Posted on 01/28/2003 7:57:53 PM PST by Abar
To the cheers of immigrant-rights advocates, the Seattle City Council yesterday adopted a "don't ask" policy prohibiting police and other city workers from asking about the immigration status of people they come in contact with.
The ordinance, sponsored by City Councilman Nick Licata, was touted as a symbolic rejoinder to the Bush administration's war on terrorism, which critics argue has eroded important civil liberties, especially for recent immigrants, both legal and illegal.
"It is just an incredibly frightening time," said City Councilwoman Judy Nicastro.
While there was no visible opposition to the ordinance yesterday, some police officers have questioned the wisdom of the measure, saying it is just one more restriction placed on their ability to fight crime.
The measure is intended to reassure immigrants that they can call the police or seek other city services without fear that they will be asked to prove their immigration status. It was applauded by dozens of immigrant-rights activists who attended the council vote yesterday.
"In this climate of secret detentions and special registration, it's clearly important to have a city council that takes a strong proactive stance," said Anita Sinha, attorney with the Northwest Immigrant Rights Project.
The ordinance, which passed 9-0, is believed to be among the strongest of its type in the country. It says that unless otherwise required by law, no city employee or officer shall "engage in activities designed to ascertain the immigration status of any person."
An important exception is that police officers may investigate a person's immigration status if they have "reasonable suspicion" to believe the person has previously been deported and has committed a felony. Police may also assist Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) agents as required by law.
U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft last year floated the idea of deputizing local police forces to enforce immigration law — a notion that drew widespread criticism from many big-city police departments that said the job was best left up to the INS.
The California Police Chiefs Association criticized the proposal, along with police officials in Dallas, Denver, Miami and other cities. And The New York Times reported last month that nearly two dozen cities have passed resolutions urging federal authorities to respect the civil rights of citizens as they pursue the war on terrorism.
"It (immigration) is a federal matter and will remain a federal matter," said City Councilman Jim Compton. He and others took pains yesterday to say the ordinance was largely symbolic because city workers and police do not currently try to enforce immigration laws.
Police Chief Gil Kerlikowske [Abar: 5th columnist. Belongs to same gun ban group as Traitors McDermott, Murray, and Sims] issued a directive last June telling officers not to stop people or check their identification merely to see whether they were illegal immigrants. The directive noted that departmental training and policy have dictated similar practices since 1991.
But immigrant-rights advocates say contrary to that longstanding policy, Seattle police do sometimes inquire into the immigration status of people in ways that might violate the ordinance approved yesterday. Certain police incident reports appear to bolster that claim.
For example, on Jan. 9, Seattle police stopped a man for jaywalking in front of a patrol car. The man, Ramon Astul-Aviles, "was checked and found to be a prior deport" from the U.S., according to a police incident report. He was then interviewed by an INS agent, arrested and sent to an INS holding facility.
In another incident last March, before Kerlikowske's June directive, police busted several people for drinking beer in Occidental Park. Three were found "per check with INS" to be in the country illegally, according to a police report. They were detained "at the request of INS" for deportation.
A police spokesman did not return a phone call yesterday for comment on the incidents.
Pramila Jayapal, executive director of Hate Free Zone, said the incidents appear troubling.
She said the key question is whether police had "reasonable suspicion" — beyond the suspects' skin color or accents — to call INS and ask whether they were illegal immigrants.
"It's like stopping a black person on the street and saying we're suspicious of you because black people commit crimes," she said.
Jim Brunner: 206-515-5628 or jbrunner@seattletimes.com.
No, being black is not illegal, whereas being an illegal immigrant IS illegal!
(...and to think these people claim to be english majors!...)
KerlikowskeIs that the same police chief who stood on top of the building with the mayor during Mardi Gras a couple of years ago, after ordering his officers not to interfere, and watched a mob of drunken lowlifes kill an innocent young man in cold blood?
I would imagine it might have something to do with how much English a person speaks or understands. If the police are asking somebody a series of questions and the suspect keeps responding by either shrugging his shoulders or saying "Que?", then the police would probably be justified in doing a more thorough check on that person, and that includes checking his immigration status.
He's also known for letting anarchists & leftists march on and shut down I5, our interstate.
The majority of rank and file voted "no confidence" in him.
Komrade Governor Locke, the fool who gave the State of the Union rebuttal last night is also a 5th columnist. He belongs to the same gun ban group as Kerlikowske and Traitors McDermott, Murray and Sims.
More shocking news: They are all die-hard Clinton supporters.
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