency room of a nearby hospital. I had been feeling very feverish and sick in my bed, but when another detainee notified the guards, they said I could wait until morning to see a doctor. But I was feeling worse and worse, and was afraid I would lose my baby. Finally, after my friends insisted, INS decided to take me to the hospital. At the hospital, I was told by the doctor that I was·weak and that I could give birth to my ~--- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- \ baby prematurely. But after examining me, they let me be returned to the detention center. 7. On Wednesday, May 13, I felt very dizzy and weak. My lawyer visited me in the morning, and after his visit, I was taken to see the doctor at the detention center. This was the first time I was given medical attention for my pregnancy while in the custody of the INS, apart from the emrgency-room visit the night before. The doctor gave me a pre-natal kit, which included vitamins. I believe I should have been given these vitamins a long time ago by INS. 8. I am feeling very weak now. I fear being deported back to El Salvador, and I wish to have a judge hear my case, but I cannot stand being detained even another day. They have not given me the care that should be given to a pregnant woman. They are not giving any of the pregnant women I know here the care that they need. I fear that the treatment I have suffered while in INS custody could have caused or might still cause serious harm either to me or my baby, or both. I declare under penalty of perjury that the foregoing is true and correct, to the best of my knowledge and belief. P?~C~rlpy:;;-- MARTHA CAMPOS '• \. ( CERTIFICATE OF TRANSLATOR I, Edward J. Flynn, hereby certify that I am fluent in both English and Spanish, that I translated the foregoing Declaration of Martha Campos in its entirety to the Declarant in Spanish, and that she signed the Declaration after affirming that she understood it. DECLARATION 1. Lucia Attal Ramos, do hereby declare the following: 1. I am a 24-year old woman. I am presently four months pregnant, and am in detention in the the INS detention center at Terminal Island, San Pedro, California. fJ1{ 2. On Monday. May is: :db at approximately 1 :00 a.m .• my husband and I were walking along Olympic near Alvarado street on our way home from dinner. Two Los Angeles Police Department officers patrolling the streets, suddenly pulled up, stopped us, and asked for our papers and demanded to know our country of origin. When we were unable to produce the papers, one of the police officers said to us in Spanish, "You're going to be visiting your country very soon and for free·. This same officer proceeded to grab my hair and push me up against a nearby wall all the while referring to me as a prostitute. 3. The two officers proceeded to search my and my husbands clothing and bags, but found nothing which appeared to interest them. 4. We were then handcuffed, placed in a patrol car and taken to the police station. Soon after reaching the police station we were transferred by the INS to the Federal Building downtown. Streets. ( s. At INS we were given voluntary departure papers and told that if we signed them we would be deported that night and would not be placed in detention. We were also told that if we didn't sign the voluntary departure forms we would be forced to pay $5,000 each in fines. 6. On May 4th, we were transferred to the San Pedro Detention facility on Terminal Island. For the next five days and nights, I along with several detainees was shuttled between the Federal Building in downtown Los Angeles and the San Pedro Detention Facility. At the Federal Building we were forced to sleep on concrete benches without pillows or blankets. At one or two a.m. we would be awakened from sleep and placed on a bus to San Pedro. We would arrive at San Pedro early in the morning where we would finish the night in cots or on benches located on the first floor. We were then W(?ken up around s a.m. to be returned to the Federal Building. 7. The food I received, both at the Federal building as well as at the San Pedro Facility was often dry or spoiled. For five days I was seriously ill with constipation. When I asked to see a doctor I was told there was none available. Finally, one night, after I had complained about my physical condition, I was removed from the pod and made to sleep in the dinning room on top of a table. I was forced to sleep in this manner for two nights. It wasn't until the 11th of this month that I was allowed to see a doctor. 8. I am four months pregnant and have felt seriously HI since my apprehension by the L-__ _____________ _ · .. INS. I declare under penalty of perjury that the foregoing is true and correct, to the best of my knowtedge and belief. ~;ri,q)._ RAl>'?osJuf' .. ~<? Date Lucia Attal Ramos DECLARATION I, Edwin David Perera, do hereby declare the following: 1. I am a 33-year old man, and an electrician by trade. I am presently in detention in the INS detention center at Terminal Island, San Pedro, California. 2. On Sunday, May 3, 1992, at about 4:30 in the afternoon, I was standing at the corner of Fedora and 9th Street, waiting for a friend to pick me up. There was a group of young men standing near me whom I believe to have been gang members, or "cholos." All of a sudden, two unmarked vehicles pulled up and about five men in civilian clothes, two of them wearing jackets identifying them as immigration officials, jumped out and interrogated me and the other young men. I had no immigration documents in my possession at the time. The officers arrested me and three of the other young men on the spot. 3. I was taken by the agents to the corner of Vermont and 3rd Streets, near a Thrifty drug store, where an INS bus was waiting. My hands were tightly lashed behind my back with a plastic strip. I was placed in the bus, and from there was driven, along with several of the "cholos," as well as other arrestees, to the INS office downtown. 