By CARL E. FEATHER - Staff Writer - cfeather@starbeacon.com
Area law-enforcement agencies deny they are targeting Latinos in traffic stops or that they are doing the work of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CPB) agencies.
Veronica Dahlberg of HOLA, an area Hispanic advocacy group, accused area law-enforcement agencies of the practice during a new conference held at Peoples Baptist Church on Wednesday morning. HOLA did not invite law-enforcement representatives to the conference.
Lt. Mike Harmon, of the Ohio State Highway Patrol’s Saybrook post, said about 2 percent of Ashtabula County residents are Latino but fewer than 2 percent of the traffic stops made by troopers from the post are of Latino drivers.
He said the issue troopers frequently encounter in those stops is that they are presented with counterfeit documents, which require further investigation, or the driver admits he or she is in the country illegally. Per OHP policy, the trooper then must notify either ICE or CPB, which take undocumented individuals into custody. Individual OHP posts determine which federal agency to notify. The Saybrook post refers individuals to CPB in Erie, Pa.
Harmon said the post incarcerates an individual only if he or she is suspected of a chargeable offense.
“We do not incarcerate people because they are here illegally,” he said.
Harmon could not provide statistics on how many times CPB was called in 2008 but said the post calls the federal agency “fairly regularly.” He said most of the cases involve Hispanics but only because most immigrants in the area fall into that category.
Dahlberg is no stranger to the Saybrook post. Harmon said she has tried to intervene in individual cases involving illegal immigrants, and Harmon said he has been cooperative in providing information.
“She accuses us of being liars because we do something she does not agree with,” he said.
Harmon said the troopers are just following OHP policy by turning over illegal immigrants to CPB.
“We’re not hiding anything,” Harmon said.
Geneva Police Chief Dan Dudik said he never had heard of Dahlberg’s allegations until they were brought to his attention by the Star Beacon. He said the department does not target Latinos for stops. All traffic stops require that drivers produce identification, a valid driver’s license and vehicle registration information. Because of identify-theft concerns and for other reasons, officers pursue suspicious situations.
If the individual being held is determined to be in the country illegally, then ICE would be contacted, Dudik said.
“That’s not something we’ve done a lot of.”
Geneva-on-the-Lake Police Chief Tim Bruckman said fewer than 1 percent of the traffic stops in the village involve minorities. If individuals being stopped are determined to be in the country illegally, then police call ICE and let that agency make decisions. He said that has happened only twice this year to his knowledge, and he said the number of stops involving illegal immigrants is actually down in the village.
As for targeting Latinos, Bruckman said, “That’s not even close to (being) an accurate statement.”
Ashtabula City Police Chief Robert Stell did not respond to the Star Beacon’s request for comment.
