Criminals Now Have Safe Haven in New Mexico

If you're in the country illegally, you are breaking the law. If you're breaking the law you are acting criminally. If you're acting criminally, you should expect the police to come knocking (subscription) at your door.

Until now.

The chief federal judge in New Mexico has ordered the Otero County Sheriff's Department to halt communitywide raids in poor Chaparral neighborhoods conducted solely to find illegal immigrants.

Plaintiffs in a lawsuit said the raids illegally targeted low-income Latino residents and were carried out using Operation Stonegarden funds earmarked for anti-terrorism activities.

The preliminary injunction ordered by Chief Judge Martha Vázquez is virtually unprecedented nationally, at least at this stage of proceedings, attorneys familiar with immigration cases say.

Vázquez entered the order Friday in favor of the Border Network for Human Rights, which filed suit on behalf of more than a dozen alleged victims of the raids, including three children.

Albuquerque lawyer William Slease, who represents Otero County, said he does not comment on pending litigation, but defendants in court documents deny they are acting illegally.

Plaintiffs' attorney Briana Stone, director of the Paso del Norte Civil Rights Project, said the order marks a milestone. "The judge's decision confirms that within our borders, everyone has the constitutional rights to be safe in our homes and free from discrimination elsewhere," she said. "Hopefully this ruling will ease some of the fears that residents of Chaparral have had since Operation Stonegarden began."

The only residents in Chaparral who should have been fearful are the illegal residents of Chaparral. Someone please explain to me how rounding up law breakers is discrimination? Judges should not be creating new rules of law, but that is exactly what Chief Judge Martha Vázquez has just done.

First Line Shows Bias

Sometimes you can read the first two sentences of a newspaper article and immediately see the bias (subscription):

A 62-year-old Oregon youth counselor was left out in the cold in a high-crime area by Albuquerque police late New Year's Eve.

But police say they were just doing their job when they seized his car.

The reporter has put the police on the defensive. That's absurd. The real story buried half way down in the article is:

Police stopped Vargas about 11 p.m. after they saw him driving too fast over speed bumps in the 200 block of Pennsylvania NE, APD Capt. Murray Conrad said.

Vargas has three DWIs and a revoked license, according to his motor vehicle record. Vargas, who had an Oregon identification card, was charged for driving on a New Mexico suspended license, according to a Metro Court criminal complaint.

Not one, not two, but THREE DWI's and he is still driving on a revoked license. Yet, the guy whose car he is driving, Dennis M. Lufkin of Medford, Oregon, wants an apology from the police.

Give me a break.

The headlines the day before reported that a drunk driver killed two people on New Year's Eve (subscription). I'm thinking Mr. Lufkin owes the people of New Mexico and apology.

500 Bicycles for Needy Children

It's Rumble in Rio time again, and this event is now one more reminder of why we don't want Mayor Marty Chavez (subscription) to be elected to the United States Senate:

Firefighter Melvin Parker and the American Civil Liberties Union sued the city last year after city officials threatened to discipline— or fire— anyone who participated.

Parker won the lawsuit, allowing city police officers and firefighters to participate.

"To be honest with you, I didn't think we would ever be at this point," said Parker, who will face Albuquerque officer David Padilla. "What we did a year ago wasn't just about the Rumble in Rio. Our suit pretty much set precedent that the city cannot dictate what you do outside of the department."

Trouble started last year when Mayor Martin Chávez and then-Public Safety Director Nick Bakas said any city firefighter and police officer who participated in the event could face disciplinary action.

Oh, did I mention that "last year's Rumble in Rio raised $50,000 and bought 500 bicycles for needy children." Nice guy that Mayor Marty Chavez.

Political Backpedaling

Albuquerque Police Chief Ray Schultz is in a very uncomfortable position:

"Don't ask, don't tell" policy on illegals doesn't apply to criminal investigations.

Albuquerque Police Chief Ray Schultz said in a Tuesday news conference that police are not to ask about a person's immigration status and will not enforce federal immigration laws.

But that doesn't mean police can't arrest an illegal immigrant or inquire about a person's immigration status in a criminal investigation, according to this morning's Albuquerque Journal .

"Any officer investigating criminal activity is allowed to inquire about immigration status and take any action necessary," said Schultz, who said there is a lot of confusion about APD policy regarding illegal immigrants.

Schultz said false information is circulating that criminals will not be asked their immigration status, the Journal reported.

Hmm, I wonder what the cause of that confusion is:

Some police officers told News 13 that the change could prevent some serious criminals who are illegal immigrants from being deported.

The policy, a copy of which was obtained by News 13, states, "Officers shall not inquire or seek proof of a person's immigration status, even if an arrest is made for a non-immigration criminal investigation."

Schultz said the policy is being misinterpreted.

"The intent that's there was never to prohibit officers from conducting a criminal investigation, and, during the course of that criminal investigation, determining the immigrant status of the person that they're dealing with," he said. "So, we need to clarify that."

Sorry Chief Schultz, but clarification is not the problem. The policy language is very clear. What you need and the City of Albuquerque need to do is let police officers enforce the law. Illegal immigrants are illegal.

Now to be fair, Chief Schultz is operating in a politcal environment in New Mexico that is full of mixed messages when it comes to immigration.

Some Standards Shouldn't Be Relaxed

Maybe I'm just being old fashioned, but I think some standards should be upheld no matter how tight the job market (subscription):

The Police Executive Research Forum study also noted a drop from 36 percent to 20 percent in recent years of departments that require candidates to have a clean criminal record.

Many departments also subject their recruits to lie-detector tests in which they are asked about their drug use. But cities such as Fort Myers, Fla., are overlooking occasional use of drugs such as Ecstasy and powdered cocaine as long as it was more than five years in the past. Most departments still disallow anyone with a felony conviction.

"It's different now for the kids. There's a lot of drugs out there," said Fort Myers Maj. Glenn Johnson. "I'd hate to rule them out because of that."

He'd hate to rule out police recruits because of drug use? And only 20% of police departments require candidates to have clean record? To quote a retired law enforcement officer, "What's wrong with this picture?"