4. For the next three days, I was detained in the basement of the Federal Building downtown during the days, and bussed out to the detention center at Terminal Island every night, leaving at about 10:00 p.m., a~d brought back each morning at about 5:00 a.m. While I was held in the Federal Building, I was given hardly any food at all. A typical meal was a couple of tortillas with a cold egg in between. On the fourth day, I was taken to Terminal Island to stay, and I have remained there ever since. I declare under penalty of perjury that the foregoing is true and correct, to the best of my knowledge and belief. ~--YID PERE~ - - - ----- -- { I ( • CERTIFICATE OF TRANSLATOR I, Edward J. Flynn, hereby certify that I am fluent in both English and Spanish, that I translated the foregoing Declaration of Edwin David Perera in its entirety to the Declarant in Spanish, and that he signed the Declaration after affirming that he understood it. .. DECLARATION 1)RAFT I, Ana Iris Ramirez Diaz, do hereby declare the following: 1. I am a 33-year old woman. I am currently being held in detention in the INS detention center at Terminal Island, San Pedro, California. 2. On Monday, May founh, at approximately 1 :00 a.m., I was waiting outside the Milltown Motel, located on Alvarado Street between 7th and 8th Streets, for a friend who was staying as a guest there. Without warning, two I.APO patrol cars pulled up to the curb and began rounding up all the people who were waiting in front of the motel. 3. The police officer who apprehended me never searched me; he merely demanded to see my papers and to know my country of origin. When I relinquished this information he said in Spanish, "You're going to be visiting your family very soon". He was very rude and tied my hands very tightly behind my back. 4. Five minutes after the arrival of the I.APO, an INS bus pulled up to the motel and officers began loading the, twenty or so people who had been arrested into the bus. 5. That night I was given a voluntary dcpanure form. I was told that if I didn't sign it I would be forced to pay $20,000 in bond. ~----------------- - 6. On May fourth, I was taken to the San Pedro Detention Center on Terminal Island. For the next five days and nights, I, along with several detainees, was shuttled between the Federal Building in downtown Los Angeles and the San Pedro Detention Center. At the Federal Building we were forced to sleep on concrete benches without pillows or blankets. At one or two a.m., we would be awakened from sleep and placed on a bus to San Pedro . . We would arrive at San Pedro early in the morning where we would finish the night in cots or benches located on the first floor. We were then woken up around 5 a.m. to be returned to the Federal Building. 7. The food I received, both at the Federal Building as well as at the San Pedro Detention Center was often dry or spoiled. I have not been permitted to bathe on a regular basis, and have been given a clean set of clothing, including undergarments, only once each week. 8.1 am sharing a cell with many women who are pregnanL These women have received no special care. They have been forced to sleep on tables and benches and have been sent to the doctor only when they experienced extreme pain. I declare under penalty of perjury that the foregoing is true and correct, to the best of my knowledge and belief. Date Ana Iris Ramirez Diaz ~------------ ---------- ('_ 1. 2. DECLARATION I, Jaime Antonio Hernandez, do hereby declare the following: I am an 18-year old man. I am presently in detention in the INS detention center at Terminal Island, San Pedro, California. On Saturday, May 2, 1992, at about 5:00 in the afternoon, I was walking down Kenmore Street, near the corner of 9th, where I was going to buy some mangoes from a street vendor. All of a sudden, three Los Angeles Police Department squad cars pulled up and six officers jumped out and started to interrogate me, demanding to know my age and where I was from. I had no immigration documents in my possession at the time. The officers arrested me and took me in one of the squad cars to the LAPD Rampart station. 3. After only about ten minutes at the Rampart station, I was taken into custody by Immigration officials and driven along with many other arrested persons to the main Immigration office downtown. I informed an immigration official at the main office that I am a lawful permanent resident in the United States, and the official began to look for records of my status. The official then indicated to me that it appeared I was correct, that he had confirmed I am in fact a permanent resident. However, rather than being released, I was taken to a holding cell in the basement of the Federal Building. 