Spanish translation below
DEA and ICE terrorize Latino
communities with racist “operatives”

Tucson April 15- At 8 a.m. in Tucson
terror began in Latino communities. Telephones started to ring and
the word began to spread: raids in the Latino neighborhoods in
southern Tucson. Thanks to the timely communication many people went
to the places of the raids to bear witness to possible human rights
violations of the detained people. Nonetheless, journalists along
with citizens were harassed by DEA, FBI and ICE agents who were
carrying out the operation. Along the length of Sixth Avenue in
southern Tucson, agents began to question and demand identification
from the people of color that were on the street. The agents stopped
in local businesses asking people for identification, they entered
peoples' homes and stopped Latino motorists to verify their legal
status. It seems that the objective of the operation was racial
because the agents in charge of the “operation” were picking
people out because of the color of their skin.

Despite the fact that the Mexican
Consulate affirmed in the news that the “operation” was carried
out as part of an investigation to stop the trafficking of humans and
drugs and not a raid in search of illegal immigrants, the truth is
different. The official version maintained that the “operation”
was centered around the transportation services that travel to the
Mexican border, like the shuttle buses that are under suspicion for
collaborating with the illegal trafficking of people and drugs.
Authorities insisted in maintaining the version of “operation in
search of traffickers” as not a raid. The obvious reason for using
the new name of “operation” and not “raid” is to remove the
stigma of carrying out racial raids in communities and to avoid
opposition and protests from the community.

Although the Mexican Consulate stated
that seven people had been arrested, witnesses affirmed that they saw
agents load between 40 and 50 people into trucks that were later
driven away. Witnesses also stated that federal agents brought
detained people to interrogate them at the offices of the
transportation service “Sahuaro Roadrunner Shuttle,” located at
4207 S. Sixth Avenue. As a local citizen attempted to take a picture
of the offices from across the street, she was intercepted by a
federal agent that demanded she erase the picture she just took. The
vehicles that were used in this “operation” carried police
emblems, some even had license plates from Baja California.

Other human rights observers reported
that after arriving to witness the treatment detainees were receiving
from federal agents, the observers were harassed by the federal
agents. The observers demanded their right to witness what was
occurring to which the agents replied that they did not reserve that
right. The agents also denied the right of the detainees to receive
cards that inform them of their human rights.

Workers from the transportation
companies informed that the agents arrived at the offices, forced
them to get down from their vehicle with their hands up while
reviewing their identifications. After returning the identifications,
the agents impounded the workers' vehicles, saying that they were
under investigation and that after finding they were “clean” they
would be returned to their owners in two days.

It seems that the new tactic of the
United States government is to justify the racist raids in the
pretext of the war on drugs, in a suspicious way that colludes with
the statements of john McCain last April 13 about the border's
militarization due to recent violence.

This is President Obama's new policy to
combat the violence and war that has let loose on the U.S./Mexico
border. Although the official version of this “operation”
maintains that the objective was to detain traffickers, dark-skinned
youth were also detained while they traveled on the urban
transportation SunTran,

Information from different sources
state that these operatives were also paralleled in the cities of
Tucson, Nogales and Phoenix,Arizona.

