Rogers, Springdale Models On Immigration Enforcement Makes Contrast

FAYETTEVILLE -- Whether local police should pursue illegal immigration cases on their own or wait until a suspect is arrested for breaking local laws was the longest-debated topic of a televised forum on immigration Tuesday night.

Local television station KHOG 40/29 and The Morning News cooperated in a series of reports that culminated in a forum at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday in the University of Arkansas student union theater. The forum was broadcast live.

"If we'd had a 287(g) program in place, Daniel Ray Francis would be alive today," Rogers Mayor Steve Womack said of the 32-year-old Fayetteville man killed in a "road rage" shooting in Lowell in 2006. Two men and one woman were charged in the shooting, including one residing in the country illegally. The 287(g) program of the federal Department of Homeland Security trains local police to enforce immigration law.

There are two options in the program. One trains police to determine legal residency after an arrest for breaking local law. The other allows police to enforce immigration law on their own. Springdale has chosen to train three officers for the "detention" option of investigating status after an arrest because it reduces the risk of an improper arrest, Springdale Police Chief Kathy O'Kelley said. Rogers is pursuing the other option.

There's "no way that somebody with six weeks training -- not even if it was six weeks a year -- can make determinations on somebody's legal status," said panel member Frank Head Jr., spokesman for Catholic Charities, which assists immigrants. Head has dealt with the issue for years "and I still call our lawyers half the time," he said.

In one example Head related, a woman who was in the country legally was cited for having a burned-out tail light on her car. When questioned about her residency, she gave her maiden name instead of her married name to authorities. Since the name she gave was not the one listed in government databases, she spent the night in jail and amassed $5,000 in legal fees to keep from being deported "because legally resident aliens are not eligible for public defenders," he said.

Whether Rogers could, in theory, pursue a more aggressive stance on immigration or not, it gave up that option in a settlement of an earlier racial profiling lawsuit, said panel member Jim Miranda of Bella Vista, a community activist.

About 50 people attended the invitation-only forum. Other panelists were: Kathy Deck, an economist at the university; Sen. Dave Bisbee, R-Rogers; and Rick Schaffer, spokesman for the Springdale School District. Topics addressed included immigration's economic impact and education.

"I thought it was staged," said Jeff Burch, a drywall contractor interviewed for The Morning News series who attended the forum. "I didn't think they actually addressed the issues from the point of view of the people who are working. I'm the one getting put out of business. Tonight, I heard more politicians and bigwigs saying the same things I've heard before."

State Rep. Jon Woods, R-Springdale, said the 30-minute forum did not provide enough time for a meaningful discussion.

Sarah Faitak of Fayetteville said she thought the discussion on the different options in the 287(g) program was the most interesting part of the discussion. She said Womack's use of the Francis case undermined the point he was trying to make. The person found to be in the country illegally, by Womack's admission, had been pulled over and arrested before, she said. Therefore, the approach being used in Springdale would have had the same effect, she said.

Rey Hernandez, president of Council 754 of the League of United Latin American Citizens, said most people in the country illegally are the children and wives of workers who are in the county legally, and the laws should not "make criminals out of children who were brought here by their parents." He also said that it was wrong to "tell someone 'I want your labor, but I don't want your family.'"

Reader Comments (11 comment(s)) The following comments are provided by readers and are the sole responsibility of their authors. The Morning News does not review comments before their publication, nor do we guarantee their accuracy. By publishing a comment here you agree to abide by our comment policy. If you see a comment that violates our policy, please notify the web editor.

" Yes, unfortunately Mr. Burch, that's all you are going to hear from them too. VOTE FOR TOM TANCREDO. He is the only candidate who will secure our borders and crack down on illegal aliens. "

" Ron Paul is very good also. The meeting stunk Springdale is controlled by the very company,s who are hireing the illegals their police chief has to tip toe as she will find herself out of a job if she backs the law as it is written "

" I didn't even know this was coming up. Guess I don't watch enough ABC TV. Seems from the article and comments I didn't miss anything? My question is this.. Why is the U of A used for a forum that is not open to the public and by invitation only? Is it becasue they don't want to hear how "We the People" feel about illegal immigration? I already felt 40/29 was bias toward illegals and this just seems to prove that feeling? Pilot has a point about Springdale. ICE needs to come up here in force and go to every chicken plant and, construction site and landscaping company and ID all of them. I sepent the day in Rogers and Bentonville yesterday and saw nothing but hispanics cutting grass and working contruction. I bet I could have deported 100 people yesterday. This is just all too strange in my thinking. Our elected officials have turned their backs on the ones that put them in office. "