4. I spent several nights in the basement of the Federal Building, and on two occasions was transported to the INS detention center at San Pedro to spend the night. · ... Finally, after about a week, I was taken to the San Pedro detention center, where I have been detained ever since. As far as I know, I have no bond. In addition, I have not had a court bearing since being taken into custody by the INS. I declare under penalty of perjury that the foregoing is true and correct, to the best of my knowledge and belief. Date JAIME ANTONIO HERNANDEZ ( I, ( Score ; of Suspects Arrested in Riots Turned Over to INS · ,:-• ··- LOS ANGELES TIMES Police: Immigrant advocates say action inflamed situation and violated LAPD policy. By PATRICK McDONNELL TIMES STAFF WIITEI In the midst of the city's unrest, Los Angeles police turned over acores of foreign-born suspects to U.S. immigration authorities. who have targeted illegal immigrants among them for repatriation to their homelands. officials con flfflled Tuesday. The action-which immigrant advocates say served to inflame an already volatile situation in Latino enclaves hard hit during the dis turbances-was in direct contra vention of Los Angeles police poli cy to not turn over people to the U.S. Immigration and Naturaliza tion Service. -rhis was a departure from our normal policy. but this was not a normal situation:• said Ll John Dunkin, a police spokesman. ~lier, Dunkin had denied to a Times reporter that police had handed su.,pecta over to immigra tion officials. But he later tele- . phoned back to correct the state ment and confinn that police did hand over at least 100 suspects to the Immigration Service. Among · the . riot-related arreats in Loi Angeles were 1,044 lJlegal immigrants. according to an INS official who declined to be identi fied. Of those, the official said, 781 remained in the County Jail u of Monday and were to be turned over to the INS once their criminal cases were disposed of, the official said. Another 263 were turned over to the 1ervice for return to their native countries, according to the official. who said he believed thole 26.1 were turned over by · Loe Angeles police. LGs Angeles police could not provide a precise number, other than to say that about 2k> suspects were handed over to U.S. immigra tion authorities on Saturday alone. About 400 agents of the U.S. Border Patrol-an armed agency of the Immigration and Naturaliza tion Service-were among the 1,000 federal law enforcement au thorities . deployed to Loe Angeles In an effort to quell the disturbanc ~- The first Border Patrol contin gents arrived Friday and had left · by late Monday, federal officials laid . ~ . Many Border Patrol units were . _ deployed jn _ Ule Pico Union area · I and other Latino immigrant neigh:- . - borhooda, raising alarm among residents who have long feared la migni-u U.S. immigration offi ciau are widely known. · .. · . '-rhis was buically throwing gasoline onto a fire," laid Madeline Janis, executive director of the Central American Refugee Center ( CARECEN), the nonprofit 10eial aervice and legal assistance organ ization. '"There was almost a feel ing that 10meone wu exacting vengeance against the communi ty." The high-profile Border Patrol preaer:,ce::-aome patrQlled the city m their distinctive green and white vehicles- while others accompanied Los Angels police officen-raiaed fears that new Latino immigrants were being Uled u ,capegoats for the violence, advocates said. Police · Chief Daryl F. Gate, hu already publicly blamed .. lllepl aliens" for much of the pillage. -- :: · · '1t'a part of a pattern we've aeen • for at least a year. where immig rant, are targeted for a lot of aodety'1 problems," Janis said ·Authorities insisted that all ap prehensions by immigration per aonnel were initially for looting and other riot-related offe~. and that any immigration charaes were only discovered afterward. · : Loa Angeles police officers did not direct immigration agents : to .• arrest undocumented immJgranta, ' LAPD Ll Dunkin said. "I can'ltite unequivocally," he laid. -ihat we did not give them a million to go out Jnd round up illegal immig- rants." _ According to Dunkin, suspects t~ 0 !er to the INS by city pohce officen tended to be. those for w!!<>m there was no .. probable cause of P1'01eeution for not-re lated off enaes. ·- U.S. Juatiee Department officials def ended the deployment or the Border Patrol agents ... At the re quest of California authorities we took the necessary ateps to ~tore law and order, which required us to Ille aJJ available resources," re ~~ed a Justice Department offi cial m Wuhington, who declined to be identified. · It appears that about 10% of those l:"'ested during the Los An g~es disturbances were iJJegal im ~ta. the official said An ear lier, Widely repeated estimate that one-third of thoee apprehended were Wldocu.mented was in error. The Border Patrol detachment sent to- Loa Angeles came from ltationa throughout California and from Yuma, Ariz., said an officiaJ familiar with the assignmenL • WEDNESDAY, MAY 6, 1992 83 g - .. 00 < \ Criticism Grows Over Aliens Seized During Riots SETHMYDANS Spttaal 10 Tbr tww Yorlt T•- LOS ANGELES, May 28 - Lucia Anal Ramos is a trophy of the Los Angeles riots, one of hundreds of illegal immigrants who were swept off the streets as the Immigration and Natu ralization Service took advantage of ~ the city's recent chaos. ti, By her own account, police officen t!! stopped her on the evening of May 4 ~ told her she was going to get .. a f ~ ~ ride back to your country," and handed her over to immigration agents who ~~ held her without ch~rges for 18 days before a lawyer obtained her release. I Mrs. Ramos, who is from Guatema- - la, is pan of one of the biggest hauls of ~ illegal immigrants in the history of the ~ city, where thousands of newcomers ~ live and work without documents P.-1,, among the legal Hispanic residents. In ~ the weeks since the nots, criticism has J:' grown that the police and immigration W agents improperly detained people. cles with illegal aliens they had de tained in a variety of improper ways. In some cases, like that of Mrs. Ramos, the c~itics say the police violated long standing procedures by detaining peo ple solely because they did not have documents to prove they were ~n the country legally. The police denied this accusation. g!