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Indybay Feature
immigrants neglected and abused during San Diego wildfires
It is important that people know that the government’s response to this has not been as benevolent as the news media has made it out to be. For immigrant families, this is in no way an ‘anti-Katrina.’ Immigrants in San Diego county are being neglected by emergency evacuators, put in danger by their employers, treated rudely by authorities and volunteers, refused aid at evacuation sites, and racially profiled by police and deported by the Border Patrol.
It is important that people know that the government’s response to this has not been as benevolent as the news media has made it out to be. For immigrant families, this is in no way an ‘anti-Katrina.’ Immigrants in San Diego county are being neglected by emergency evacuators, put in danger by their employers, treated rudely by authorities and volunteers, refused aid at evacuation sites, and racially profiled by police and deported by the Border Patrol.
There are two important sides to this story that show has this has been a recurrent pattern for the past week:
1. Immigrants are being neglected by authorities and forced to work in farms adjacent to fires
The San Diego Union Tribune reported today that many immigrants living in remote canyons and fields near the fires are not evacuating. In some cases, authorities have not informed them of mandatory evacuations in their areas of residence. Others don’t want to leave their homes either because they are afraid of losing their jobs or scared of getting caught by the Border Patrol.[i]
Today, Border Patrol agents found the charred bodies of four people—three men and a woman—in a canyon in Potrero.[ii] Authorities presume them to be immigrants and are trying to determine how they died. Some are saying they might have been border crossers but some are speculating they may have been canyon dwellers who failed to evacuate. Up until today, these amount to roughly one quarter of all deaths directly and indirectly caused by the fires.
This afternoon, I spoke with Enrique Morones (contact info removed by sdimc) founder and director of Border Angels. He and other volunteers have been touring rural areas trying to convince immigrant families to evacuate. He reports that there have been numerous instances in which immigrant laborers are being forced to stay working in farms adjacent to evacuated areas. Employers are threatening to dismiss laborers who refuse to work under precarious conditions. This poses a great health risk for them primarily because of the polluted air they are breathing. This was confirmed both in the Union-Tribune article I just mentioned[iii] and an ABC news story.[iv]
I also spoke to Greg Morales from Border Angels and the Mexican American Poets Associaton (contact info removed by sdimc). He is the person in charge of receiving food and water donations for immigrants at the historic Chicano Park in the community of Barrio Logan. He reports that authorities are neglecting and in some instances impeding their efforts to bring critical supplies to immigrants in the affected areas. In the past three days, they have loaded about two hundred vehicles full of supplies. Volunteers have been trying to transport these goods to the immigrant communities that need them most. According to Mr. Morales, one of them, Adrián del Río (contact info removed by sdimc) attempted to take these supplies to Potrero, a rural community in the fire zone near the Tecate crossing of the U.S. Mexico Border. Authorites there tried to prevent him from entering and reportedly told him: “why do you want to go into Potrero? There’s nothing but drug dealers there.” I haven’t spoken to Mr. del Río yet but one person told me he was able to make it in there eventually and found many immigrant families in need of supplies (and evacuation).
This morning, volunteers gathering donations at Chicano Park received an unwelcome visit from seven members of the Minutemen. They have also received visits from people accusing them of distributing supplies stolen from other evacuee shelters, something that everybody working there emphatically denied. Volunteers have also been intimidated by police officers who have scrutinized their operation all day. When I asked Mr. Morales what help if any they had received from authorities, he responded: “the only thing we’ve gotten from the government is police harassment this morning, giving us grief for being here.”
2. Immigrant evacuees at Qualcomm Stadium are threatened with deportation and mistreated by authorities and volunteers
Yesterday, the Union-Tribune reported that six illegal immigrants who were suspected of stealing relief supplies from Qualcomm Stadium—the largest of all evacuation sites—and were arrested by Border Patrol agents. According to the article, a woman who saw them loading supplies unto a pickup truck reported them to police Sgt. Jesse Cesena. “They were stealing a lot of stuff,” Cesena said. The article claims that when officers intervened, one of the suspects confessed they were being paid to take things of value from the stadium.
“We took the stuff back and we escorted them out. They were stealing from the people in need.” The article then states that “because some members of the group spoke Spanish, officers called Border Patrol agents who were at the stadium for relief efforts. They determined the people were in the country illegally and arrested them.”[v]
Today, the Union-Tribune wrote a new article clarifying what actually transpired (they have yet to make a formal correction). The article reveals that the people the Border Partrol apprehended and deported on Wednesday were two couples, one with three children. Originally they tried to deport a third family that was with them but because they produced documentation, they were released.[vi]
According to a Union-Tribune reporter who spoke with some of the deportees over the phone from Tijuana, they claim that contrary to initial reports by authorities, they did not confess to stealing anything. They said that they were taking items donated to them as they prepared to return home.[vii] This was also confirmed by eyewitnesses I spoke to today.
