Ala. troopers' immigration duties draw fire

In the three years since state troopers in Alabama were empowered to enforce federal immigration laws, they have arrested nearly 200 undocumented immigrants, mostly people they encountered during routine traffic stops for offenses such as failing to wear a seat belt or having a broken tail light.

Alabama troopers say the unusual agreement between the state and the federal Department of Immigration and Customs Enforcement -- similar to the one Governor Romney is seeking for state troopers in Massachusetts -- has been a success. Alabama's governor, Bob Riley, recently requested that more troopers be trained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement .

``Troopers were on a daily basis confronted with situations they were [not equipped] to handle," said Martha Earnhardt, spokeswoman for the Alabama Department of Public Safety. ``Their jobs haven't changed, but this gives them an additional resource."

But the agreement has touched off controversy. Immigrant and civil rights activists contend it has led to police officers engaging in racial profiling, and has undermined immigrants' trust in law enforcement . They say Latino drivers are being pulled over for extremely minor offenses, such as having a torn registration sticker on their license plate or having one tire cross over a lane divider on the highway.

Olivia Turner , executive director of American Civil Liberties Union of Alabama, said that while there has been no study of the effect of the agreement, immigrants and advocates have told her they are being stopped more frequently now.

``It has been abused," Turner said. ``There has been extensive racial profiling. This has put up a wall between the immigrant community and law enforcement."

The agreement, authorized by federal legislation in 1996, has given the extra powers to 44 Alabama state troopers, who were given 4 1/2 weeks of training by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials in laws and procedures, civil rights, and in how to avoid racial profiling.

Previously, Alabama troopers, like their Massachusetts counterparts, had no authority to arrest undocumented immigrants for being in the country illegally.

While only 44 officers were trained for the program, the effect has been more far-reaching, Earnhardt said, because other troopers who suspect someone is undocumented call upon those trained to step in.

The Alabama troopers work closely with officials from Immigration and Customs Enforcement, who complete the deportation processes troopers begin. Those arrested can be held at local jails or in federal detention centers.

Elected officials and immigrant advocates in Massachusetts have criticized Romney's proposal because they believe enforcing federal immigration laws will drain troopers' resources , distract them from their other duties, and harm community relations.

Romney and his spokesman , Eric Fehrnstrom, have rejected those arguments.

While he said he could not comment on criticisms of the Alabama program, Fehrnstrom said extensive training would prevent similar problems in Massachusetts.

``The State Police is a supremely professional organization that conducts itself according to the highest possible standards," he said. ``We are confident that they will carry out this mission in a way that will bring honor to themselves and make the people of Massachusetts proud."

Earnhardt said state police resources have not been strained as a result of the agreement in Alabama.

The first person in Alabama arrested under the expanded powers was a woman who applied for a driver's license in Montgomery, and presented forged documents at the registry counter. A trooper at the registry consulted another trooper who had received the special immigration enforcement training, which resulted in the arrest .

In another case, a man was arrested as he applied for a driver's license in Huntsville; the Korean who presented somebody else's green card for identification had previously been convicted of armed robbery and other offenses, Earnhardt said.

In Chilton County, a trooper pulled over a van for speeding and discovered that 13 of the 15 men in it had no documents, so they were arrested.

Immigration officials yesterday could not determine whether those arrests resulted in deportation.

Immigrant advocates say a desire to root out undocumented immigrants has led to troopers making arrests ``they would never make in other circumstances," said Christine Freeman, executive director of the Federal Defenders Office in Alabama's middle district.

Some of the people she has defended in federal court have been arrested by troopers for driving too close to the car in front. State law calls for one car length for every 10 miles per hour the car is traveling.

``Nobody follows that rule," Freeman said. ``We also had a client stopped for having a registration tag -- that one inch square in the corner of the license plate that says what year it is -- that was torn."

In that case, Freeman said, the trooper arrested the Guatemalan driver for having no driver's license, and for having a false document in his possession.

He was subsequently ordered out of the country.

She said immigration laws should be policed some other way than through traffic laws.

``They're enforcing laws not being enforced against anybody else," she said.

In one case, Freeman subpoenaed all of the consent forms a state trooper had issued to drivers before he searched their cars. She found that half of them had been issued to Latino drivers, even though Latinos account for only 5 percent of Alabama's population.

Turner, of the American Civil Liberties Union of Alabama, said that in early meetings with state officials, she was assured that the new authority would be used only to help fight the threat of terrorism.

Freeman said she was told that the powers would be reserved for use only against ``the worst of the worst" offenders, immigrants with criminal convictions or serious violations.

Instead, Freeman said, she has seen an increase in immigrants deported for civil immigration violations.

``As far as I can tell, it has been used exclusively to catch illegal immigrants and start them down the road to deportation," Turner said.

As a result, Turner said, many immigrants she has met -- undocumented and legal alike -- are now more fearful of law enforcement

Before the agreement was implemented, the state Department of Public Safety made efforts to allay Alabamans' fears, and to educate the community and civil and immigrants' rights organizations about the program to make clear it was intended to target only undocumented immigrants, and only in the course of troopers' normal duties, Earnhardt said.

``If there has been a misuse of authority, we have a procedure in place to deal with that," Earnhardt said.