Demanda contra el alguacil Arpaio por el uso de perfiles raciales contra los latinos en el Condado de Maricopa
PARA SU DIFUSIÓN INMEDIATA
CONTACTO: (212) 549-2666; media@aclu.org
PHOENIX - El día de hoy, cinco individuos y Somos América, una coalición de latinos de la comunidad, demandaron al alguacil del Condado de Maricopa, Joe Arpaio, a la Oficina del Alguacil del Condado de Maricopa (MCSO, por sus siglas en inglés) y al Condado de Maricopa, con la acusación de que los miembros de su organización eran obligados a detenerse y luego maltratados por las fuerzas del orden público debido a que eran latinos. La demanda de acción de clase, la cual se sustenta en una denuncia hecha el pasado mes de diciembre, se encuentra ante el Tribunal de Distrito del fuero federal en Arizona.
La denuncia enmendada se archivó por parte de la Unión de Libertades Civiles de los EE.UU. (American Civil Liberties Union, o ACLU, por sus siglas en inglés), la ACLU de Arizona, el Fondo Mexicano Americano para la Educación y Defensa Legal (MALDEF, por sus siglas en inglés), y los abogados que encabezan el caso, Steptoe & Johnson LLP. La demanda alega que las políticas y prácticas de Arpaio y el condado son discriminatorias y quebrantan ilegalmente la Cuarta y Quinta enmiendas de la Constitución de los EE.UU., el Título VI de la Ley de Derechos Civiles de 1964 y la Constitución de Arizona.
"En este país valoramos la justicia y la equidad. No tiene nada de justo o equitativo que alguaciles armados obliguen a la gente a detenerse al transitar y a tratarlos de manera diferente debido al color de su piel, " afirma el Director de Asuntos Jurídicos de la ACLU de Arizona, Dan Pochoda. "El Alguacil Arpaio no tiene el derecho de usar perfiles raciales por el hecho que tengan aspecto latino, independientemente de su condición migratoria. Su trabajo es hacer cumplir la ley, no violar las garantías constitucionales de la gente."
El Alguacil Arpaio no ha intentado ocultar el hecho que el cree que la apariencia física por sí sola es suficiente para obligar a la gente a detenerse e interrogarla, independientemente de su condición migratoria. Arpaio también ha hecho alarde del hecho que él ha instruido a sus oficiales a seleccionar a las personas, si tienen la percepción de que son latinos, en las llamadas redadas de supresión del crimen ("crime suppresion sweeps") en barrios latinos y en zonas donde los latinos trabajan como jornaleros.
El uso desenfrenado de los perfiles raciales por parte de la MCSO ha generado una cultura del miedo en el Condado de Maricopa. Los latinos en la comunidad tienen buenos motivos para preocuparse de que una salida al supermercado o al trabajo pudiera acabar en una interrogación por parte de oficiales armados al lado del camino, y su posible encarcelamiento en la cárcel del condado.
Un demandante incluido en la demanda de la coalición, Manuel Nieto, ciudadano estadounidense, fue obligado a detenerse y arrestado en frente de el taller mecánico de su familia cuando la policía oyó que estaba escuchando música en español.
"Fue muy humillante ser esposado frente al negocio de mi familia, en frente de mis clientes y vecinos," expresó Nieto. "No es un delito ser latino ni escuchar una estación de radio en español, pero uno no lo sabría por la forma en que el alguacil Joe y su partida tratan a la gente."
David J. Bodney, uno de los abogados del despacho Steptoe & Johnson LLP, afirmó: "A manos del alguacil, un clima de temor y hostilidad se ha extendido por todo el valle. Se requiere valor y dedicación para que estos demandantes individuales se hayan decidido a hablar en el nombre de la justicia equitativa bajo la ley, para poner un alto a este trato discriminatoriocon el cual viven todos aquí."
Tanto los residentes como los funcionarios del Condado de Maricopa se han quejado que la conducta del alguacil y su personal se exceden por mucho de la autoridad judicial de MCSO y con demasiada frecuencia resulta en el hostigamiento de los latinos. Muchos se quejan de que la obsesión del alguacil con hacer cumplir las leyes federales de inmigración ha sido a expensas del enjuiciamiento de los delitos que verdaderamente son graves.
El alcalde de Phoenix, Phil Gordon, ha denunciado al alguacil, y el mes de abril pasado, después de una serie de redadas por parte de la MCSO en el poblado de Guadalupe, Gordon formalmente solicitó al Procurador de los EE.UU., Michael Mukasey, que iniciará una investigación por medio del Departamento de Justicia en torno a "el hostigamiento discriminatorio, las paradas indebidas de vehículos, los cateos y los arrestos" que efectuaban el alguacil Arpaio y el MCSO entre las personas de origen latino en el Condado de Maricopa. Gordon también declaró públicamente que las redadas estaban interfiriendo con la labor de los policías vestidos de civil y de agentes federales.
"La policía no debe dedicarse a servir de agentes de inmigración, pues al hacerlo arriesgan la seguridad de todos," destacó Kristina Campbell, abogada de MALDEF. "En el Condado de Maricopa, así como en otras partes del mundo, cuando la policía local trata de asumir el cargo de los agentes de inmigración, los inmigrantes y sus familias con frecuencia reciben el mensaje de que deben sentirse temerosos de hacerse escuchar si son víctimas o testigos de un delito."
El aumento en los intentos de la policía local por involucrarse en el cumplimiento de las leyes federales de inmigración ha venido acompañado de un aumento en el número de quejas sobre el uso de perfiles raciales en todo el país.
"Conforme aumentan las acusaciones de discriminación, el alguacil Arpaio sólo se ha aferrado más, y el gobierno federal hasta la fecha no ha hecho nada para controlarlo," explicó Robin Goldfaden, abogada principal del Proyecto de los Derechos de los Inmigrantes de la ACLU. "Desafortunadamente, la intervención de los tribunales es necesaria para que se haga respetar la Constitución."
Los abogados del caso, Ortega Melendres, et al. v. Arpaio, et al., incluyen a Goldfaden y Mónica M. Ramírez del Proyecto de los Derechos de los Inmigrantes de la ACLU; Pochoda de la ACLU de Arizona; Campbell y Nancy Ramírez de MALDEF; y Bodney, Peter Kozinets, Karen Hartman-Tellez e Isaac Hernández de Steptoe & Johnson LLP.
La denuncia se encuentra en línea en:
www.aclu.org/immigrants/gen/35998lgl20080716.html
La carta del alcalde Gordon al Procurador General Mukasey se encuentra en línea en:
www.aclu.org/immigrants/gen/35981res20080404.html
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