Tucson Abril 15. A partir de las 8 de la mañana en Tucson comenzó el terror entre comunidades latinas. Los teléfonos empezaron a sonar, y la voz empezó a correr, redadas en los barrios latinos al Sur de Tucson. Gracias a la oportuna comunicación muchas personas fueron a los sitios donde ocurrían las redadas para atestiguar que no hubiese violaciones a los derechos humanos de los detenidos. Sin embargo, tanto periodistas como ciudadanos fueron hostigados por los agentes de la D.E.A. , el F.B.I. Y el I.C.E. Que llevaron acabo el operativo.
A los largo de la 6a Av al Sur de Tucson, los agentes comenzaron a interrogar y exigir una identificación a la gente de color que circulaba en las calles, recorrieron los comercios preguntando por identificaciones, acudieron a viviendas domésticas y detenían a los conductores latinos para verificar su estatus legal. Al parecer el perfil fue racial, ya que no los agentes se encargaron de realizar el “operativo” guiándose el color de la piel de las personas a quiénes detuvieron.
A pesar de que en las noticias el Cónsul de México afirmó que el “operativo” era llevado a cabo como parte de una investigación para detener el tráfico de personas, así como de drogas y no una redada en búsqueda de inmigrantes ilegales, la realidad fue otra. La versión oficial sostuvo que el “operativo” se centró en la investigación de los transportes que viajan a la frontera con México, los “shuttle”, ya que había lo sospecha que estos transportes coolaboran con el tráfico ilegal de personas y droga. Las autoridades se empeñaron en mantener esta versión de “operativo en búsqueda traficantes” y no en redadas. La razón, muy obvia con este nuevo nombre de “operativo” las autoridades se quitan de encima el estigma de llevar a cabo redadas raciales en comunidades, y así evitar la oposición y protestas de la comunidad.
Aunque en las cifras dadas por el Cónsul de México de 7 personas detenidas, los testigos afirmaron que vieron a los agentes introducir a alrededor de 40 o 50 personas en las camionetas que despúes se llevaron. También testigos señalaron que en el local de los servicios de transporte “Sahuaro Roadrunner Shuttle “ con dirección 4207 S. 6th Ave,los agentes mantuvieron a los detenidos para interrogarlos. Al pasar enfrente de dicho local cuando un civil trataba de tomar una foto del local fue interceptado por un agente que le hizo borrar la foto que acababa de tomar. Los vehículos que se utilizaron en este “operativo” carecían de insignias policiales, incluso algunos tenían placas de Baja California, México.
Otros observadores de derechos Humanos reportaron que al acudir para atestiguar el trato que los agentes daban a los detenidos, fueron hostigados por los agentes, los observadores reclamaron su derecho a atestiguar a lo que los agentes contestaron que no tenían ese derecho. Los agentes incluso evitaron que los detenidos obtuvieran tarjetas informándoles sobre sus derechos humanos.
Trabajadores de las compañías de transportes informaron que los agentes llegaron a los locales, que los bajaron de sus vehículos obligándolos a poner las manos en alto revisando sus identificaciones, despúes de proporcionar sus identificaciones, los agentes retuvieron sus vehículos de trabajo diciéndoles que estaban bajo investigación y que de estar “limpios” los devolverían a los dueños en 2 días.
Al parecer la nueva táctica del gobierno de los Estados Unidos es justificar las redades racistas con el pretexto de la lucha “antidrogas”, de manera muys sospechosa con las exigencias del Senador John McCain el pasado 13 de Abril, sobre la militarización de la frontera debido a la violencia reciente.
Esta es la nueva política del Presidente Obama para combatir la violencia y la guerra que se ha desatado en la frontera de México y Estados Unidos. Contrario a lo que la versión oficial de este “operativo” sostiene de que el objetivo fué el detener a tráficantes, adolescentes de piel morena que viajaban en el transporte urbano SunTran también fueron detenidos.
Informaciones sostuvieron que estos “operativos” se llevaron acabo en paralelo en la ciudad de Tucson, Nogales y Phoenix Arizona.
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A continuación el Comunicado de Prensa presentado por la Organización Coalición de Derechos Humanos.
Press conference and Protest
Community Demands Answers from Obama Administration
Thursday, April 15, 2010
2:30pm
Tucson Federal Building
Arizona-- In an unprecedented fashion, today more than 800 ICE agents descended on our communities across the state, spreading fear and panic. Working together with U.S. Marshals, Sheriff and other local law enforcement, they terrorized families and businesses alike.
"The scene this morning on the south-side of Tucson was one of massive show of force, with dozens of agents, police vehicles, and weapons, assaulting our community in a fashion never seen before in Tucson, Arizona. This action clearly demonstrates what we have predicted, that we would all be living in a police state here in Arizona. How can the Obama administration permit these actions while espousing a commitment to 'change'?" stated Kat Rodriguez of Derechos Humanos.
"We demand an immediate response from the President and Secretary Janet Napolitano, as this community is already scrambling from the Jim Crow-type laws coming from the extremists in the Arizona legislature." she continued.
In NYC for a series of presentations about the border and immigration, Derechos Humanos Co-Chair Isabel Garcia faced off against Arizona State Senator Russell Pearce on CNN this morning, calling on the country to begin to properly frame the issue of migration as an issue of economic and political policies, not as an issue of law enforcement or security. "We have permitted Arizona to be the engine for the creation of laws and politicians that will impact every person living in this country," stated Garcia, "with copy-cat legislation appearing across the states."
"It is time that we stand firm with the border communities in demanding real reform, not the principles outlined by Senators Schumer and Graham," stated Rafael Samanez of Vamos Unidos in New York City. "We can see how Arizona in particular has been used as the 'canary in the mines' in order to diminish all of our rights," he continued, "as we can now see these policies impacting all of us across the country."
There will be a protest to follow today's press conference, with a diverse group representing the Tucson community and our demands for answers from the Obama Administration as well as immediate halt to the criminalization of immigrant and migrant communities across the country.