NAPLES DAILY NEWS

July 19, 2007

Groups meet for clarity on new immigration partnership

By Katy Bishop

Tensions were high at times during a meeting between immigrant groups and representatives of the Collier County Sheriff’s Office, but by the end they agreed on at least one thing — more communication is essential.

The Farmworker Association of Florida asked the Sheriff’s Office to meet with Immokalee groups and community members to talk about the recently announced partnership with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), said Adan Labra, local coordinator for the association, before the Thursday meeting.

The partnership with ICE is distancing the immigrant community from the police, said Tirso Moreno, Farmworker Association coordinator. People are afraid to report crimes, he said, because they fear that contact with the Sheriff’s Office means they will be reported to ICE.

About 40 people gathered at the Farmworker Association office in Immokalee to ask Captain Tom Davis, minority and ethnic affairs division, and Lt. Mike Dolan questions about who will be targeted by the new initiative.

“People are very scared and confused,” Labra said. “They hear that they are going to be increasing deportations and they want to know if they are looking only for criminals or for anyone without papers.”

According to Sheriff Don Hunter’s presentation at a Collier County Criminal Immigration Task Force meeting in mid-June, the initiative includes the Criminal Alien Program, which will target criminal aliens and keep them from being released back into to the community, and the Executive Office of Immigration Review, which is a Department of Justice office that has been created to preside over immigration cases for detained and criminal aliens.

Additionally, Sheriff’s Office employees will be trained to perform duties similar to ICE agents and three ICE agents have been assigned to Collier County.

“As I understand it, ICE is deporting people who commit serious crimes — rape, murder, robbery, grand theft — the ones that are really hurting our community,” Captain Tom Davis said when asked who would be deported.

One woman asked whether a domestic violence victim who calls the police for help would be deported. Another asked whether people driving without a license would be deported.

The answer, in both cases, was usually not, unless that person has committed a serious crime, Davis and Dolan said. But that decision is not made by the Sheriff’s Office, it is up to ICE, they added.

When someone is driving without a license they will be arrested, taken to jail and bond will be posted, explained Lt. Mike Dolan. From there it is up to a judge to decide what happens.

If a woman calls the police because her partner is abusive the abuser will be taken into custody but the victim will not, Davis said.

“We’ll work with you,” Davis said, encouraging those present to attend a Minority and Ethnic Affairs meeting at the Career and Service Center in Immokalee on Sept. 27. “That’s what my job is, to work with you and to fix some of the problems. Anyone is welcome to come.”

After the meeting, Moreno, of the Farmworker Association, spoke about monitoring what happens to people who are arrested for driving without licenses, and continuing to talk with the Sheriff’s Office about identification and their relationship with ICE.

“We hope that the county can work with our community,” said Romeo Ramirez, a representative of the Coalition of Immokalee Workers. Other organizations present included the Redlands Christian Migrant Association, Immigrants United for Freedom, The Shelter for Abused Women & Children, Immokalee Helping Our People in Emergencies and Immigrants Lutheran Church.

Moreno and other immigrant advocates still worry that those arrested for less serious crimes may be deported, they said after the meeting. They also talked about working to educate people about the consequences of driving without a license and using false identification.

“These problems worry us, because many people have to drive to get to work,” Labra said. “... Also, we still need more information about how ICE is going to operate in Collier County.”