-lage, wearing cl~thing that would ba• s,cally be of _foreign origin, or foreign appearance af coupled with some of these Other things." He agreed that such a description coul,d apply _to ~•st ponions of the Cit)'. s population, in which 40 perc~nt of residents ~re of _ Hispanic origin and ho~d a ':•.~1~ty or. 1mm1gration statuses. Immigrant rights groups have gath• ered numerous examples of men and In aoa1t1on. the critics say -United women who say they were arrested St~tes Border Patrol agents, who without criminal charges for failing to J~tned the peacekeeping effons in the produce immigration documents while city along with a number of other Fed shopping or waiting at bus stops or eral agencies, were assigned to patrol during searches for looted goods in Hispanic neighborhoods where the ef• their homes. Such police detentions on f ect of their presence was less to re Federal statutes would only be legal in store order than to sow fear. rare circumstances. "Federal law-enforcement forces In other cases, as the police them• have been deployed in our city to ap selves confirm, they handed over to the prehend looters, arsonists and murder immigration service people who had ers who have terrorized our communi been detained for looting or curfew ty," said City Councilman Mike Her violations but who normally would nandez, one of several political leaders have been released for lack of strong who spoke out against the activities of evidence. the Immigration Service. "They should "We had a large number about 100 not be here to arrest and ~tain law- ' abiding bystanders, who may happen _______ to be undocumented.~' Although the officials deny it. the critics say that hundreds of Hispanic residents were interrogated about their immigration status on the basis of their race alone. i "We were out there doing our job," Hundreds of . Ro~rt M. ~oschorak, the Los Angeles regional director of the immigration immigrants 1•n service, said in a recent interview. Mr. Moschorak said about 400 agents of the Border Patrol were deployed in • the city to assist in keeping order but that ·~there is nothing to indicate that ~ey arrested aliens who were illegally in the country only because they were illegally in the country." "I'm very proud of the job we did." Los Angeles have 781 llle1al Allens Depo~ He denied that his agents bad over- been deported. Stopped In the Street stepped the law, and he said many of the looters and lawbreakers had been ------- When police officers turned their illegal aliens. searchlight on Mrs. Ramos and her As of last weekend. bis office said, out of 363 arrested for curfew viola- husband as they were walking to a !M-4 people, most of them from Mexico tions and looted goods, with status de- restaurant late at night in the ~fter had been taken into custody by ~ termined to be undocumented " said math of the rioting, she said, she did not immigration service. Of these 781 capt. Dennis Conti, the commander of k~w why ~ey were StCJl?Ptn& her. waiv~ their right to a deportation Newton Police Station in a heavily His- The pol~cewoman said, 'What are hearing and were immediately sent panic area. "Those were turned over you, a_ prostitute? How would you like a back across the Mexican border. directly to I.N.S. It speeds up the sys- free ride back to your country? ' ., Mrs. Critics of the roundup, including im- tern." Ramos said. migrant-rights group and civil liberties A1ents Accompanied Officers When she and her husband. who organizations as well as local Hispanic rked officials, say that rather than helping Such action violates a long-standing wo_ as a security guard. told the to restore order, as it had been asked to depart~ent pol~cy o~ working hand in off ice rs that they did not have immi- do, the immigration service saw a ~~ ... n_d with imm1gra~1on aJents. I~ sti~l gpor~~:"st':l:sa:fu:ovtakerentotothea chance to pursue its own agenda. uu~r cases, the pohce said that 1mm1- "We were a city in crisis, and our g~auon_ ag~ts accompanied them in immigration aerva without being politicians and Police Commission H1span~~ neighborhoods as interpret- charged with any crime, she said. should not have allowed the enforce- en. Cnucs say tt:,e age~tts took advan- Last weekend she was released ment of civil immigration violations to tage_ of the situation to 1n_terrogat_e ~nd pending• hearin& because she ls four · go hand in hand with attempts to calm de~a1n people on the basis of their im- m'?nths pregnant and was becoming ill, down and defuse the situation," said migration status. said Mr. Flynn. who is representing Nils w. Frenzen, directin1 attorney of In one case, E. J. Flynn,_ the legal her. As for her husband, Mrs. Ramos director of the Cent 1 A R fu- said she had not seen him since the Public Council, • legal ai group. Ce ra mencan e night of their arrest and had been told These complaints were aired at a gee . nter, said • Gu~temalan he hearing last week of the Police Com- v.:ouI_ d ide~ti~ 01'19' as Miguel R., was by immigration officials that they had mission, a civilian body that oversees v:t•~I h~s girlfriend when the police no .. ~~~~ h:ls still in pnson · here the police force. The commission presi- a immigration agents knocked on somewhere," she said. dent, Stanley K. Sheinbaum, said the th e door to search her •eanment for complaints would be invesuaated by a looted goods. He was detained w~ he special commission studying police was unable to prove that he was m the conduct during the rioting that began country legally. . April 29, the day that four Los Angeles Uiing the required techn~cal legal police officers were acquitted of se- terms, Mr. Moschorak said people verely beating a black motorist, Rod- were asked to P""f.e the~r. imm~gration ney G King status only when specif 1c an1culable · · facts" would lead an agent to believe 1 As ~ters rampag~ throu$h stores, that they were undocumented. I ~e cnu_ c~ say, the pohc~ and n~migra- He said such facts could include uon offlc1a~ we.re _l_ oadinJ their vehi- "things like speaking a foreign Ian- ( ( ' .... THE NEW YORK TIMES NATIONAL FRIDAY. MAY 29. 