This incident caused a great deal of anxiety for immigrant families staying at Qualcomm. It prompted immigrant rights activists to go to the site and serve as legal observers and translators. Today, I spent half a day today working as a legal observer and a volunteer translator for the San Diego Coalition for Immigrant Rights. I spoke to Andrea Guerrero (contact info removed by sdimc) an ACLU immigration rights lawyer and one of the people in charge of legal observers at the evacuation sites. Guerrero claims that the apprehensions and deportations of these immigrants are potentially illegal since San Diego Police Officers are not supposed to report undocumented immigrants to Border Patrol agents unless they are formally arrested and charged with a crime. I should note that none of the individuals deported were charged with robbery by San Diego police. She and other ACLU lawyers consulted this issue with the local police chief at the stadium. He admitted that the ordeal was poorly handled.
All of the ACLU lawyers and immigrants rights volunteers I spoke to today suspected that the arrest and deportation of these six immigrants was prompted by racial profiling. Today, I was able to observe how one African-American woman was accused of stealing supplies as she loaded her belongings unto her SUV. I asked her what was happening and she assured me that all the things in her car belonged to her and her children. I could tell she was telling the truth because none of the things I saw in her car were the same as the items that were being distributed at the site. This did not stop several overzealous European-American onlookers from writing down her license plate, taking digital camera pictures of her car, and commenting on her ‘audacity’ for taking so many things.
Wednesday’s arrests and deportations together with what I witnessed at Qualcomm today reminded me of Katrina. We all know how in the aftermath of the hurricane, the media portrayed white residents of New Orleans who were taking supplies from destroyed shops as ‘scavengers’ while simultaneously criminalizing African Americans doing the same as ‘looters.’ That same type of racial profiling and criminalization is clearly occurring in San Diego during this catastrophe.
The deportation of these six immigrants was followed by a security crackdown at Qualcomm. Authorities set up ID verification checkpoints at all gates. They began to patrol the stadium asking people for proper identification. The city of San Diego claims this was done to prevent those who were not supposed to be staying there from taking donations, food, and drink. According to many people I spoke to, this scared a lot of immigrants staying at the site. Guerrero estimates that about 25 immigrant families left in fear of being apprehended. Many others were also forced out of the stadium last night for not showing proper identification. It is hard to tell how many but Guerrero estimates that up to a thousand were told to leave. We are assuming that this disproportionately affected immigrant families who were hesitant to show their ID. It also affecting people who did not have a chance to bring their identification with them when they were being evacuated.
At Qualcomm, I spoke to about six immigrant families (approx. 30 people) most of whom confessed to me they were undocumented. All of them said that after the arrest of the six immigrants suspected of stealing supplies, they all felt extremely frightened they too would be deported. Most of them also complained of being treated rudely and unfairly by authorities and volunteers. One undocumented Mexican evacuee from Ramona I spoke to said that volunteers refused to give her a 12 pack of juice boxes as they gave the same pack to white evacuees. The Union-Tribune reports another similar incident: a woman said that “she asked a volunteer for diapers for her 2-year-old son, who had diarrhea, and was handed three individual diapers. Then when I was leaving, they gave an American woman a whole box, she said.”[viii] Legal observers/translators I spoke to today confirmed that they intervened in similar incidents. Another undocumented Mexican evacuee I spoke to said she has been staying in Qualcomm but after Wednesday’s arrest, she is too afraid to ask for food and supplies. Her husband—who is Guatemalan and also undocumented—reported that on Wednesday night, authorities threatened to evict his father-in-law from the stadium for not having proper identification. It was only after he intervened and showed them his driver’s license that they allowed him to stay.
Lastly, I heard unconfirmed rumors that the Border Patrol has been randomly checking people’s documentation status in the northern and northeastern areas of San Diego county. I will try to find out more information about this but it was brought to my attention by several evacuees at Qualcomm as well as Border Angel volunteers. This contradicts the Border Patrol’s claim that they are not actively seeking out undocumented immigrants but rather assisting with emergency management and law enforcement duties.
Right now, all Qualcomm evacuees are being relocated to Del Mar Fairgrounds. The San Diego Chargers need Qualcomm Stadium for their game this weekend so the city is forcing everybody there out. Tomorrow, I will go work as a volunteer at the new site and find out more about what’s happening there. I will send you another update tomorrow evening.
People need to know that the same way that the government doesn’t care about black people in New Orleans, it also doesn’t care about immigrant families in California.
There are two important sides to this story that show has this has been a recurrent pattern for the past week:
1. Immigrants are being neglected by authorities and forced to work in farms adjacent to fires
The San Diego Union Tribune reported today that many immigrants living in remote canyons and fields near the fires are not evacuating. In some cases, authorities have not informed them of mandatory evacuations in their areas of residence. Others don’t want to leave their homes either because they are afraid of losing their jobs or scared of getting caught by the Border Patrol.[i]
Today, Border Patrol agents found the charred bodies of four people—three men and a woman—in a canyon in Potrero.[ii] Authorities presume them to be immigrants and are trying to determine how they died. Some are saying they might have been border crossers but some are speculating they may have been canyon dwellers who failed to evacuate. Up until today, these amount to roughly one quarter of all deaths directly and indirectly caused by the fires.
