300 Converge on City Hall to Protest Border Patrol Raid

About 300 residents of an apartment complex that was the site of a controversial raid last month by Immigration and Naturalization Service agents picketed City Hall on Tuesday to protest what they said was the city’s “collusion” with the federal officers.

Chanting “No more INS raids” and “We want fair treatment,” the placard-toting demonstrators, most of them residents of the Orange Park Villas apartments, protested while the City Council discussed other issues inside.

“I am here tonight because the police are treating us bad,” said Gregorio Acevedo Vasquez, 30, a resident of Orange Park Villas who said his brother was arrested by immigration authorities during the Sept. 18 raid. “Everyone here has basic rights in this country, even if he’s from a different country, and the police should respect them.”

About 100 supporters of the city and 100 protesters converged on City Hall before the start of the 7 p.m. council meeting. By the time the meeting began, the number of protesters swelled to about 300.

Orange Police Detective Bob Greene said extra police officers, some undercover, were ordered to the scene to control potential clashes between protesters and people who came out to express support of the raid and for the council. There was some shouting between the two camps, but no direct confrontations or arrests.

The council chambers were packed to capacity at 175. The overflow crowd listened to proceedings on a loudspeaker hooked up outside for the occasion.

Jay Lindsey, a spokesman for Hermandad Mexicana Nacional, an immigrant-rights group, said the protest was organized because members of the Latino community felt that their side of the story of the raid had not been heard by the council.

“We want to make a conspicuous showing because we understand we are outnumbered by those that have called (into) the city on this,” he said. Mayor Gene Beyer said more than 70 calls had come in supporting the INS raid.

The raid by Border Patrol officers began early Sept. 18 along East Chapman Avenue near Hewes Street, where scores of day-laborers often wait each morning for offers of work. The sweep spilled over into the 260-unit Orange Park Villas apartments, a few blocks away at 3138 E. Maple Ave., when workers fled the scene.

A total of 216 people were arrested. Most were picked up along Chapman Avenue, and about 25 others were arrested at the apartment complex.

Latino activists immediately condemned the action, accusing U.S. Border Patrol agents of using “storm trooper tactics” to round up immigrants. Residents had complained that the officers kicked in doors, broke windows, threatened them and unlawfully entered apartments to search for illegal immigrants.

“I don’t think the way they went about it was proper--basically, it was an unqualified roundup,” Jaime Ramos, a union representative from the District Council of Carpenters for Orange County, said during Tuesday’s protest. “The raid I agree with, but when you go into apartments, you cross the line.”

But Dan Slater, 32, a real estate broker for Orange Realty who attended the protest in support of the city, said city officials should be allowed “to continue to do their job.”

“I feel for the people. I don’t blame them for being here, but we can’t solve the world’s problems,” he said. “The city shouldn’t have to defend itself for cooperating with the INS. Why shouldn’t two police forces work together?”

The Border Patrol conducted an internal review into allegations of abuse but found no wrongdoing by its agents. Immigration officials entered four residences, but the review concluded that no force was used.

However, immigration officials also acknowledged that while they had questioned Border Patrol agents, Orange police, city code enforcement officers and other authorities about the sweep, they did not speak with residents of the apartment complex or neighbors.

City officials said that local police were present only for traffic control and that code enforcement officers were coincidentally conducting a separate investigation when the Border Patrol showed up. Border Patrol officials have said the raid was not initiated by the city but by complaints from citizens.

Many Latinos said the presence of city police and code enforcement officials was proof of extensive cooperation between the city and federal officials.

“If (city officials) are swayed by the story that code enforcement officials just happened to come by on this fateful day . . . then they still believe in the tooth fairy,” said Amin David, president of Los Amigos of Orange County, in a telephone interview Tuesday afternoon.

The accusations of collusion angered city officials.

“I’ve heard it said that Orange’s solution to overcrowding was deportation, and that’s a real insult to the efforts of the council to set standards for all our citizens,” Councilman William G. Steiner said at Tuesday’s meeting. “I support any effort by the city to see that laws are obeyed.”

The council was expected Tuesday night to approve a plan to work with other cities to seek federal funding for services impacted by immigrant populations. Under the plan, the city and the county would lobby congressional representatives to seek “favorable legislation” regarding immigration laws.