1992 After the noting in Los Angeles, Lucia Artal Ramos, an illegal immigrant from Guatemala. was stopped by the police and handed over to immigra- a.n 8anho6offl<'w for Thr ~- Yor\ TunH tion officials, in one of the biggest detentions of illegal aliens in the city's history. Critics say the police violated procedure in interrogations. ,., r Mule- an American · · . · Legal Defente "" and Educational Fund May 8, 1992 Stanley Sheinbaum President ~3. Sc• .tn S;~,n._ St. ... ~ : • th Fl~or L~• 4r,getea. ::• 30C t 4 {2 • 3> &2e-2a ~ 2 c:-,o_. t213, s29-ec~ e Board ot Police Ccr.J':\issionsers Parker Canter Los Angeles, CA 90012 Dear Mr. Sheinbaum: MALDEF We are d~eply concerned with the actions -caken by LA?D police office=s against the L4tino il'tl.~igrant community over the course of the last week. The Latino comltlunity has shared with us numerous complaints that the LAPD has directly stopped individuals, interrogated them concerning their immigration status and delivered them directly to INS. These individuals were not charged with any violation of state law nor ware they involved in any criminal activity whatsoever. Yesterday Supervisor Molina and I met with INS District Director ·Robert Mcschorak to =eq,.:cst that INS cease its immigration raids. Mr. Mo2chorak i:i~cn:-,ed us ~hat the !NS district off ice had conducted. no such raids and that INS was responding in accordance with their mandate only when called by LAPD. ' We request that the Cott.":lissl.on conduct an immediate investigation. In ?ar~icular, we demand to know why !..APO officers repudiated Special Order 40, the written policy that forbids officers from interrogating individuals concerning their i~igration status and prohibits L\PO frora arresting individ~als solely because of their civil immigration status. Eecausa of the u~gency of the prev~iling situatioh, we also denand that the Cor.u~ission direct the police departroent ir.i:mediately to comply with department policy, with the city's policy and cease their illegal enforcement of federal immigration laws. We earnestly believe that Special order 40 must be unequivocally reaffirmed during this tiroe ot crisis. In addition, we believe that the events ot the past weak underscore the need to strengthen the existing policy. We understand that the Co!.'\ltlission has before it a proposal to strengthen and clarify the policy, a propcsa~ which was unanimously endorsed by the City Council. We believe that the Coml'Qission should address these changes with Police Chief designate Williams, once he assumes his oftice. Very Truly Yours, National Office ~3~ Se:..tn Sor;r.i Stree~ ••ti" :-1 ~or ;..os . ~:--~91es. CA ,;:c1~ 1 2~3: 52~5~2 F'AX: :2~3i 62~~~~~ R~lon.l Offlcea ~,, So ... tr- ~•ar::,or--; S:~~~ S.,~~ i5C C:i::a;o. ~ 606C5 :3,2· : 4~,-·.363 :A;(. (3"2, 421-93~ , 8, S..cor-d s~-eet 2~c.t Floor Sar Frr:,scc. CA 94i:5 f-'.5} 5~3-SS~d ~AX. i•1:~ ~43-~23o P•• 80Cllt :L:tair:; 1.:.:- E. HCi..!tO~ Street Suit\'! 300 Ss:: Antcr :c , T.~ "!WS r5'2} 224-5476 FAX. (51Z1 224•5382 t I \ I I I Hispanic Advisory F . ..! .J Council to the Los Angeles Police CommissiOn P.O. Box 862367 Los Angel~s. CA 90086 r DATE: Ma:; 6, 1992 TO: Stanley K. Sheir.baurn, President Los Ange'.es Seard of Perice Commissioners FROM: Dr Gf ,,r'e i 0 cm~,,- Cha:r,·,.::1r·, n ~ • V. t -' . 1 I , v ""'', . 1 t" v. :) \.I ; I SUBJECT: f'OLICl~S AND PHACTJCES ON UNDOCUMENTED RESIDENTS BY l HE LOS ANGEL.ES'POLICE DEPARTMENT Yc;.1r H:spanic Adv:'.;,,..;-,· Cc•un~;i had p:anne1d t·~ submit the following rep<:>rt and ieeommenda- ·t:on in pr-:parat:c r-1 for t~1= ~~al'"' ~~,j pcl;,:e corr!~ :~~k• n disc.;L1;sicr! of this subject The subject a:1 c tht1 HAC rect)r~·-:-· ~-- ... ~f_:· -:: :-.s h~,"~ t>e:.:;:-.c t=vi=;n mor~ si- ;nificant and more urgent win, T!;{I L~s A,··, "ge11'e.:,' T,r.i::rs ~t:;~,:; •t ,::", t· $ ,.:1k~ r;i:?. :v.1lu-:~· .:1 · ··scores ,:,f S~spe;ts Arrested in Riots Turned Over lo INS.'' In chis report. an LA?w s~c~:;?s~.a,, a:~.nc,'t\f.::dg~s a H~g;ant viulat,on of poHcies established by • tr1e Bc:>ard ot rolicd Cc:nmiss:oners as far cack as 1979. In his admission that the ponce ha0ded over at least 1 ·)0 susp~ct-s l'-) the ~mmigrotion Service, LAPO Lt. John Dunkin is quoted as fof!ows; "This 'ftas a ,;eparture fron, cur ror:-nal policy. but this was not a normal sjtuation." Tha :'sLs.,ects" in qu-ast:cm. D:...~ikin a~sc ad:11itt-2d, ti9nJed to be thos~ for whom there was no probably cause of prcsecutivn. ln addition to that vioiation o! commis5ion-establisr.~d poiicy, we ara also concerned that the police department ess:gned r.iany U.S. Bc•:der Patrol agents to the Pico-Union area, the center of the highest cor.c.entration of Central American irnm:grants and refugees in the city, many of whorn may be undocumented. RECOMMENDATION: tt is respecfully recommended that the Board of Polic\J Commissioners order full compliance wtth its policy rega:-di:ig LAPD handling of ur.documented Immigrants and that violations of this poticy be deait with immedi:-st~ly with eppropriate disciplinasy measures.. Such action is e~sentfar In o~der to assure the Hispanic communit'; that coopera!ion with law enforcement wm be welcomed and will be w~tt",owt personal risk. - ----- ---~ - - - ---- -- -- _._· : ': ..:- ie·~ort t6 Police Commission t 1.,tay 6, 1992 " p.qge 2 DISCUSSION: First AdYl"so/Y Council Report "'(cur H~$~~,:c Ad;.'i~cr1 Coun..:H !".a$ br rnure than ten years noted r1n apparent reluctance on tt:e part o~ the poli,-:;e department to irr.ple~ent po!ic.e commission pc!icies with respect to police dealings with ~ndoc~mented residents of the Ctty c•t Los A:-'.;;e,es. (See report to the commission from the Hi!