This afternoon, I spoke with Enrique Morones (contact info removed by sdimc) founder and director of Border Angels. He and other volunteers have been touring rural areas trying to convince immigrant families to evacuate. He reports that there have been numerous instances in which immigrant laborers are being forced to stay working in farms adjacent to evacuated areas. Employers are threatening to dismiss laborers who refuse to work under precarious conditions. This poses a great health risk for them primarily because of the polluted air they are breathing. This was confirmed both in the Union-Tribune article I just mentioned[iii] and an ABC news story.[iv]
I also spoke to Greg Morales from Border Angels and the Mexican American Poets Associaton (contact info removed by sdimc). He is the person in charge of receiving food and water donations for immigrants at the historic Chicano Park in the community of Barrio Logan. He reports that authorities are neglecting and in some instances impeding their efforts to bring critical supplies to immigrants in the affected areas. In the past three days, they have loaded about two hundred vehicles full of supplies. Volunteers have been trying to transport these goods to the immigrant communities that need them most. According to Mr. Morales, one of them, Adrián del Río (contact info removed by sdimc) attempted to take these supplies to Potrero, a rural community in the fire zone near the Tecate crossing of the U.S. Mexico Border. Authorites there tried to prevent him from entering and reportedly told him: “why do you want to go into Potrero? There’s nothing but drug dealers there.” I haven’t spoken to Mr. del Río yet but one person told me he was able to make it in there eventually and found many immigrant families in need of supplies (and evacuation).
This morning, volunteers gathering donations at Chicano Park received an unwelcome visit from seven members of the Minutemen. They have also received visits from people accusing them of distributing supplies stolen from other evacuee shelters, something that everybody working there emphatically denied. Volunteers have also been intimidated by police officers who have scrutinized their operation all day. When I asked Mr. Morales what help if any they had received from authorities, he responded: “the only thing we’ve gotten from the government is police harassment this morning, giving us grief for being here.”
2. Immigrant evacuees at Qualcomm Stadium are threatened with deportation and mistreated by authorities and volunteers
Yesterday, the Union-Tribune reported that six illegal immigrants who were suspected of stealing relief supplies from Qualcomm Stadium—the largest of all evacuation sites—and were arrested by Border Patrol agents. According to the article, a woman who saw them loading supplies unto a pickup truck reported them to police Sgt. Jesse Cesena. “They were stealing a lot of stuff,” Cesena said. The article claims that when officers intervened, one of the suspects confessed they were being paid to take things of value from the stadium.
“We took the stuff back and we escorted them out. They were stealing from the people in need.” The article then states that “because some members of the group spoke Spanish, officers called Border Patrol agents who were at the stadium for relief efforts. They determined the people were in the country illegally and arrested them.”[v]
Today, the Union-Tribune wrote a new article clarifying what actually transpired (they have yet to make a formal correction). The article reveals that the people the Border Partrol apprehended and deported on Wednesday were two couples, one with three children. Originally they tried to deport a third family that was with them but because they produced documentation, they were released.[vi]
According to a Union-Tribune reporter who spoke with some of the deportees over the phone from Tijuana, they claim that contrary to initial reports by authorities, they did not confess to stealing anything. They said that they were taking items donated to them as they prepared to return home.[vii] This was also confirmed by eyewitnesses I spoke to today.
This incident caused a great deal of anxiety for immigrant families staying at Qualcomm. It prompted immigrant rights activists to go to the site and serve as legal observers and translators. Today, I spent half a day today working as a legal observer and a volunteer translator for the San Diego Coalition for Immigrant Rights. I spoke to Andrea Guerrero (contact info removed by sdimc) an ACLU immigration rights lawyer and one of the people in charge of legal observers at the evacuation sites. Guerrero claims that the apprehensions and deportations of these immigrants are potentially illegal since San Diego Police Officers are not supposed to report undocumented immigrants to Border Patrol agents unless they are formally arrested and charged with a crime. I should note that none of the individuals deported were charged with robbery by San Diego police. She and other ACLU lawyers consulted this issue with the local police chief at the stadium. He admitted that the ordeal was poorly handled.
All of the ACLU lawyers and immigrants rights volunteers I spoke to today suspected that the arrest and deportation of these six immigrants was prompted by racial profiling. Today, I was able to observe how one African-American woman was accused of stealing supplies as she loaded her belongings unto her SUV. I asked her what was happening and she assured me that all the things in her car belonged to her and her children. I could tell she was telling the truth because none of the things I saw in her car were the same as the items that were being distributed at the site. This did not stop several overzealous European-American onlookers from writing down her license plate, taking digital camera pictures of her car, and commenting on her ‘audacity’ for taking so many things.
