Some say Hispanics are living in fear

March 27, 2008
by Sherry Greenfield

Immigration supporters say Hispanics in Frederick County are hiding in fear of a new initiative that will allow deputies to check the immigration status of people they arrest.

They are afraid to leave their homes to find work, go to the grocery store, and even attend church.

‘‘From what I hear, people are very intimidated by this program,” said Lydia Espinosa Crafton of New Market, a member of Gov. Martin O’Malley’s Hispanic Affairs Commission. ‘‘People are afraid to go out. People are going everywhere less. There are less number of people going to places they usually go, like church.”

Kerri O’Brien, Casa De Maryland’s manager of legal programs, said she has also heard from Hispanic groups in Frederick County that people are afraid to leave their homes.

And Guy Djoken, president of the Frederick County Chapter of the NAACP, said he knows of illegal immigrants who were arrested by deputies from the Frederick County Sheriff’s Office and sent to Texas for deportation.

But he could not provide specifics about the people arrested, including their names, date they were arrested, or reason for their arrests. ‘‘We have people coming from [immigration] organizations in D.C. to help these people and document these stories,” he said.

Frederick County Sheriff Chuck Jenkins (R) disputed all these claims, most pointedly Djoken’s assertion about the arrests and transfers of immigrants to Texas.

‘‘We’re not in business yet,” he said. ‘‘...We do not yet have the full capacity to enforce the program.”

In February, Jenkins announced that his department was accepted into the U.S Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s 287G program, which allows his deputies to check the immigration status of the people they arrest. The announcement set off a firestorm of controversy from pro-immigration activists and groups, including the NAACP and Casa De Maryland, opposed to the idea.

The program moved forward, and 26 deputies graduated in a ceremony held at the Frederick County Law Enforcement Center last month.

The 26 received four weeks of training in immigration law, intercultural relations, and the use of the Department of Homeland Security’s database to identify whether those they arrest are illegal immigrants.

Jenkins said his deputies have yet to arrest anyone under the program, so his office could not have sent any illegal immigrant to Texas for deportation.

Jenkins said the NAACP and Casa De Maryland are trying to incite fear in Hispanics to thwart the program.

‘‘They want to hamper the program,” Jenkins said. ‘‘Guy said he ‘represents the entire views of the NAACP.’ I don’t believe it. ... I believe the people of Frederick County are behind it [the program], and I’m going to stick to my guns.”

Jenkins expects the immigration database needed to enforce the program to be up and running in a few weeks. Once the program starts, Jenkins said his office will keep records of how many immigrants are arrested and determined to be in the country illegally.

Jenkins and Djoken have agreed to meet despite their differences. ‘‘We met with the sheriff last week, and he has agreed to meet again,” Djoken said. ‘‘We may even try to meet on a regular basis.”

Jenkins, however, remains cautious. ‘‘I’ve agreed to meet with them, but I don’t know where it is going to go,” he said.

Source: Gazette.Net