>par,;c Tas~ Fcrce dated December , 2, 1 S80, just seven rronth$ after the "task for~_ e" was established.) Th'=se ei11:gr:tened polic;es were establi5~ed by the pc,lice ccmmbsion ori March 20, 1979, but were not communicated to the pok:e d~panment wrtii Spt;,cial Order No. 40 ·~as isswed by the Chi.sf of ?o::ce on Novembe; 27, 1379. eig;1t montt,s later. A;most ar,other year passed before the r.ev4y pc,lic;cies replaced the o,d policies In the • police d-:!;,a:t;,-,cnt ~ar.~ai, so that pc~;ce offi0ers, StipSi/sor9 and administrators may not have b&en aware ,~f poi;cy cha;1ges tor r,eJr:y t ... ·o yaars. Chatges in curri~ulum at the police academy and •:e·le:opment of roll-,:all t:-~;;;i:ig on the subiect probably followed that lerlgthy period of inaction. The ~easor. tor t!-: :; cvncerr.s c~ t~e - :.:•ur,cil ar~ pr~bub 1 y obv;ous to pc:ic~ commissioners and to the new Cr.:ef ot Police. Pc!r,: ;es and pr~ctict?s d tr-:e ~~;(,:~ d-s-part:;ie:~t ca~ create a chilling efi~ct upor. re!ationships 'f-Jith a iaig•.: a;id gro· ~. ;:·iJ ~;;,;0i: ... t 1 :- f H 1 a Lc:5 A~se '. es coir1mL·ni!'1 H~spanlc resider.ts, fearing being ~rr,ed ever'' :~ the U S. ir.-. ~. ;,;; a~i<::·n a~id ~~~-~~,.a~:z~t;::,n Service:?. ma, not feel rm~ to report crime::;. ,_ .:ci':.w!? for~\ ~:-d 1-,it~ ir.'~ .. ~~;_:;~'."":. ~ :,~ to t.;::t;'i i~ ~- --L ;~. '\\.it:-1out su• :h cc•Jperation and iPvo!·~·~ment o! ~ - ~ ·ss: 1 .:!e! ltS c~ tr.e ccr:i . .,.;u ~~t; , ~ ·!: : pc-'.ice- ag~r.rl ca., be effective in controlimg crirr,a. Tr;e policy ~s·;· :: ·s~~d ~ Y ~ '.-~ ~- :- '.. - ,:,; c~-··riss·:,:: c .. n ~.br •.~r, 20. 1979 ~::-es&ed th~ importanc-:3 ot ser.~it;vity to th-3 . ~ .. -: :_-; c.= tL2.: :cf/, e :~ ~ .:,,:-. ::,.::::-;""! ~ . • :.;: -: r.~ :5. ... ; .. :-;; ;; a r. ,. Jh c~~rei; • :)f co,::pere1t1 0: 1 be~~,~en pcli.:=e Ctnd COt":;;"Tl~r.ity. Alos/ Recent IIAC Repo✓! lo /he Police Commission On J• .. 1r:e 1a. 1990. the Hispar-.;c Advisory Ccllncil submitted a report to the Board of Police C(;:T'lr, lss!oricrs caaing for an ir.-.·estl~at:cn of allegations cf police department violation of the co;:;r-dss;on·s ~f);:c :e5 r.ag~i·(!!ng u~coc".:n~n:ed rcAider.~. Aifegat~ons in the Los Angele& Times c,n J,.ir~ 16 ind1c~tec tna: LAPD cff;,:ers ir:·,e~ -~:g.:'.t;ng a kidnapping of undocumented ir.immigrants, being r1~ld tor ransom by the ··coyc~as· · ·,v~1c ce~i· .ei~d them to Lo! Ange!es. sut.seq1,,HJntly turned over at! of :i~a °''ictims of the kidnappir.g :o \NS for da;,crtation. r~~ report r~co~mend-ed that ,he officers. supervisors and commanders involved in this action. In d:~e:: viofa~Ion of pollc:es estab!ished by the police commission. should be subi~ct to diseiplinar; . _ action. and lhat this disc:pli:ie be widely reported, thus providing some assurance to undccumented re!:d-3rit$ tha: they wiJ: not rec~ive similar treatment if there is any contaet with the police department. ~ TO o~~ KNO'l~LDGE. NO SuCH ACT~ON HAS BEEN TAKEN. ~ ... 1ern~e:, of the Hisparic Advisory Co,.mcil are ex"tremery concerned that r:iore than ten years of work J imp;vve the relationst,ips and to assure trust betmeen the police and the Hispanic community coufd ''go down the drain·· if su~h actions go unpunished. . ,/ i, ' R~Jport to Pollce Commission •·~v 6, 1992 ,-.,ge 3 City Council Action Following the incident in v.-h,eh the kidnapplng victims were alteged~f turned over to INS for d~portation, the Los Angele$ City Council recommended to the ponce commission tho.t C,<i:;}ting policy be strengthan'1d. atating thnt no officer $ht~!! initiata an enforcement e<.:tivity on the ba&is of an indlvfduar·~ immigr::ition ~tatus. and limiting the situation~ in which an lndivtdual can be referr6d to INS by a police officer. Th" city couricil adopted lhd prope>sed changes in police departmen. t policy despite objections expre"ed by the chief of police. February 25, 1992 t~ ... -~ . Stanley Sheinbaum ( E N President C -A R E Los Angeles Police Commission BOARD OF allECTORS i:1:V :.UtS Cl! VA~ES. C.M .F. !'4Clr'orary Vet Cll•r uN'T'ON .JOAOUIN. :sq. ~reu..nr ~~1..\S .,_,Fl:!.!.. :sci. :.:te ll'C .:10 Sr.·, :1--y - ~.-.:--" :,:..;,<E;:I. :sc: •,1 ::·! : ,:r.t'; al"C ~-:.:0 =·:·~..:· ; t .i. ~ :1--:-·• :'.l '.f •"••! '11 .... ;:,..1iel'or ~scc:-a:t >.: SI'!' J :c·,~ ~~.:. ~A'.l i:.~ON. :>:,Q_ "'1s.x.a:. ~••50r :,t ~:,ltJQI Sc:1nc1 :..-,,,.~ry :,t iol;:-r,e,,. ~ ,tom• ~~ S,\l.,L 'IIEOO~F ~S.S21"t :,.,,,ssc, :ii O\lc ~lltry .JC~ Sc"'OO ~ -...oar,, S-:-:'· /:~ ; NU:7ER Esq. .._,s:,- =.;c:- .a, ~r9Caf '_ j ',4t '.J : ~ ~" ;:ei--,"s: S:iot1tU1111~ ?-ogram .---- ~..ia:a .... , CQ'-91 Ctffltr \t.\~K :;_ .aQSENSJ.UM. Esq. ::;.,-n,c~ .c:.u i=oll!Ol!C)II at Scutnern c.to,,1• C~LOS ' IAOUERANO C:,,,,:,,..., ReornetcallVI - ~, 150 N. Los Angeles Street Los Angeles, CA 90012 Re: - LAPD-lNS Cooperation Dear Mr. Sheinbaum: I am writing to express our strong concerns about the ongoing cooperation between the LAPD and the INS. Over the past several years, CARECEN has been faced with numerous instances of LAPD cooperation with the INS which have caused tremendous suffering for our clients and for the community. This cooperation has also created a climate of distrust toward the police that renders the Central American community, in many circumstances, helpless in the face of increasing crime. I understand that you have been advised not to speak to me, nor to anyone else from CARECEN, because of the lawsuit that we have filed on this issue against the Los Angeles Police Department. We have done extensive