Castro1

KimberlyCastro
TinaChavez
SeniorInternship
15December2015
PriorityEnforcementinEscondido
Immigration has been a subject that has caughtmyattentioneversinceIwasyoung.Ive
grown up in a community that hasastrongpresenceofpeoplewhoareundocumented.Iveseen
the way fear creeps into their eyes at the mention of the police and the border patrol. I always
wondered why a large portion of the hispanic population was afraid of the police, after all they
are the people who protectus.ItwasntuntilIwasaroundelevenyearsolddidIunderstandwhy
everyone was so afraid. My parents had told me thatmyfriendwouldnolongerbecomingover
because her dad was in Mexico and her and her mom would be leaving to be with him. Hehad
been stopped by a police officer and asked to show his license. Alicensehedidn't have.Eleven
years ago undocumented people werent allowed to have a driver's license yet many drove
regardless of the repercussions. Thanks to Obama, millions of undocumented people now have
theabilitytogettheAb60licensewhichinturnlessensthefearofpeople.
During my internship I learned that people not only feared the police because of
something as simple as getting pulled over, but of something greater. Something I didnt even
knowexisteduntilIwasintroducedtoitoverthecourseofmyinternship.
Our nation isknownasameltingpotbecause ofthediverserangeofracesandethnicities
that live in our country. People have been immigrating from all over the world dating back to
when Christopher Columbus first found our nation. The English settlers were the first to

Castro2

immigrate and create what was known back then as the thirteen colonies. From that point on
America has had many waves of immigrants coming from different places because of various
reasons.
Yet what undocumented people fear the most, which is being sent back to their place of
origin is becoming a reality through the priority enforcement program thats implemented by
localpoliceagencies.ThismakesmewonderhowPEPaffectsthecommunityinEscondido.

Background
America'simmigrationsystemhasevolvedovertheyears.In1790GeorgeWashington
approvedthefirstguidelinesgrantingnationalcitizenship,butthenaturalizationwaslimitedto
alienswhowereafreewhiteperson.Thenin1798presidentJohnAdamssignedanactthat
enabledthegovernmenttoexpelaliensthatwereconsidereddangeroustothepeaceofthe
UnitedStates.Soonafteritbecameillegaltoimportslavesintothecountrybutapproximately
50,000slaveswerestillsmuggledin,makingthemthefirstillegalimmigrants.Asof2011,there
wereabout11.5millionundocumentedimmigrantsresidingintheUnitedStates(Hoefer,
Rytina,andBaker,)andthatnumberincreasingovertheyears.
There are many terms that are used to describe a person who came into the country
without permission, such as Alien and Illegal Immigrant but because someone is in this
country undocumented a lot of the times they think they dont haveanyrightswheninfactthey
have a lot ofthesamerightsassomeonewhowasbornintheU.S.Nomatterwhatyourstatusis,
wheneversomeonestepsontoU.S.soilpeopleareentitledtorightsthatnoonecantake.

Castro3

These rights have been threatened various times through different legislations that have
been passed atboththestateandfederallevel.Whenthegovernment hasthepowertodenylegal
rights and due processtoonevulnerablegroup,everyonesrightsareatrisk.Manyorganizations
have been working together to keep discriminatory laws in states, cities, and towns across the
country overturned and will keep fighting to ensure that such laws stay off the books. These
laws, inspired by Arizonas SB 1070, invite rampant racial profiling against Latinos,
AsianAmericans, and others presumed to be foreign based on howtheylookorsound.These
laws also authorize police to demand papers proving citizenship or immigration status from
anyonetheystopandsuspectofbeinginthecountryunlawfully.
Recently Governor Jerry Brown signed the AB 953 which will prevent racial profiling
and aim to curb the harmful and unjust practice of racial and identity profiling, and increase
transparency and accountability with law enforcement agencies. Racial and identity profiling
occurs when law enforcement officers stop, search, property seize, or interrogate a person
without evidence of criminal activity. These practices not only humiliate and frighten law
abiding Californians, but also divert limited community resources away from evidencebased
policing.
A recentreportbyaCaliforniapolicedepartmentfoundthatblackswerestoppedtwiceas
often as their driving age demographic representation, and that blacks and Latinos were
respectively searched at three and two times the rate ofwhites(CityofSanDiego Police Traffic
Stop Report). However, during these searches, blacks and Hispanics were found less likely to
have engaged in criminal activity.
This report we can see how minority groups are being
targeted,weatheritdbeintentionalornot,racialprofilingisevidentinSouthernCalifornia.

