INS Accuses Lawyer of Trying to Get Striking Aliens to Riot in El Centro

Immigration officials Tuesday accused an attorney of trying to incite a riot at an alien detention camp in El Centro where a group of aliens from Central America are on a hunger strike to protest conditions at the camp.

Immigration and Naturalization Service Western Regional Commissioner Harold W. Ezell made the charges against Graciela Zavala and said immigration officials are looking into the possibility of seeking her disbarment. Zavala, an attorney with the Imperial Valley Immigration Project, represents several of the strikers.

Ezell joined INS District Director James B. Turnage at a San Diego press conference where the two accused Zavala of attempting to incite a riot by encouraging the strikers to burn mattresses and instructing them “on how to create all kinds of havoc.” Zavala and a handful of supporters Tuesday demonstrated in front of the camp.

El Centro police monitored the demonstration and said they saw no activity on the part of the demonstrators that would suggest that they were inciting a riot. Lt. John Hunga said the demonstration involved only eight people and lasted three hours, breaking up by 1:30 p.m.

Hunga said one of the Border Patrol officers called him and “asked if these people had permission to demonstrate. I told them it was a constitutional right and as long as they didn’t break the law or trespass on government property, they were within their rights. The officer then said that they were using a loudspeaker to encourage people to throw rocks.

“We sent an officer out there and didn’t see any evidence of this. However, they didn’t have a permit for the loudspeaker, and when we told them to put it away, they complied with the order. This group has demonstrated there (at the center) before, and we’ve never had any problems with them,” said Hunga.

The strike began Monday morning with a group of aliens protesting overcrowding, poor sanitation and violations of their legal rights, said Zavala. She put the number of strikers at about 300, but Ezell said that only 120 people were striking on Tuesday. The strikers, all men, are drinking liquids but not eating.

Ezell charged that Zavala “orchestrated” the strike in order to protest U.S. policy in Central America.

“This is a group of activists endeavoring to make a statement in regard to the Administration’s policy in Central America . . . It’s simply an attempt to get recognition for whatever their political goals are,” said Ezell.

Zavala called Ezell’s charges “clear-cut lies” and denied that the demonstration and hunger strike were staged to protest U.S. policy in Central America.

“That’s absurd. This is not even the best forum for such a protest. My clients come from both sides of the war in El Salvador. I have represented guerrillas and former government soldiers who are under deportation orders. This office is totally nonpolitical when it comes to that. We don’t decide who to represent based on which side that person fought for in El Salvador or any country. If the purpose (of the strike) was to protest U.S. policy in El Salvador, I would not be representing people who fought for the (Salvadoran) military,” said Zavala.

Recently, Zavala’s office represented Expectacion Bolanos Hernandez, a former Salvadoran soldier who had his deportation order reversed by the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals.

Zavala said the strikers have complained of overcrowding at the camp, and on Tuesday Ezell conceded that conditions may be marginal.

“When you’re looking at a detention facility, you’re not looking at a Conrad Hilton (hotel),” said Ezell. “When you have an emergency number (of aliens) in house as we have now, it does get a little more crowded.”

An INS press release said that 483 aliens, all of them men, are currently being held at the camp, adding that the number was “below our maximum capacity.” Ezell said the camp is regularly inspected by foreign consular officials, who have not complained about conditions at the facility. He also said that a U.S. congressional delegation recently inspected the camp and found it acceptable.