Wednesday’s arrests and deportations together with what I witnessed at Qualcomm today reminded me of Katrina. We all know how in the aftermath of the hurricane, the media portrayed white residents of New Orleans who were taking supplies from destroyed shops as ‘scavengers’ while simultaneously criminalizing African Americans doing the same as ‘looters.’ That same type of racial profiling and criminalization is clearly occurring in San Diego during this catastrophe.
The deportation of these six immigrants was followed by a security crackdown at Qualcomm. Authorities set up ID verification checkpoints at all gates. They began to patrol the stadium asking people for proper identification. The city of San Diego claims this was done to prevent those who were not supposed to be staying there from taking donations, food, and drink. According to many people I spoke to, this scared a lot of immigrants staying at the site. Guerrero estimates that about 25 immigrant families left in fear of being apprehended. Many others were also forced out of the stadium last night for not showing proper identification. It is hard to tell how many but Guerrero estimates that up to a thousand were told to leave. We are assuming that this disproportionately affected immigrant families who were hesitant to show their ID. It also affecting people who did not have a chance to bring their identification with them when they were being evacuated.
At Qualcomm, I spoke to about six immigrant families (approx. 30 people) most of whom confessed to me they were undocumented. All of them said that after the arrest of the six immigrants suspected of stealing supplies, they all felt extremely frightened they too would be deported. Most of them also complained of being treated rudely and unfairly by authorities and volunteers. One undocumented Mexican evacuee from Ramona I spoke to said that volunteers refused to give her a 12 pack of juice boxes as they gave the same pack to white evacuees. The Union-Tribune reports another similar incident: a woman said that “she asked a volunteer for diapers for her 2-year-old son, who had diarrhea, and was handed three individual diapers. Then when I was leaving, they gave an American woman a whole box, she said.”[viii] Legal observers/translators I spoke to today confirmed that they intervened in similar incidents. Another undocumented Mexican evacuee I spoke to said she has been staying in Qualcomm but after Wednesday’s arrest, she is too afraid to ask for food and supplies. Her husband—who is Guatemalan and also undocumented—reported that on Wednesday night, authorities threatened to evict his father-in-law from the stadium for not having proper identification. It was only after he intervened and showed them his driver’s license that they allowed him to stay.
Lastly, I heard unconfirmed rumors that the Border Patrol has been randomly checking people’s documentation status in the northern and northeastern areas of San Diego county. I will try to find out more information about this but it was brought to my attention by several evacuees at Qualcomm as well as Border Angel volunteers. This contradicts the Border Patrol’s claim that they are not actively seeking out undocumented immigrants but rather assisting with emergency management and law enforcement duties.
Right now, all Qualcomm evacuees are being relocated to Del Mar Fairgrounds. The San Diego Chargers need Qualcomm Stadium for their game this weekend so the city is forcing everybody there out. Tomorrow, I will go work as a volunteer at the new site and find out more about what’s happening there. I will send you another update tomorrow evening.
People need to know that the same way that the government doesn’t care about black people in New Orleans, it also doesn’t care about immigrant families in California.
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U.S. Border Patrol Immigration Arrest San Diego Fire Victims With Children
October 24, 2007
By Owner of USHOSTAGE.com
San Diego, Ca: On October 24, 2007 on or around 10:55am PST at Gate "D" inside the parking lot of the San Diego Qualcomm Stadium I have seen 2 marked U.S. Border Patrol Vehicles (SUV & Van) with it's officers/agents checking Mexican's credentials, while inside the van were full of Mexican's under arrest.
One marked San Diego Police Vehicle was at the scene and a unmarked San Diego Police SUV was in the scene as well with a Police Officer in Uniform in the drivers seat and a Female in plain clothes in the passenger seat.
What I was able to find out was that Jewish organization(s) volunteer(s) at gate "D" whom were in charge of giving out "KOSHER" food to the people decided to call the San Diego Police to accuse Mexican's of looting Food and Donated Items. San Diego Police came to the scene and asked for U.S. residential documents. Some were not able to provide paper work or green card's to the San Diego Police Officer(s), so the San Diego Police contacted the U.S. Border Patrol.
People say that the U.S. Border Patrol has set up check points San Marcos in the north and Imperial Avenue in the south.
I walked up to the San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders on or around 11:10am PST, and told him of the situation and he had one of his San Diego Police Officer's in plain clothes escort me away.
I told the American and Mexican media at the stadium of the situation. The American media did not care, and the one's that did (American Media) made excuses for the U.S. Government's hate actions.
Children were at the scene as they seen their father's and loved ones beeing arrested right in front of them.
I myself have seen children in U.S. Federal jails/prisons made for adults being locked up for being in the U.S. illegally. Private U.S. companies that are on the U.S. Stock Exchange (The GEO Group NYSE: GEO and Corrections Corporation of America NYSE: CXW) profit from holding kids in federal jails/prisons.