Castro4

Through the AB 953 bill, Immigrants will be treated equally and will not be singled out
simply because of the way they look as well astheirconstitutionalrightstobeequallyprotected
and kept from unreasonable searches and seizures. Although this wont be fully effective until
2018,itisahugemilestoneintheefforttopreventracialprofilingofimmigrants.
Methods
During senior internship I worked with The North County Immigration Task Force
(NCITF). They are a groupofadvocateswhoworktogethertovoicetheneedsofthecommunity
and fight for the rights of immigrants. This group is specifically devoted in the North because
there arent many groups based around here and theyre allfocusedinSanDiego.Theyserveas
a resource for the undocumented community in North County. NCITF also works very closely
with the American Civil Liberties UnionofSanDiegoandImperialCounties(ACLU),weassist
themincommunityoutreachaswellaswithanyeventstheyarehosting.
My interview, since it was informal, took placeinourworkoffice.Alotofthequestions
were aimed to find outhowpep comm hasreplacedsafecommunities,butinrealityit'sthesame
exact thing under a different name. My mentor hasbeenfocusedonPEPCommbecause ithasa
direct effect on theimmigrantcommunity.AschairoftheNorthCountyImmigrationmymentor
PatriciaispassionateaboutstoppinglocalpoliceagenciesfromworkingwithICE.
Analysis
People are losing trust and fear the police because a program. The major ethnicity of
Escondido, according to the 2014 census, is 50.3% Hispanic ( City of Escondido,
Demographics). With half the city being Hispanic, and a large portion of that half also being
undocumented, it is very saddening that there is a government program set in place to detain

Castro5

these people. The Secure Communities program (SComm) which was at fault for driving a
wedge between immigrant community and local law enforcement was abolished by President
Obama, to the relief of manyundocumentedresidentsallthroughthecountry.Inplaceof Secure
communities the Priority Enforcement program (PEP) was installed nation wide. What a lot of
people dont know is that PEP and SComm are the same exact thing but just disguised through
anothername.
When you live in a place where the police work with the government to deport
undocumented people, that strikes fear in the community. People arent going to callthepolice,
especially if the people who have been knownbythecommunitytotargethispanics,willsimply
send people back to their place of origin. They arent going to call the police when they need
them because they have a set fear in place. In an interview with the chair of North County
Immigration Task Force, she talks about her fears and that even when a police officer was
offeringherhelpsherefusedbecauseshewasscaredofhim.

Another piece of evidence highlighting the issues with PEP is in the d

eportations that
have increased by 400% in the last couple ofyearsbecause ofprogrammslikeSCommandPEP
(Kohli, Markowitz, Chavez). These programs rely on the collaboration of the local police
enforcements. The police officers take peoples fingerprints and those fingerprints will be cross
referenced with the immigrationdatabase,thensharedwiththeFBIandpassedontoICEagents.
If ICE agents are interested in a person, they will request the release information along with
personal information or theyll just ask the local law enforcement to hold to hold that person
until they arrive. In Escondido, ICE agents are already stationed at the headquarters so the
detainee process is much quicker. If an ICE agent gets the person's personal information they

Castro6

than know wherethatpersonlivesalongwithotherthings.Inmanycasesthisishowpeoplewho

are undocumented get ambushed by ICE at their homes in front of their family. Without their
help, the Obama administration wouldnt have reached the millions mark of deportations that
have happened (Kohli, Markowitz, Chavez). Although these programs rely heavily on thelocal
lawenforcement,itisuptoeachindividualcitywhetherornottheyimplementit.
ICE pays the local law enforcement to rent out beds for the undocumented people they
hold. The local jail gets anywhere from $200$300dollarsperbedandeachjailrentsoutcertain
amount of beds(Junck, Ruiz, Graber, Canizales). With the amount of people that ICE agents
hold, the local jails make thousands of dollars a year. This can be seen as a positive thingto do
because its bringing money in but at the cost of the local community to lose trust in the law
enforcement.Isthatworthit?
Some would say yes because through these programs we are minimizing the number of
undocumented immigrants that we have in our country. Some would say no because it isnt
morally right and such programs could cause police to disproportionately target an entire
population based on the way someone looks.Thisgivesthecommunity,specificallypeoplewho
simply look Hispanic , to be afraid of the people who are hired to serve and protect the
community. Many times theirrightsmightbeviolatedbuttheymightnotknowoftherightsthey
have.
The US Constitution states that everyone, regardless of who they are, will be protected
underthe14thamendment'sequalprotectionclause.Thismeansthatnostatecan denytheequal
protection of the laws meaning that whether or not a person is a undocumented they havecivil
rights that cannot be violated and have to have equal protection. Like in
Brown v Board of

