Latinos and people with brown complexions are being profiled by Border Patrol agents who board buses and trains across upstate New York, demand to see proof of citizenship, detain lawful citizens and trample constitutional rights, the New York Civil Liberties Union charged in a critical report released Wednesday.
The report, "Justice Derailed," described a University of Rochester student from Pakistan who was riding an Adirondack Trailways bus to Albany when Border Patrol agents boarded the bus and questioned him about his citizenship status. The man showed his student ID, but he was arrested and detained for two weeks until a judge released him after he proved he was in the U.S. lawfully.
"We have the right to expect we can go about our lives without having to prove our citizenship. Anyone who looks or sounds foreign is at risk," said Donna Lieberman, executive director of the New York Civil Liberties Union.
"These are overly aggressive policing practices and we reject the position that Border Patrol agents can stop anyone, anywhere, anyplace within 100 miles of a border," said Udi Ofer, NYCLU advocacy director.
The Border Patrol made 2,743 transportation arrests at its Rochester station between 2006 and 2009, the report said. Fewer than 1 percent of those arrested were people who had crossed the border within the past three days. More than 86 percent were people who had lived in the U.S. for one to 10 years.
Of those arrested, 73 percent were from Latin America, 11 percent were Asian and about 9 percent were African. Border Patrol data grouped the people arrested according to complexion categories, with 72 percent "medium," 13 percent "black" and 10 percent "light brown."
"Intelligence-driven transportation checks are one of many tactics utilized to address emerging threats," a U.S. Customs and Border Protection spokesperson said:
Jen Barkan of Albany was riding an Amtrak train from Chicago to Albany in the summer of 2008 when Border Patrol agents got on the train near Rochester, questioned passengers and demanded to see proof of citizenship.
"I know my rights, I'm a citizen and I felt intimidated. It was a shocking intrusion," Barkan said.
"They tell us what they'd like to do and we cooperate as long as it is within 100 miles from our north and south borders," said Cliff Cole, an Amtrak spokesman.
"Immigrants are being detained practically every day in the Capital Region. They're being arrested by city police, county sheriffs and state troopers after traffic stops, based on their appearance," said Fred Boehrer, director of the New Sanctuary for Immigrants in Albany. The local Mexican community, which numbers more than 3,500 people, is often targeted, he said.
Copyright 2011 - Times Union, Albany, N.Y.
McClatchy-Tribune News Service