October 24, 2007
By Owner of USHOSTAGE.com
San Diego, Ca: On October 24, 2007 on or around 10:55am PST at Gate "D" inside the parking lot of the San Diego Qualcomm Stadium I have seen 2 marked U.S. Border Patrol Vehicles (SUV & Van) with it's officers/agents checking Mexican's credentials, while inside the van were full of Mexican's under arrest.
One marked San Diego Police Vehicle was at the scene and a unmarked San Diego Police SUV was in the scene as well with a Police Officer in Uniform in the drivers seat and a Female in plain clothes in the passenger seat.
What I was able to find out was that Jewish organization(s) volunteer(s) at gate "D" whom were in charge of giving out "KOSHER" food to the people decided to call the San Diego Police to accuse Mexican's of looting Food and Donated Items. San Diego Police came to the scene and asked for U.S. residential documents. Some were not able to provide paper work or green card's to the San Diego Police Officer(s), so the San Diego Police contacted the U.S. Border Patrol.
People say that the U.S. Border Patrol has set up check points San Marcos in the north and Imperial Avenue in the south.
I walked up to the San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders on or around 11:10am PST, and told him of the situation and he had one of his San Diego Police Officer's in plain clothes escort me away.
I told the American and Mexican media at the stadium of the situation. The American media did not care, and the one's that did (American Media) made excuses for the U.S. Government's hate actions.
Children were at the scene as they seen their father's and loved ones beeing arrested right in front of them.
I myself have seen children in U.S. Federal jails/prisons made for adults being locked up for being in the U.S. illegally. Private U.S. companies that are on the U.S. Stock Exchange (The GEO Group NYSE: GEO and Corrections Corporation of America NYSE: CXW) profit from holding kids in federal jails/prisons.
For more information:
http://White-House-President.com
I first heard about the trouble of undocumented aliens from a friend in the SF Bay Area who had heard a report listening to KPFA. I went to the website and listened to it myself, hoping to hear how I can be of assist. I didn't hear anything, so I have been searching online and found this informative article by the SD Tribune. I'm sure many people, like me, feel moved to help the illegal immigrants and their families who are suffering from the effects of this fire, but I am still floundering for instructions. I did find a phone number for the ACLU in San Diego, which is 619-232-2121. I'll call and see if there's a way for people to help, either by donating supplies or offering hands-on help or receiving training in some capacity or by writing letters....
for folks in san diego, donations are still desparately needed - take them to Chican@ Park today until 8pm, the Rubber Rose today until 10pm, tomorrow (sunday) noon-8pm.
for folks outside of san diego, monetary donations can be mailed to a group that has a long history of working with migrants in the border region, Border Angels:
checks payable to Border Angels, with memo: Fire Victims' Relief mailed to
Border Angels
P.O. Box 86598
San Diego, CA 92138
More info here:
http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2007/10/27/18456380.php
For updates, esp about further need for donations, check out the top of
http://sandiego.indymedia.org
for folks outside of san diego, monetary donations can be mailed to a group that has a long history of working with migrants in the border region, Border Angels:
checks payable to Border Angels, with memo: Fire Victims' Relief mailed to
Border Angels
P.O. Box 86598
San Diego, CA 92138
More info here:
http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2007/10/27/18456380.php
For updates, esp about further need for donations, check out the top of
http://sandiego.indymedia.org
BUSH : "That's the Thrill in being President. I can Kill at Random. That's the Fun in it. Then I can have my Buddy Ahnold Blame the Immigrants for my Serial Murders. That's the Bonus."
YES! I too believe our government doesn't care about the people of New Orleans, or our immigrants. I am disgusted at the way both have been treated. Some of our people from New Orleans were on their roofs for two weeks,pleading for help. I don't buy the excuse we couldn't get in to rescue. Jessie Jackson made it in, and came back. CNN made it in. And I see first hand how we treat our immigrants. As a white American, I am ashamed. I am absolutly ashamed. We are allowing racial hate groups to assault, and antagonize people who are down on their luck.And George Bush you are doing nothing to stop it. You and your End Game,your detention camps,your Return to Sender. You have taken away my pride in being an American. You sick bastard you.
PRESS RELEASE: REGARDING IMMIGRATION CUSTOMS ENFORCEMENT (ICE) INCIDENTS AT SAN DIEGO FIRE EVACUATION SITE (QUALCOMM STADIUM)
The San Diego Immigrant Rights Consortium just released this PR regarding the treatment of immigrant families and people of color who have been evacuated.