Castro7

Education,
segregated schools were a norm until a class action was filed stating that everyone,
no matter what race, is entitled to an equal education and under the 14th amendment. Many
undocumentedpeopledontfeelliketheyareasequallyprotectedbecauseoftheirlegalstatus.
Overall, PEP causes the community to lose trust and be afraid of the local law
enforcement because of the collaboration that they have with ICE agents. It defeats the whole
purpose of a police officer who has vowed to serve and protect when they put themselves in a
position in which they arent allowing community members to feel as if that really is there
mission. If people cant come to the police becausetheyare scaredofthemanddon'ttrustthem,
whowilltheyturntoforhelp?
The one and onlywaythatthelocalpolicecanearnbackthetrustofthecommunityisby
removing the Priority Enforcement Program. By removingthisprogramthepolicewillshowthe
community that they arent targeting the Hispanic communityinEscondido.Overtimetheywill
see that this is true and trust will begin to grow. They wont have to fear the people who are
supposedtoprotectthemandtheywillcallonthelocalpoliceintheirtimeofneed.
ActionPlan
Immigrationitselfissuchanextensivetopicwithalotofsubsectionswithinthebigger
realmofimmigration.ThePriorityEnforcementProgramisonelittleaspectthataffectsthe
wholeimmigrantcommunityanditsatfaultforthousandsofdeportationsalloverthecountry.I
stillwanttoknowwhyapoliceagencywouldagreetobeapartofthePriorityEnforcement
Program.Onewaytofindoutwouldbetotalktoapoliceofficer,perhapsthechiefandaskwhy
theydecidedtogothroughwiththisprogramwhenit'snotrequiredbythegovernment.

Castro8

OverallIsuggestthatpeoplewhoareinmyfieldofstudyshouldcontinuetoeducate
peopleontheirrightsagainstthepoliceandtopressurethelocallawenforcementtostoptheir
collaborationwiththefederalgovernmentsoundocumentedpeopleinthecommunityof
Escondidofeelsafeandregaintrustinthelocalpolice.

Appendix
Whatisyourname?
Howlonghaveyoubeenapoliceofficer?
Whatgotyouinterestedinthiscareerfield?
IsEscondidotheonlycityyouveworkedin?
Ifno,whereelsehaveyouworked?
Similarities?
Differences?
Didyouhaveanyotherpreparationotherthanthepoliceacademy?(ExCollege,Army):
Whatwouldyousayisthehardestpartaboutbeingapoliceofficer?
Mostrewarding?
What'sanaveragedayofanofficerlike?
Howmanyarrestswouldyousayyoumakeonatypicalday?
Whatarethemostcommonreasonsforapersontogetarrested?

Castro9

Wouldyousaytheresalotofpaperworkinvolvedorisitmorefieldwork?
Whatgroundsyoutobeanofficerinsuchadiversecommunity?
Howdoyouthinkthecommunityrespondstoyou?
Ifnegative,howcanwechangethat?
Ifpositive,howcanwekeepitthatway?
Whydoyouthinkthecommunityrespondstoyouinthisway?
Ifyouhadntbecomeapoliceofficer,whatwouldyourviewonthelocallaw
enforcementbe?
GrowingupinthiscommunityIvenoticedtheresalotoffearwhenitcomesto
undocumentedpeopleencounteringpoliceofficers,whydoyouthinkthatis?
Howcanthepoliceforceworkaroundthatfearsoifapersonwhois
undocumentedneedsthepolice,theyllfeelcomfortableenoughtocall?
IsthereaprocedurewhenitcomestoD.U.I.checkpoints?
Ifso,whatisit?
Howdoyoupickthelocation?
Howdoyoupickthepeopleyoustop?
Onaverage,howmanypeoplegetarrestedbecausetheyaredrivingunder
theinfluence?
Arethereanymisconceptionsaboutpoliceofficersthatyoufeelarecompletelyuntrue?

Castro10

WorksCited

"DemographicsCityofEscondido."
DemographicsCityofEscondido
.Web.17Dec.2015.
"FrequentlyRequestedStatisticsonImmigrantsandImmigrationintheUnitedStates."
Migrationpolicy.org
.25Feb.2015.Web.17Dec.2015.
Hoefer,Michael,NancyF.Rytina,andBrianBaker.
EstimatesoftheUnauthorizedImmigrant
PopulationResidingintheUnitedStates:January2011
.Print.
Kohli,PeterL.MarkowitzandLisaChavez.
SecureCommunitiesbytheNumbers:AnAnalysis
ofDemographicsandDueProcess:October2011.
Print.
"Text."
Bill
.Web.17Dec.2015.