Latinos Denounce Border Patrol Role in Simi Gang Raids

Troubled by a partnership forged between police officers and immigration agents, Latino advocates today are expected to call on city leaders to abolish a policy that has made the U. S. Border Patrol a key player in Simi Valley’s crackdown on gangs.

The advocates say they are concerned that the policy, enacted by the Simi Valley City Council more than a year ago, recklessly blurs the line between local law enforcement duties and the federal responsibility to enforce immigration law.

Moreover, they fear that such cooperation could further push illegal immigrants into the shadows, making them reluctant to report crimes and come forward as witnesses.

“We all are concerned about violence in our community and we want to try to work proactively to solve those problems,” said Francisco Dominguez, executive director of El Concilio del Condado de Ventura. The Latino advocacy group has scheduled an 11 a.m. news conference at Simi Valley City Hall to denounce the policy.

“But we’re concerned that Simi Valley is just using this strategy as part of a political effort to blame undocumented immigrants for all sorts of problems in society,” added Dominguez, noting that no other Ventura County city has extended itself as far to cooperate with the Immigration & Naturalization Service. “I hope that the Simi Valley City Council takes a look at this policy and decides to change it.”

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But Police Chief Randy Adams said the Border Patrol has proven to be an invaluable crime-fighting asset, providing another weapon in the battle against gangs.

“It just seems to fly in the face of logic that certain groups would advocate turning our heads to illegal activity,” Adams said.

“I’ve been hired to take a zero-tolerance approach, not only to gangs, but to crime in this community,” he said. “To me, zero tolerance means if you have any illegal activity, you marshal any resources you can toward that activity. And whether people like it or not, being an illegal immigrant in our community is a crime.”

It was late 1995 when Adams first invited Border Patrol agents to join his officers in scouring the city streets for gang members.

Jolted to action by a sudden flare-up of gang violence, city leaders endorsed a multi-pronged plan to clamp down on gang members and problem neighborhoods throughout the city.

That plan included working with immigration authorities to arrest and deport gang members who were in the country illegally.

Since that time, officials have conducted 11 gang sweeps, targeting 140 locations. Border Patrol agents accompanied police officers on seven of those raids. A total of 102 arrests have been made, including 83 illegal immigrants who were rounded up and deported by immigration authorities.

In addition, 36 citations--totaling 140 violations--were issued for a variety of municipal and housing code violations.

The latest raid, conducted in January with the news media and Rep. Elton Gallegly in tow, generated several complaints to El Concilio and other community groups. Many of those were aimed at the Simi Valley congressman, accusing the Republican of using the plight of illegal immigrants for political fodder.

But Gallegly said last week that he has no apologies for tagging along on the sweep, and offered his continued support of efforts to rid Simi Valley of gang members and illegal immigrants.

“The fact remains that these folks were breaking the law,” Gallegly said. “If this illegal immigrant-rights group thinks we should not enforce the law, they ought to be working to change the law rather than to condone people violating the law. I think it’s unconscionable.”

Latino advocates, however, said they fear that the policy only serves to whip up anti-immigrant sentiment.

“The reality is that it is desperate people who come here, and they are coming here to do back-breaking, low-paying work,” said Eileen McCarthy, an Oxnard-based legal aid attorney. “What’s upsetting about this policy, and the rhetoric that it generates, is that it’s rhetoric that fosters and exacerbates hatemongering. It serves to divide communities rather than bring them together.”

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Of equal concern, the advocates say, is that the policy appears to target Latinos.

“It’s blatantly racist,” said Paige Moser, co-coordinator of the Simi-Conejo chapter of the National Organization for Women. “I don’t see the cops bringing in the INS in homes where the families are white. It’s specifically aimed against Latinos and it needs to stop.”

Simi Valley Mayor Greg Stratton said that’s not true. Rather, he said the gang sweeps are aimed at going after anyone who is breaking the law--whether it is city code or federal statute.

And he said he believes that there’s little chance that the council will strike down the policy.

“You don’t get to be the safest city in America by not enforcing the law,” Stratton said. “We are a city of law-abiding people. If this sends any kind of message, it should send a message that we do not want anyone in this city who is breaking the law.”