BORDER PATROL PRESENCE AT QUALCOMM:
City officials in charge of the evacuation site at Qualcomm invited a Border Patrol information unit to drive in a van and set up a tent next to FEMA and Red Cross inside the stadium. Although the unit is present to provide map information for burn areas, the presence of a BP van and uniformed BP officers has intimidated a number of immigrant families seeking refuge. The presence of BP led a volunteer today who was registering evacuees to turn away undocumented individuals because the volunteer presumed that the evacuees would be in danger of apprehension, especially following an incident yesterday (described below). She did not communicate this to those turned away. She simply turned them away from the only open evacuation center in the county.
POLICE VIOLATION OF IMMIGRATION ENFORCEMENT POLICY:
Yesterday (Wednesday October 24, 2007), the police initiated an immigration enforcement action that was contrary to their policy of not calling in Border Patrol / ICE unless and until they file a formal criminal charge against a person.
Police detained approximately 12 evacuees (at least four were children) who they alleged were "looting" donated blankets, food, and toys for the children. The detained evacuees and witnesses reported to us that volunteers were urging all evacuees, some of whom were preparing to return home after two days, to take as much as they could because the evacuees might find their home damaged and might not be able to access food and other important items due to the evacuation and destruction of stores in the area.
Taking this to heart, the evacuees in question who were part of the same family, gathered multiple blankets and as much food as they could carry in preparation of returning home. There have been no shortage of donated goods and in fact, the city has asked the good people of the city to stop donating items.
The evacuees were detained by the police for three hours on site without being charged. The police asked the evacuees for their documents. When they presented none, the police called in an outside unit of Border Patrol to conduct an "immigration inspection". The police never brought any charges against the evacuees. Prior to the arrival of the BP, a Channel 8 cameraman attempted to film the police interaction with the evacuees. One of the officers covered the camera with his hand, pushed it and the cameraman away, and took the microphone from the reporter. When a Spanish-speaking volunteer attempted to intervene to assist the family, one of the officers took her picture with his cell phone to intimidate her. When BP, came they asked the detained evacuees for documents and six of them (plus a 2-year old U.S. citizen child of one of the evacuees) were taken away, held for several hours without food, and deported. They are needless to say devastated.
Yesterday and this morning, both SDPD and BP reported out that the detained evacuees had confessed to "looting" for the purposes of selling the merchandise. AFSC spoke to the evacuees in Tijuana today and they say emphatically that they never confessed to this. There are no witnesses to this alleged confession. Piolin, a national radio personality from LA paraded through the stadium after the incident and congratulated law enforcement for getting rid of looters. All of the local media outlets regurgitated the law enforcement line about looting, despite being advised by witnesses that they had seen something to the contrary. Lots of comments about how we don't want those people in our country. I heard one BP officer say in defense of the deportation, "Immigrants don't want these kind of people here representing them."
After the incident, Kevin Keenan from ACLU spoke to Chief Lansdowne about our concerns about the improper police pass off. He assured Kevin and then later the public in a press statement that the police were not interested in immigration enforcement. Later that night, around midnight, police walked around the stadium from family to family asking for identification and proof of residency in an evacuated zone. One ID was sufficient for a family. The problem of course was that lots of individuals and families could not produce IDs or the ID addresses did not correspond to an evacuated zone and some folks were just plain homeless and had come in for shelter from the air. Those who could not produce the proper IDs were escorted out in the middle of the night. Those who remained were given wrist bands.
CLIMATE OF INTIMIDATION:
This morning, District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis congratulated law enforcement for eradicating freeloaders from the stadium and stated that no evacuees would be allowed into the stadium without identification. Pursuant to an agreement between Kevin and Lansdowne, the SDIRC was allowed to set up a table inside the stadium between FEMA and BP. Half a dozen families approached the table stating that they had slept in the parking lot during the night as they had for several nights and when they attempted to enter, they were asked for their IDs. At least one family member in each family was undocumented and were intimidated. One evacuee, after failing to produce an ID, was asked what his immigration status was by a volunteer, then threatened that he might be arrested if immigration officials approached.
The undocumented members were let in only because they had other family members who could show a license, a "green card", a consular ID card, or an address. All homeless persons were turned away. No address, no service. All persons who failed to show any of the above and did not have a documented family member were turned away.
Another half dozen individuals informed us that they had been detained and questioned by police in the parking lot or while exiting the stadium for allegedly looting or taking more than their fair share of free donated items. Families were asked to count heads for all the blankets in their possession. Some families were taking items back to family members who were too scared to come in. In one instance, police put orange cones around a car until it was "cleared." Towards the end of the day, families with undocumented members were afraid to leave or afraid to take any food or blankets with them for fear of being detained and deported, since they were doing no different than the family deported yesterday. We [SDIRC] escorted some of them out.
It should be noted that it was not just immigrants, but other persons of color who were harassed and suspected of looting. An African American woman was harassed for making two trips with a baby stroller filled with items (I [Andrea Guerrero] witnessed this one). She attempted to register a complaint with the police officer in charge who treated her poorly and refused to process a complaint.
