TPD WAS WRONG TO INVOLVE BORDER PATROL

Our view: When The Community Is Afraid To Ask Police For Help,
We All Suffer

The Tucson Police Department undermined its credibility last week by
getting immigration authorities involved in a minor drug-possession
incident at Catalina High Magnet School.

The incident led to the deportation of a 17-year-old boy, his
12-year-old brother and their parents, who were all illegal
immigrants, the Star's Brady McCombs reported Tuesday.

We don't condone the teen's alleged transgression aE" the student had
a small amount of marijuana in his backpack, said a Tucson Unified
School District official - nor the fact that the family was in the
country illegally. Also, the immigration officials who went to the
school were only doing their jobs by enforcing immigration laws.

The incident is regrettable because we fear it will create mistrust
of the Police Department in the immigrant community and could hinder
crime-fighting efforts in our city.

The good to come out of the affair is that on Tuesday, following a
protest march by dozens of Catalina High students, the Police
Department and TUSD came up with a new policy in which police will no
longer summon Border Patrol agents or immigration authorities to
school grounds.

However, the damage may already have been done.

We have stated on this page previously that it is unwise for police
to enforce immigration laws. First and foremost, illegal immigration
is a federal issue that is best left to federal authorities. Police
departments don't have the resources to effectively become de facto
border agents and already have enough responsibilities trying to keep
the community safe.

Just as important, we believe that to be effective, Tucson's police
need to be able to cooperate with the entire community. Episodes like
the one at Catalina High could make one segment of the population
very suspicious of police - if it wasn't already.

Illegal immigrants who are witnesses to illegal activities or victims
of crime may decline to seek help from police. They may also go out
of their way to avoid coming into contact with officers under any
circumstances for fear of being shipped out of the country.

The distrust could lead to more crimes because outlaws who might
otherwise be caught with the community's cooperation could remain on
the street. That's bad news for everyone - illegal immigrants, legal
residents and U.S. citizens.

Illegal immigrants might also become bigger targets for crime if
perpetrators begin to assume their victims will be less likely to
seek help from authorities.

The first ripples of distrust were seen Tuesday when about 100
Catalina High students marched to the federal building and police
headquarters Downtown to protest the deportation of the teen and his
family.

"Some students aren't going to school because they don't feel safe.
We can't have this at schools," student Lizeth Grijalva, 17, said in
a Star story Wednesday.

Student Mario Portillo, 16, told the Star, "I still think the Police
Department shouldn't be allowed to ask someone about their
citizenship. That's not their job. Their job is to keep us safe and
ensure our rights."

Roberto VillaseA1or, Tucson's assistant police chief, said in
Tuesday's Star that the department isn't interested in its officers
becoming immigration agents. However, by getting immigration agents
involved in routine police matters, that's exactly what they become.

In the eyes of some Tucsonans, the Police Department is less
trustworthy today than it was last week. The promise to not call
immigration agents to school might lessen some fears, but it may
already be too late.