By Aurelia Fierros, LA Border and Immigration Examiner
The Examiner
January 4, 2009
Technology is now in all existing fields of life. The immigration phenomena for long considered as an issue tossed to the back burner of the U.S. political agenda, is no exception. Curiously, now that there is a more tangible effort to advance towards an immigration system overhaul, is when more devices and applications are being used in aid of undocumented immigrants.
From a cell phone that includes a GPS system that guides those sneaking into the U.S. to water reservoirs, so they don’t die dehydrated in the desert; to text warnings of immigration raids, for those already here. Whether this can be considered as humanitarian help or simply a crime is debatable, but the fact is technology is being used both ways: to help undocumented immigrants remain safe during their desert trek, as well as to catch them in the attempt. Law enforcement’s technology used in the border is another ball game. Too sophisticated to compare.
However, the latest report of technology usage for this matter came from Phoenix, where a local advocate for immigrant and civil rights, has started a text messaging campaign warning about crime sweeps by a high-profile Arizona sheriff.
Lydia Guzman, director of the nonprofit immigrant advocacy group Respect/Respeto, is alerting within minutes to the details of the sweeps, as part of an effort to warn Latinos and others about racial profiling by sheriff's deputies.
Phoenix Deputies have been accused of stopping Hispanics, including citizens and legal immigrants, for minor traffic violations to check their immigration status.
In his own defense, Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio has said his deputies do not engage in racial profiling, and that he publicizes his crime sweeps ahead of time. Referring to the text warnings Arpaio said the Respect/Respeto group is in favor of open borders and that in any case, such campaign is not interfering with the MCSO operations as the outcome of his raids often result in arrests of a “good number of people, including illegal aliens."
The sheriff added this group is walking a fine line between exercising free speech and breaking the law by helping immigration violators avoid detection, and possibly even warning human-smuggling organizations.
Controversial Sheriff Arpaio has conducted 13 sweeps since March 2008, arresting 669 individuals, about half of whom were held on immigration violations. Meanwhile, the texting campaign warning about Arapio’s crime sweeps will continue.
http://www.examiner.com/x-9270-LA-Border-and-Immigration-Examiner~y2010m1d4-Technology-and-immigration-from-a-GPS-system-to-a-texting-campaign-warning-of-crime-sweeps