We took a written statement. She was so upset by the end of the day and afraid to leave with anything else, that she told me she was headed back to Oklahoma (she had only recently moved). A Filipino volunteer who had been helping people day and night was thrown out for making two trips out to cars, both times to assist people to their cars. The officer threatened to tazer him and charge him with trespassing. When the volunteer coordinator tried to intervene on behalf of the star volunteer, he was pushed out of the way. After the incident he was told not to talk to anyone. We filmed the incident and tried to talk to the volunteer coordinator, but he had recently survived deportation proceedings and was so scared (in part because he did not have his green card on him) that he considered walking away from his job right then and there. Another Latina woman was denied diapers for her baby because she was told there were none. She stepped aside and then watched as a White woman asked for the same size of diapers and was given them. The woman was upset and only successfully acquired diapers when Pedro from AFSC went with her to ask. When I left today, there was a mountain (possibly 1,000 bags) of diapers. There was also a mountain of donated items that could have served 10 times the number of people left in the stadium. The whole afternoon, we watched White evacuees take cases of water and other large loads to their cars without being questioned.
WHAT NOW:
SDIRC will continue to observe potential abuses of immigrants at the evacuation centers. We talked to the media a lot today to draw their attention to the disparate treatment. We have been in communication with the Chief of Police and with politicians to press for services and a welcoming climate for immigrants and other people of color (regardless of status). We are helped by our many allies. We are preparing to launch a multilingual hotline for immigrants, and hope to do much more.
GOOGLE GROUP AND WEBSITE:
I have created a google group for Friends of SDIRC (SDIRC has its own group) to facilitate looping people in from near and far who want to receive or share information relating to the current situation. The group will become active tomorrow. If you want out of the group, just let me know. If you know someone who wants in, let me know at aguerrero [at] aclusandiego.org. SDIRC also has a website that we will be using to post information starting tomorrow after noon: <a href="”"> http://www.immigrantsandiego.org.
The San Diego Immigrant Rights Consortium just released this PR regarding the treatment of immigrant families and people of color who have been evacuated.
BORDER PATROL PRESENCE AT QUALCOMM:
City officials in charge of the evacuation site at Qualcomm invited a Border Patrol information unit to drive in a van and set up a tent next to FEMA and Red Cross inside the stadium. Although the unit is present to provide map information for burn areas, the presence of a BP van and uniformed BP officers has intimidated a number of immigrant families seeking refuge. The presence of BP led a volunteer today who was registering evacuees to turn away undocumented individuals because the volunteer presumed that the evacuees would be in danger of apprehension, especially following an incident yesterday (described below). She did not communicate this to those turned away. She simply turned them away from the only open evacuation center in the county.
POLICE VIOLATION OF IMMIGRATION ENFORCEMENT POLICY:
Yesterday (Wednesday October 24, 2007), the police initiated an immigration enforcement action that was contrary to their policy of not calling in Border Patrol / ICE unless and until they file a formal criminal charge against a person.
Police detained approximately 12 evacuees (at least four were children) who they alleged were "looting" donated blankets, food, and toys for the children. The detained evacuees and witnesses reported to us that volunteers were urging all evacuees, some of whom were preparing to return home after two days, to take as much as they could because the evacuees might find their home damaged and might not be able to access food and other important items due to the evacuation and destruction of stores in the area.
Taking this to heart, the evacuees in question who were part of the same family, gathered multiple blankets and as much food as they could carry in preparation of returning home. There have been no shortage of donated goods and in fact, the city has asked the good people of the city to stop donating items.
The evacuees were detained by the police for three hours on site without being charged. The police asked the evacuees for their documents. When they presented none, the police called in an outside unit of Border Patrol to conduct an "immigration inspection". The police never brought any charges against the evacuees. Prior to the arrival of the BP, a Channel 8 cameraman attempted to film the police interaction with the evacuees. One of the officers covered the camera with his hand, pushed it and the cameraman away, and took the microphone from the reporter. When a Spanish-speaking volunteer attempted to intervene to assist the family, one of the officers took her picture with his cell phone to intimidate her. When BP, came they asked the detained evacuees for documents and six of them (plus a 2-year old U.S. citizen child of one of the evacuees) were taken away, held for several hours without food, and deported. They are needless to say devastated.
Yesterday and this morning, both SDPD and BP reported out that the detained evacuees had confessed to "looting" for the purposes of selling the merchandise. AFSC spoke to the evacuees in Tijuana today and they say emphatically that they never confessed to this. There are no witnesses to this alleged confession. Piolin, a national radio personality from LA paraded through the stadium after the incident and congratulated law enforcement for getting rid of looters. All of the local media outlets regurgitated the law enforcement line about looting, despite being advised by witnesses that they had seen something to the contrary. Lots of comments about how we don't want those people in our country. I heard one BP officer say in defense of the deportation, "Immigrants don't want these kind of people here representing them."
