Crossposted from STOP THE ACLU , by Jay
This is from the Westerly Sun:
A Rhode Island State Police trooper was following procedure when he asked 14 passengers in a van - all illegal immigrants - to produce identification following a traffic stop on Route 95, state police officials say.
Rhode Island's chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union feels differently.
On July 11, at about 6:30 a.m., Trooper Thomas Chabot pulled a van over because the driver allegedly failed to use his turn signal while switching lanes on Interstate 95, said State Police spokesman Maj. Steven O'Donnell.
After Chabot spoke with the driver, O'Donnell said the trooper asked all the passengers in the van for identification. When none of them could produce a driver's license, he questioned the passengers, who told him they were in the country illegally, O'Donnell said.
The trooper then called Immigration and Customs Enforcement and escorted the van to ICE headquarters in Providence. All of the illegal immigrants are awaiting deportation hearings, said O'Donnell.
So the State Trooper did his job and as a result we have 14 individuals that have no respect for our laws being deported. I can't see what the problem is, but the ACLU are quick to the scene.
The ACLU, however, has since complained that the trooper didn't have just cause to ask the passengers in the van for identification and may have been practicing racial profiling when he stopped the van..
"It's hard to understand why a state trooper who was on radar patrol would go out of his way to stop a van solely for failure to put on a turn signal. If troopers did that everyday on Route 95, they wouldn't have time to stop anybody for speeding," said Steven Brown, executive director of the Rhode Island affiliate of the American Civil Liberties Union. "That at least raises a suspicion that the appearance of the driver or then passengers led to the stop."
I've been pulled over for reasons just as petty as this before and can asssure you that in my case it had nothing to do with race. The race card has become a catch all in today's times to contest the results of anything and everything one doesn't like the result of. The liberals are always too eager to pull this one out of their hat. In all likelyhood this group was just in the wrong place at the wrong time.
The ACLU are most likely barking up the wrong tree with their complaint that the officer asked everyone for their identifications. Precedent doesn't seem to be on the ACLU's side for this accusation as the article states…
"In 2004, the United States Supreme Court ruled that for the safety of the officers, it's incumbent on them to know who they're dealing with when they stop a car," O'Donnell said. "The court ruling establishes that police can ask passengers for identification during a traffic stop."
The ACLU has further allegations including a claim that the officer threatened to shoot anyone that tried to escape while being escorted to ICE headquarters. However the officer is confident that video of the stop will show this claim as false. He also points out that none of the illegals involved in the stop have filed a formal complaint. It seems the only people complaints are second hand and they are from the ACLU.
Ah well, a complaint about the deportation of illegal aliens from an organization that lobbies for completely open borders shouldn't come as much of a suprise.
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Oh & BTW, what will the ACLU say when the FBI finds the 11 students they're looking for? You know the ones that were in the US on student visas but never showed up for their university classes... ???
Well done Trooper!
David, as an immigrant (legal, I assume) you know that we are a nation of laws. Most Americans don't care about the race, ethnicity, or religion of immigrants, they care about two things:
1. Are they here legally? If someone breaks the law to enter (or stay in) this country, that doesn't speak well for their chances to fit in to this "nation of laws" where voluntary compliance with the law is the norm.
2. Are they willing to assimilate? If they are willing to work hard and abide by this nations laws and traditions, we welcome them. If they want to work to establish another political ideology or to cause social unrest, they will probably be happier in another country (and we will be happy to see them go).
So, I'd forget about skin color or religion. And, I wouldn't worry about how American citizens got here, what jobs they are willing to do, or what benefits they enjoy. I would just focus on immigrants playing by the rules (as many do) and working hard (as many do). That is the answer to the problem of illegal immigration.
Let me tell you something about economics. If there are no workers at the price you pay, you have to pay more. Illegals have formed "unions" of a sort, and won't accept less than 15 dollars an hour, in some areas. That isn't a bad thing, but it has to be done within the law. Just don't try to play me with that "slave wage" argument, when there are real slave immigrants being shipped here from China, and other countries that are in worse shape than Mexico. By "worse off," I mean more corrupt, and repressive.
I could go into a long discourse on how the North Korea/China border compares to the US/Mexico border, but I'd be wasting my breath.
Suffice to say, this State Trooper was being more light-handed than any "law enforcement" official in any of the other nations mentioned above.
Let me say, as a member of the ACLU, that some of the commenters here are mistaken, if they believe that the ACLU is in the liberal political camp. The ACLU has provided legal support to various factions of the Ku Klux Klan in defense of their First Amendment rights to hold public rallies, parades, and marches, and their right to field political candidates. They have also come to the defense of Fred Phelps' Westboro Baptist Church, one of the most notorious anti-gay hate groups in the country.
The question of racial profiling is obviously being addressed here. The legal status of the passengers is immaterial. How often are "all" passengers in a vehicle required to produce identification on a routine traffic stop? It has never happened to me. If it is a standard procedure, then it must apply equally to everyone.
Just a note on the borders, our farmers out here in California have a 20% labor shortage. 17,000 dairy cows died out in the fields during the heat wave along with 300,000 chickens. Much of the produce will just rot and we will all pay for it. So you can guess that I am in favor of GW's plan to revamp immigration.
Enforcement of illegal immigration laws usually comes down hard on employees, not so hard on the employers of illegal immigrants. I know of plastics manufacturer in my town who get tipped off weeks in advance before the feds are going to come in and look for violations. They fire all the illegals a week before. After the inspection happens, illegals are rehired. Everyone knows the feds will not return unannounced.
This story was told to me by a Tibetan waiter who was "illegally" working 2 jobs. He had been waiting for over a year to get his green card. Without it he could be deported and any job he gets is "illegal", yet he followed all the procedures to get his card. What is he supposed to do in the mean time?
Dave's point about economic justice was left unanswered. People working their butts off deserve to have a chance to get ahead. Why don't we have a rational discussion in this country about how to deal with our national hypocracy on this issue?
That's all I have to say.
I hate them.
they are evil.