A
Maryland-based immigrant-advocacy group is distributing guidebooks
instructing those targeted by federal immigration agents during job-site
raids not to cooperate with authorities if they are arrested or
detained.
The eight-page, two-color illustrated book lists what rights "people
who are not United States citizens" have if detained by immigration
agents, details what to do if served with a warrant or charged with a
crime, and urges them to remain silent if they are arrested.
The book also says they should refuse to provide authorities with
any information about their immigration status.
Included in the book is a "Know Your Rights" card to be cut out and
presented to arresting agents, showing that those detained choose to
exercise their "right to remain silent, the right to refuse to answer
your questions" and to "refuse to sign anything until I consult with my
attorney."
The book, which features cartoonlike drawings of armed black and
white police officers escorting Hispanic men in handcuffs and shows
babies crying because their fathers are behind bars, is the product of
CASA of Maryland Inc., working with other organizations.
Gustavo Torres, CASA's executive director, has not been available
for comment.
Locally, the organization has been involved in the establishment of
day-laborer sites for illegal aliens, and helped mobilize more than
500,000 demonstrators at the Washington Monument last year for what it
called a "historic immigrant rights march."
Kim Propeack, the group's director of community organizing and
political action, said CASA has "become aware that some segments of our
community" are frightened about the prospect of immigration raids and
may avoid interacting with government institutions even if they have
nothing to do with immigration.
"We consider providing people with accurate information about their
rights fundamentally important to the people we serve, the local
community concerned about public safety, and to the national community,
which has adopted a bill of rights," she said.
CASA,
originally known as the Central American Solidarity and Assistance of
Maryland, is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt, charitable organization established
in 1985. According to its latest IRS public-disclosure report filed on
April 24, 2006, it received $1.14 million in private donations and $1.64
million in government fees and contracts -- $2.78 million in revenue in
the year ending June 30, 2005.
Its
government funds came from the cities of Baltimore and Takoma Park,
Montgomery and Prince George's counties, the state of Maryland, the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the U.S. Department of
Housing and Urban Development.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), in an effort to gain
operational control of the border, has targeted for arrest illegal
aliens and the employers who hire them, describing the strategy as key
in the fight against illegal immigration and protecting the homeland.
The agency removed nearly 200,000 illegals from the country in
fiscal 2006, a 10 percent increase over fiscal 2005. There were more
than seven times as many job-site enforcement cases last year than in
2002. Between 12 million and 20 million illegal aliens are thought to be
in the United States.
"No one is above the law, and we will continue to aggressively and
professionally protect public safety and national security by enforcing
the nation's immigration and customs laws," ICE spokesman Marc Raimonde
said.
Rep. Dana Rohrbacher of California, ranking Republican on the House
investigations and oversight subcommittee, said distributing materials
that teach illegal aliens "how to circumvent the law" suggests that
CASA
is "aiding and abetting criminal activity."
Mr. Rohrbacher called the
CASA book program
"harmful to America."
Demos Chrissos, who co-founded Citizens Above Party
in Maryland to investigate suspected links between illegal immigration
and widespread voter fraud, said the book's distribution warranted an
investigation to determine whether taxpayer funds were being used to
advance CASA's agenda.
"Is CASA using the people's money to fund their own agenda and is
that not worthy of an investigation?" Mr. Chrissos said. "I'd like to
see how they justify putting out a publication on how to skirt U.S.
immigration law."
The CASA book advises those facing arrest not to lie to immigration
agents, warns against using false documents and urges them not to carry
papers from another country because they could be used in a deportation
proceeding.
The book says that during a job-site raid, immigration agents need
to have a warrant signed by a judge and urges those at the site: "Stay
calm. Do not run. This may be viewed as an admission that you have
something to hide."
It says immigration agents and police cannot make arrests unless
they have a warrant or evidence of nonresidency, adding: "Do not tell
immigration your immigration status or where you were born." If
confronted with a search warrant, the book advises: "Do not open the
door. Ask the officer to slip the warrant underneath the door" to avoid
giving agents the impression that they have "consent" to enter.
The book says those arrested should demand their right to a
telephone call, contact their foreign consulate, and be aware that
formal charges have to be brought within 48 hours or they have to be
released.
It also says government agents may try to "intimidate" those
detained into signing documents and warns: "Don't let yourself be
tricked. You may be signing away your right to a hearing before an
immigration judge."