After the incident, Kevin Keenan from ACLU spoke to Chief Lansdowne about our concerns about the improper police pass off. He assured Kevin and then later the public in a press statement that the police were not interested in immigration enforcement. Later that night, around midnight, police walked around the stadium from family to family asking for identification and proof of residency in an evacuated zone. One ID was sufficient for a family. The problem of course was that lots of individuals and families could not produce IDs or the ID addresses did not correspond to an evacuated zone and some folks were just plain homeless and had come in for shelter from the air. Those who could not produce the proper IDs were escorted out in the middle of the night. Those who remained were given wrist bands.
CLIMATE OF INTIMIDATION:
This morning, District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis congratulated law enforcement for eradicating freeloaders from the stadium and stated that no evacuees would be allowed into the stadium without identification. Pursuant to an agreement between Kevin and Lansdowne, the SDIRC was allowed to set up a table inside the stadium between FEMA and BP. Half a dozen families approached the table stating that they had slept in the parking lot during the night as they had for several nights and when they attempted to enter, they were asked for their IDs. At least one family member in each family was undocumented and were intimidated. One evacuee, after failing to produce an ID, was asked what his immigration status was by a volunteer, then threatened that he might be arrested if immigration officials approached.
The undocumented members were let in only because they had other family members who could show a license, a "green card", a consular ID card, or an address. All homeless persons were turned away. No address, no service. All persons who failed to show any of the above and did not have a documented family member were turned away.
Another half dozen individuals informed us that they had been detained and questioned by police in the parking lot or while exiting the stadium for allegedly looting or taking more than their fair share of free donated items. Families were asked to count heads for all the blankets in their possession. Some families were taking items back to family members who were too scared to come in. In one instance, police put orange cones around a car until it was "cleared." Towards the end of the day, families with undocumented members were afraid to leave or afraid to take any food or blankets with them for fear of being detained and deported, since they were doing no different than the family deported yesterday. We [SDIRC] escorted some of them out.
It should be noted that it was not just immigrants, but other persons of color who were harassed and suspected of looting. An African American woman was harassed for making two trips with a baby stroller filled with items (I [Andrea Guerrero] witnessed this one). She attempted to register a complaint with the police officer in charge who treated her poorly and refused to process a complaint.
We took a written statement. She was so upset by the end of the day and afraid to leave with anything else, that she told me she was headed back to Oklahoma (she had only recently moved). A Filipino volunteer who had been helping people day and night was thrown out for making two trips out to cars, both times to assist people to their cars. The officer threatened to tazer him and charge him with trespassing. When the volunteer coordinator tried to intervene on behalf of the star volunteer, he was pushed out of the way. After the incident he was told not to talk to anyone. We filmed the incident and tried to talk to the volunteer coordinator, but he had recently survived deportation proceedings and was so scared (in part because he did not have his green card on him) that he considered walking away from his job right then and there. Another Latina woman was denied diapers for her baby because she was told there were none. She stepped aside and then watched as a White woman asked for the same size of diapers and was given them. The woman was upset and only successfully acquired diapers when Pedro from AFSC went with her to ask. When I left today, there was a mountain (possibly 1,000 bags) of diapers. There was also a mountain of donated items that could have served 10 times the number of people left in the stadium. The whole afternoon, we watched White evacuees take cases of water and other large loads to their cars without being questioned.
WHAT NOW:
SDIRC will continue to observe potential abuses of immigrants at the evacuation centers. We talked to the media a lot today to draw their attention to the disparate treatment. We have been in communication with the Chief of Police and with politicians to press for services and a welcoming climate for immigrants and other people of color (regardless of status). We are helped by our many allies. We are preparing to launch a multilingual hotline for immigrants, and hope to do much more.
GOOGLE GROUP AND WEBSITE:
I have created a google group for Friends of SDIRC (SDIRC has its own group) to facilitate looping people in from near and far who want to receive or share information relating to the current situation. The group will become active tomorrow. If you want out of the group, just let me know. If you know someone who wants in, let me know at aguerrero [at] aclusandiego.org. SDIRC also has a website that we will be using to post information starting tomorrow after noon: <a href="”"> http://www.immigrantsandiego.org.
For more information:
http://www.immigrantsandiego.org
Thanks so much for posting this. I watched the news throughout the fire coverage and was really annoyed by the lack of focus on communities that may not seek help out of fear (e.g. being deported). As for how donations and support have been distributed; Who would've thought that people had to "qualify" for donations during such a difficult time?? Que verguenza!!!
National City (San Diego County)
National City (San Diego County)
I can believe that this is actually going on! even on the news if I hear people referred to as "ILLEGAL" one more time I'm gonna scream, why the labels???????? this is America, what the hell ever happened to compassion, I'm so ashamed of my own race when they treat people so crappy, but sadly I knew it would happen, because there is so much hate against Mexicans in California even amongst themselves, trying to deflect on to the "other guy" the one thats undocumented, that's somehow lesser than the one that is.....
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