Report claims immigrants fearful in WA border town
Apr 18, 2012, 8:44 AM | Updated: 10:22 am
A spokesman for the Border Patrol rejects claims Latinos are being questioned about their immigrant status and that people stopped for traffic violations are being deported. (AP Photo)
A new report claims stepped up border protection
is creating an atmosphere of fear and mistrust among the
immigrant community of Lynden, Wash.
The 48-page report claims Latinos are
being questioned about their immigrant status and that
people stopped for traffic violations are being deported.
A spokesman for the Border Patrol rejects those
claims, saying the agency uses facts and federal
guidelines to enforce the law, not profiling based on race
or religion.
The report comes from the immigrant rights group
OneAmerica and the University of Washington Center for
Human Rights. It says the information comes from
interviews and public testimony in the border town.
OneAmerica began exploring what it calls a growing
number of complaints from immigrants living in counties
along the state’s northern border.
Some people in Lynden reject the findings. The
head of a berry farmer’s group says workers are not
being deported, as feared.
