Sheriffs deputies in
Lake County, FL, routinely detain Hispanics whom they suspected of bring illegal aliens, dettaining them without charges while contacting the US Border Patrol.
For those of you not from my great state, Lake County had an
infamous sheriff,
Willis McCall, known for racism, lynching, and black people mysteriously disappearing from his custody.
Some things don't change.
[
During the past two years, the Lake County Sheriff's Office detained more than 200 people solely because they were suspected of being an illegal or undocumented immigrant.
The arrest count is by far the highest of any other Central Florida county that could provide statistics from the same period, and the practice of detaining individuals without criminal charges is being called into question by civil-liberties and immigration advocates who suggest the Sheriff's Office is conducting racial or ethnic profiling.
"There's a reason why we are in contact with them," Lake County Sheriff Gary Borders said. "We're not profiling. We have very strict policies against profiling. I've got a federal law-enforcement agency telling me to detain them."
Although the Sheriff's Office does not have a formal agreement with federal authorities to enforce certain immigration laws, Borders said his deputies are on solid legal ground in detaining suspected illegal immigrants for the federal government. He said every case begins with a legitimate stop or inquiry by a deputy — a traffic violation, for instance.
According to arrest records in the 215 cases reviewed by the Orlando Sentinel, Lake County deputies customarily stopped vehicles, questioned occupants and then became suspicious about immigration status.
They then typically contacted the U.S. Border Patrol, which issued "detainers," and the individuals usually were then held at the Lake County Jail until they were picked up by federal authorities for deportation proceedings.] emphasis added
[Following printed under
Fair Use Doctrine because of important public polcy issues presented. Orlando Sentinel retains all copyrights to this story.]
Is it profiling? Lake County detains more than 200 suspected of being illegal immigrantsLake County Sheriff Gary Borders denies his office profiles Hispanics
By Anthony Colarossi
Sentinel Staff Writer
July 10, 2009
TAVARES
During the past two years, the Lake County Sheriff's Office detained more than 200 people solely because they were suspected of being an illegal or undocumented immigrant.
The arrest count is by far the highest of any other Central Florida county that could provide statistics from the same period, and the practice of detaining individuals without criminal charges is being called into question by civil-liberties and immigration advocates who suggest the Sheriff's Office is conducting racial or ethnic profiling.
"There's a reason why we are in contact with them," Lake County Sheriff Gary Borders said. "We're not profiling. We have very strict policies against profiling. I've got a federal law-enforcement agency telling me to detain them."
Although the Sheriff's Office does not have a formal agreement with federal authorities to enforce certain immigration laws, Borders said his deputies are on solid legal ground in detaining suspected illegal immigrants for the federal government. He said every case begins with a legitimate stop or inquiry by a deputy — a traffic violation, for instance.
According to arrest records in the 215 cases reviewed by the Orlando Sentinel, Lake County deputies customarily stopped vehicles, questioned occupants and then became suspicious about immigration status.
They then typically contacted the U.S. Border Patrol, which issued "detainers," and the individuals usually were then held at the Lake County Jail until they were picked up by federal authorities for deportation proceedings.
No criminal charges are listed on any of the booking sheets, records show.
Instead, deputies cited "Courtesy Hold for Border Patrol" or "Hold for Border Patrol" and a Florida civil statute regarding contempt of court.
Virtually all the cases involve individuals with Hispanic surnames.
Similar detentions without local charges are rare among neighboring sheriff's offices during the same span:
•The Seminole County Sheriff's Office detained eight without charges.
•In Volusia County, jail records show the Sheriff's Office detained two people.
•Osceola County never held anyone on one of the detainers without first arresting them on some criminal count. Osceola honored 23 detainers; all were charged first with local crimes.
• Orange County officials said they could not produce a number without significant time for special computer programming.
The issue prompted an emotional debate last month when Lake Sheriff Borders met with Hispanic groups and immigrant advocates.
"It used to be [called] 'driving while black,'" Sister Ann Kendrick with the Hope Community Center told Borders. "Now it's 'driving while Mexican or Latino.' People are terrified. They're afraid to drive. ... People are terrified of you."
Police departments across Central Florida — from Orlando to Kissimmee to Leesburg — generally do not ask about federal detainers unless they've arrested someone on a criminal charge and the individual's citizenship comes into question.
"It doesn't happen at all with us," said Stacie Miller, a spokeswoman for Kissimmee police. "We don't arrest them and hold them until a detainer comes in. ... We focus on if there is a crime."
Among Lake County crime fighters from late 2007 to early this year, the Sheriff's Office was the arresting agency in 215 cases in which detainers were issued without charges.
Astatula police handled three cases, Clermont police handled five and Tavares police handled seven.
The detentions in Lake gained widespread attention earlier this year when Tavares police arrested an illegal-immigrant mother from Honduras without a criminal charge.
Rita Cote — who had an administrative warrant for deportation — was held in jail for more than two weeks, well beyond the 48 hours allowed under federal law.
Cote and her husband are now preparing to sue Tavares police and the Lake County Sheriff's Office, according to their attorney.
Michael Reilly, an assistant chief with Border Patrol's Office of Public Affairs in Washington, said it's not uncommon for local law-enforcement agencies to contact Border Patrol during traffic stops when the citizenship of an individual is in question.
Agents usually can question people and determine quickly whether a detainer should be issued, he said.
"If the sheriff decides to drop a misdemeanor charge, that's up to the sheriff. I can't comment on that," Reilly said. However, he added, "Say they do issue a citation. What's the probability of this person showing up in court, if ultimately the person is going to be deported from the United States?"
Since 2001, there has been "a great deal of confusion regarding the actual authority of local and state police to enforce federal immigration law," according to a 2007 immigration report written by Michele Waslin, a senior analyst with the Immigration Policy Center.
Even the federal regulation governing the detainers is open to interpretation about whether local law enforcement should first have custody of an individual before they get issued.
The Miami-Dade Police Department has issued a Legal Bulletin citing court cases and stating "local or state police officers should not arrest or detain an individual solely on the basis of such a detainer or other civil hold order ..."
Borders defends his deputies: "If here's a traffic stop and they [suspects] cannot produce identification and it's determined they may be here illegally, we contact Border Patrol," he said. "If a federal law-enforcement agency — whether they ask or demand [to hold someone on a detainer] — we're going to do that."
Anthony Colarossi can
be reached at
352-742-5931 or acolarossi@
orlandosentinel.com.
