Judge Continues Ban on ‘Airport Posse’

In an effort to avoid clashes between opposing sides on the emotional issue of immigration, a judge Friday continued to ban a group called the Airport Posse from entering the terminals of Lindbergh Field in search of illegal immigrants.

Judge William J. Howatt Jr. ruled that posse members can enter the terminals only if they are catching a plane or escorting or meeting someone--not to look for illegal immigrants or talk to airline workers.

Also, posse members must stay 100 yards from members of the Chicano Federation, who have called posse members vigilantes and accused them of trying to intimidate Latinos by wearing T-shirts emblazoned with the words “U.S. Citizens Patrol.”

Under Howatt’s order, areas have been set aside on the sidewalk outside the terminals where the Airport Posse and the Chicano Federation can express their views on immigration.

“I am firmly convinced that the freedoms we all enjoy are not licenses,” Howatt said. “Clearly this is an issue of public safety, and it is the responsibility of the court to effect an orderly society.”

For a month, posse members, encouraged by radio talk show host Roger Hedgecock, have been showing up sporadically at Lindbergh Field to look for illegal immigrants boarding planes and to remind airline workers of a Federal Aviation Administration safety rule requiring that all passengers show a government-issued photo identification.

On Tuesday, the Chicano Federation held a news conference to denounce the Airport Posse, which became heated when a T-shirt-wearing posse member was spotted.

The next day, officials of the San Diego Unified Port District, which runs the airport, sought an injunction to keep the posse out of the airport and away from the Chicano Federation. Howatt issued such an order pending a hearing Friday.

Port lawyer Robert Bell said officials are concerned about “a problem with a potential of conflict and violence” with the approach of the busy summer season and the Republican National Convention in August.

Chicano Federation lawyer Roberta Sisto said conflict is a certainty if the Airport Posse is not controlled. “People are besieging the federation office with calls,” she said. “We cannot control the Hispanic population.”

Howatt’s order will stand until arguments can be heard before Judge Charles Wickersham on the port’s request for a permanent ban. A hearing in Wickersham’s court is expected within several weeks.

Attorney Peter Lepiscopo, representing the Airport Posse, said that Howatt’s order violates the 1st Amendment and that his clients are being punished because their views are controversial.

“Guess what?” Lepiscopo told Howatt. “Madison, Jefferson, Hamilton and all the other Founding Fathers built the 1st Amendment to protect speech that we disagree with.”

But Howatt agreed with the port district that the airport is a “nonpublic forum” and that “time, place and manner” restrictions on free speech can be applied to protect the public’s safety. He noted that posse members could write or telephone the airlines to remind them of the FAA rule requiring photo identification.