research on this issue and we have consulted with the Los Angeles County Bar Association ethics hotline and it is clear that there is no ethical conflict for me, as a laVJYer on the case, or for any other la'Ny'er from CARECEN under these circumstances. Because you are a public official, and because any member of the public affected by · police department policies should be able to communicate with you on this issue, the Supreme Court of California and the County Bar Association agree that there is nothing improper or unethical about communication on this issue between CARECEN and members of the Police Commission. Indeed, because we represent the community that has been the most severely affected by the current LAPD policy and practice and because we are the social service agency that has the most extensive documentation of this problem, we believe that it is the responsibility of the Police Commission to consider our concerns before making a decision about this issue. Unfortunately, it is now more than two years since we began documenting the close relationship between the police and the INS. It has been more than two years since a Christmas card vendor was arrested by the police (for vending), driven over to the INS by the LAPD and deported. It has also been nearly two years since I telephoned the Captain of Central Division to ask for assistance in rescuing one of our clients (a political refugee from El Salvador} who was being held hostage under physical CENTRAL A . '.\ER !CAN REFUGEE CENTER / CENTRO OE REFUGIAOOS CENTROAMERICANOS 668 South S .:;~1e 3·:~ Street Los Angeles . C alifornia 9005 7 ' (213) 483-6868 / FAX • .213) 433-4407 , 4.. threats. As you probably know, after I made that fateful telephone call, the police detained, handcuffed and forced our client to kneel for a long period of time, together with nearly forty other men, women and children being · held under similar circumstances. Later, after the INS arrived, our client and the other people detained were placed in detention and the majority were later deported. No one was ever charged with any crime in that case. Since that time, there have been numerous other incidents. We have received urgent telephone calls from churches as far away as Canada and Texas, asking for our help in obtaining the release of refugees being held hostage in the Los Angeles area. Unfortunately, we have been forced to explain to the priests and nuns and laVvy'ers and lay workers that call us that, if they call the police, they can expect the police to call the INS and the INS will, without a doubt, attempt to deport the refugees. In nearly every case, the people who have called us have made efforts to comply with the kidnapers' ransom demands, rather than to request the ·assistance· of the LAPD. In addition, in two recent cases where the police were called, the INS was immediately brought in and all of the refugees, including the undocumented family members making the complaints, were turned over to the INS. Several months ago when a Salvadoran woman was being held hostage under threat of rape, the woman's husband came to us and we called the police. The police immediately called the INS and the woman was eventually located and then placed in deportation proceedings. As far as we know, the people suspected of holding her hostage were never charged with kidnapping or any other state offense. They were only charged with the lesser federal crime of smuggling. In another recent case, a Salvadoran man and his sister were being held hostage. The man was released with instructions to obtain a sizeable ransom and under threats of harm to the 17 year old sister if he did not obtain the money. The man went to a friend for assistance and the friend took him to the Newton police station to ask for help. The police immediately called the INS who, after a feeble and unsuccessful attempt to locate the sister, took the man into custody and placed him in a detention center in Florence, Arizona. To this day, the man knows nothing about the whereabouts of his sister. In general, I can tell you that there is a tremendous distrust and fear in the immigrant and refugee community because of the police-INS cooperation, because the police routinely interrogate immigrants about their immigration status and because the police often threaten to turn immigrants over to the INS. We have worked closely with battered women's shelters, rape crisis centers and other immigrant social and legal service centers and everyone is gravely concerned about the distrust and fear of the police so • ,.. .• . prevalent in the community. Refugees are so afraid of deportation that they would rather suffer rape and beatings and kidnappings in silence rather than go to the police. We all have a sense of anarchy in this community, as though there is no one to go to, no one to trust, even in the face of the most horrendous of crimes. Unfortunately, it does not appear that any of the d91SCUSSions and debates around the Christopher Commission recommendations wa11 have any impact on the LAPD policy of cooperating with the INS. For the broader immigrant and refugee community in Los Angeles (which numbers over a million people), LAPD-INS cooperation is the most important law enforcement issue which ~ be resolved in the near Mure. H it is not resolved soon, we face continuing confusion, distrust and suffering in the immigrant community. We look forward to discussing this issue with you directly as soon as possible. Yours very truly, ?l!at;J Madeline P. Janis Executive Directo cc: Members of the Los Angeles Police Commission Mayor Tom Bradley Councilman Richard Alatorre Councilman Michael Woo Councilman Mike Hernandez Councilman Mark Ridley-Thomas

