More like "film a federal building, get questioned by police, probably act supiciously since you ARE an illegal immigrant, make sure you stay in a place where they can easily find you a week later when they come to nab you, and then get deported."
-Declan On Mon, Mar 04, 2002 at 08:46:31AM -0800, Major Variola (ret) wrote: > >http://latimes.com/editions/orange/la-000016254mar04.story?coll=la%2Deditions%2Dorange > > ORANGE COUNTY > A Home Video Is Migrant's Error > Law: After 9/11, filming Santa Ana federal > building gets illegal immigrant > noticed. Deportation looms. > > By JENNIFER MENA, TIMES STAFF > WRITER > > The ice cream vendor never imagined that the > FBI would be interested in his home video of > downtown Santa Ana. He was not thinking > post-Sept. 11, an era of new sensitivity about > anyone taking pictures of federal buildings. > > Carlos Vasquez, a Mexican immigrant, filmed the > Ronald Reagan Federal Building for a video he > wanted to send to relatives back home. But the > activity was brought to the attention of federal > authorities who discovered he was an illegal > immigrant and now plan to deport him. > > The FBI said Vasquez is just one of thousands of > people interviewed after Sept. 11 on grounds that > they may know something about terrorist activity. > With the new vigilance, activities near government > offices that were once considered innocuous now > often catch the attention of law enforcement. > "There is a heightened sensitivity to anyone > filming > federal buildings. This sensitivity was not there > before Sept. 11," said Matthew McLaughlin, a > spokesman for the Federal > Bureau of Investigation. > > Vasquez, 35, said he included Santa Ana's federal > building, at 411 W. 4th > St., in his video because it was part of the city's > skyline. The video was taken > with the most expensive item he's bought since > coming to the United States in > 1990: a $1,200 camera bought on a payment plan at > Circuit City. > > While he was outside the building Dec. 6, he said, > his filming was stopped by > security guards and he was interviewed by Santa Ana > police, who wrote > down his driver's license. On Dec. 11, FBI agents > were at his doorstep. > > Within three weeks, Vasquez was sent to an > immigration detention center in > Lancaster for one month, then released on bond. > > Vasquez said he came to the United States 11 years > ago and was hoping to > become a legal resident. He said he had submitted > an application for > residency through his brother, who is a citizen, in > April. He put his earnings at > $250 a week selling ice cream from a 1976 van. > > "What really hurts is the injustice and > discrimination," said Vasquez, in the > room he rents for $350 a month in Santa Ana. "I > came here to work and > make money to survive." > > But McLaughlin said other people who have been > questioned for possible > terrorist activity have also been referred to the > Immigration and Naturalization > Service if they could not prove legal residency. > > In the weeks after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks > on the World Trade Center > and Pentagon, Middle Eastern immigrants who came to > authorities' attention > as possible suspects also were targeted for > deportation if they were found to > be in the United States illegally. > > An INS official said Vasquez's deportation case is > not about whether he > videotaped a building but whether he is in the > country legally. > > "I would put the onus back on the individual. If he > wanted to stay in the U.S., > he should have gotten legal status," McLaughlin > said. > > "We have set protocols. He is not being singled > out. He was taking video of > a federal building. You do not know what his intent > is until you investigate." > > Vasquez said the FBI interrogated him on five > occasions, repeatedly asking > him whether he knew a man who he believes is of > Middle Eastern descent. > > Vasquez said he knew the man only by sight from his > visits to a store where > he bought ice cream for his truck. > > Vasquez said he was given several lie detector > tests. INS records show that > he failed two polygraph tests that were > administered by the FBI. > > Vasquez said he believes he failed because the > questioner kept rephrasing a > question--whether he knew the man from the ice > cream store and whether he > was asked by another person to film the > building--until he answered > incorrectly. > > McLaughlin said Vasquez was not forced to be > interviewed and that the lie > detector tests were voluntary. At any time, Vasquez > could have stopped the > interview or test, he said. > > Civil rights advocates say the case demonstrates > how the new vigilance can > usurp personal freedoms. > > "It's an example of the kind of overaction and > reaction that violates human > rights day in and day out now," said James > Lafferty, executive director of the > National Lawyers Guild in Los Angeles. > > Immigration authorities took Vasquez's driver's > license, so he has been > unable to work. > > The driver's license was obtained legally, before > the state required drivers to > show a Social Security number to get one. > > His brother, Juan Vasquez, 33, a U.S. citizen, has > been helping pay for food. > > "They did him a lot of harm," he said. "It's an > extreme. What they did seems > like it's outside the rule of law."