" A big problem that I see constantly regarding this issue and a lot of the press is that they tend to lump both legal and illegal immigration under the immigration banner instead of separating and dealing with the two topics and their issues independently. I watched one segment on 40/29 and they did just that type of lumping. I missed the debate cited in this article though because I am on Dish and dont get the local channels at present........I also watched the Republican debate on Fox the other night, and with respect to all the candidates there were only two that I really found as far as republicans go that I think would get the job done on many of the issues and that was Guliani (sp?)and Tancredo (sp?). Ron Paul hung himself last night which I found quite comical. Anyway what the politicians and the press need to do is focus on both issues independently and for what they are and correct the problems in both areas. Most of all the current immigration laws we have in place need to be enforced as they are written, and ICE needs to cooperate in the way they are supposed to........... "

" Cont'd.................................The 287(g) program is a start. I have had discussions with others on illegal immigration and one question that always came up is that if we did identify all the illegals how would we transport them all back to and across the border? Well there are lots of alternatives there and of course the cost issue always comes up but one cheap way would be to borrow a school bus from each district to use for transport, just one thought and other than the cost of fuel and food it would be a lot more negligible than say charter buses................In the mean time we could be bolstering the border security force and quit trying to throw every border guard that does their duty in prison when they do so. Illegal immigration is not an issue that we can be soft on, Mexico sure is not soft on it, yet they expect us to be? lol give me a break. "

" The elected officials of this country have forgotten they work for us,not the illegal aliens in this country,or the countries they came from,or big business.It's time for the citizens of this country to start taking action.Vote out these politicians who aren't listening to the wishes of the citizens,and replace them with ones who will.If the citizens of this country would take to the streets in protest like the illegal aliens have,maybe then the powers that be would pay attention to us,but people here have become too complacent thinking our elected officials will do the right thing.I question who they are doing the right thing for? I'm tired of the term racist when it doesn't apply to reverse discrimination.I'm an American citizen who's tired of watching this countries constitution and laws being ignored.This has gone beyond a few thousand illegals coming here to work,to an all out invasion of this country.It has to stop,or the United States of America will cease to be. "

" americans breaks the law we have to pay the price. we get fined, jailed, put on probation, and etc. illegal means do it and u r breaking the law. what is the problem with our government? don't they know they have sworn to uphold the law and the constitution of this country of ours? illegals come to this country knowing full well they r breaking american laws. but they don't care or respect the laws of our land. all our government has to do is enforce the laws that r all ready in place. "

" but... by enforcing the immigration laws, they will loose votes from the american born children of illegals. there is big money going to our government via illegals. it makes me ask, "what does our government owe the mexican government?" i ask that cuz it seems like the mexican government doesn't really attempt to prevent their people from sneaking across our borders. why don't our government put the thumb down on the mexican government and make them do something more drastic on their side of the border? "

" why does bush go to mexico and kiss mexico's president's rear when it comes to immigration? why do we have to explain why we r building a fence? why do we have to worry about the constitutional rights of illegals in this country when by law non americans have no constitutional rights? heck most americans don't have rights when it comes down to it. any body who brings illegals across our borders should be punished. it's a sad situation for americans. we r bound by the law, but.... illegals and mexico isn't. why? "

" It's not a true forum if it was only 30 minutes long. Who could discuss anything in that short time period? "

" Rey Hernandez better get his facts straight. Of course his agenda is obvious to anyone who cares to pay attention. He tries to play on our sympathies by bringing the issue of children into this hotly contested debate. I'm sorry sir in a battle of any kind there is always going to be what they call collateral damage. There is a war going on all over our country about who is going to control the things that make America what it is. Our language, culture, government, customs,and freedom are all at stake here. I too wonder why the common man did not get a voice in these proceedings. There was not enough balance to the forum. I think commoners from both sides should have been allowed to participate. It was not what they call a level playing field. It did seem to me to be a bit of bias. "

This other debate last night may have been local but it was on a national problem. Oh yeah, once again the word illegal is implied in front of the word immigrant.

When questioned about her residency, she gave her maiden name instead of her married name to authorities. Since the name she gave was not the one listed in government databases, she spent the night in jail and amassed $5,000 in legal fees ...

When in Rome....

I have no sympathy for this woman.

Use one name and stick to it.

This is how Mexicans evade our attempts to determine their identity, by use of both paternal and maternal surnames.

That wasn’t a debate, 30 minutes. This is from a paper that won’t print the names of Hispanics in many cases because they know it will start problems locally. There many Hispanics in the area at the chicken plants and the schools, hospitals and courts are strained because of it.

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