Linked assets

Los Angeles Webster Commission records, 1931-1992

Conceptually similar

PDF

Carecen, article, 1992-06

PDF

Roundtable 35, discussion, 1992-08-14

PDF

Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office, Emergency Plan, 1992-06

PDF

Inglewood Police department documents, 1992-05/1992-08

PDF

Unusual occurance critique, 1992-05-17

PDF

Richard Odenthal, interview, 1992-06-24

PDF

Jack White, interview, 1992-06-30

PDF

After action report, 1992-04/1992-05

PDF

Oliver Thompson, interview, 1992-06-18

PDF

Chicago, rules and regulations, 1981-1992

PDF

Foothill area after action report, 1992-04-29/1992-05-11

PDF

Proposed study report outline, 1992-09-03

PDF

Hourie Taylor, interview, 1992-06-22

PDF

Weekly status report, number 6, overview, 1992-07-10

PDF

Wichita questionnaires, 1992-07-24

PDF

After-action report, Southeast Area, 1992-03-03

PDF

Colorado Springs 1992 annual report, 1992-07-24

PDF

Roundtable 17, discussion, 1992-07-06

PDF

Foothill area activities report, 1992-04-29/1992-05-07

PDF

Robert Vernon, interview, 1992-09-05

Description

Central American Refugee Center (CARECEN), article, CARECEN denounces widespread civil and human rights violations in post-riot Los Angeles, 1992 June.

Asset Metadata

Core Title CARECEN article, report, 1992-06

Tag OAI-PMH Harvest

Format 38 p. (format), application/pdf (imt), articles (aat), official reports (aat)

Permanent Link (DOI) https://doi.org/10.25549/webster-c100-35402

Unique identifier UC11451688

Identifier box 21 (box),web-box21-03-02.pdf (filename),folder 3 (folder),webster-c100-35402 (legacy record id)

Legacy Identifier web-box21-03/web-box21-03-02.pdf

Dmrecord 35402

Format 38 p. (format),application/pdf (imt),articles (aat),official reports (aat)

Type texts