What if a police officer wants your social security card in addition to your license and registration when you get stopped for a minor traffic violation? Imelda Esparza, 25, born and raised in Tucson, has experienced this not only once, but twice with the Tucson Police Department.
“The officer was lucky I had my social security card because people have always advised me not to keep my card with me,” Esparza said. “But what would have happened to me if I wouldn’t have been carrying my card?”
According to members of the recently relaunched Migra Patrol Copwatch, the injunction for SB1070 does not require law enforcement officers to ask for documentation as the original bill had called for, but activists say they are still doing so by racially profiling.
The patrols are sponsored by Derechos Humanos and Pan Left Productions who say Latinos primarily in south side Tucson are getting questioned simply because of how they look or speak. Abuses like these happen every day to Latinos, with or without papers according to Migra Patrol volunteers.
The two groups have been collaborating to expose racial profiling on and off for more than 15 years.
In September Derechos Humanos re-launched their Migra Patrol Copwatch campaign, Yo Soy Testigo, which means in English, I am a witness.
Lynda Cruz of Migra Patrol said they seek to, “bring broader public attention to the fear and intimidation experienced regularly by many people living in Tucson, especially in or near Tucson’s south side.”
The Yo Soy Testigo campaign urges the community to call or text message the Migra Patrol so they can send a crew to 
document a questionable situation. The Migra Patrol gets information from the caller on where the suspected abuse situation is happening, they then send out a crew.
Derechos Humanos has released DVDs with footage of some of these encounters and with stories of abuses they have documented. They maintain a database of all cases they think constitute abusive behavior by the law enforcement officers and immigration authorities. The DVD shows video of a Latina women being taken away by the Border Patrol because, according to Cruz, she forgot her wallet with her identification and refused to answer questions about her immigration status without a lawyer present. These are the types of situations Migra Patrol is hoping to expose to the public. Watch video here.
“The community is invited to participate,” said Derechos Humanos coordinator, Kat Rodriguez at the press conference announcing the initiative. “To stop and to call out abuses, discrimination and racial profiling that they have been seeing over the years and more recently with the signing of the SB 1070.”
Cruz said the video footage the patrols take demonstrates that collaboration of law enforcement and Border Patrol existed long before SB1070 and has continued even with the partial injunction on SB 1070. (See side bar for portions of SB1070 that were blocked).
Jason Aragon of Pan Left Productions said that patrols not only document with videotape what they believe to be racial profiling incidents, but also teach the community how to more effectively document human rights abuses.
“We want people to be able to tell their own stories instead of having other people telling their stories for them,” Aragon said. “We want them to be able to see that our perception of Tucson isn’t what we may think and that there is much more going on than people tend to know about.”
The Migra Patrol believes that the only way to make a difference is to document the wrong doings and have the proof to back up the claims in hopes of making a change.
According to Tucson Police Chief Michael Villasenor, there were 10 reported cases of racial profiling among patrols last year, and this year there are only four reported so far.
But Rodriguez says the group believes that TPD gets so few cases because people are afraid to file against the police. “I have yet to do a Know Your Rights presentation without hearing of at least five abuses.”
Derechos Humanos will release reports on abuse numbers and more video footage in the near future, she said.
“We want to hold law enforcement agencies accountable for their actions and let them know that they work for the community and not against them.”
A Night on Migra Patrol
Migra Patrol volunteers normally have no experience documenting police abuse, so they are trained briefly before going out.
Those patrolling are briefed on their First Amendment rights to witness and document so they will feel less threatened by the officers. They are also briefed on basic immigration law and to encourage people to get lawyers if need be.
The trainers tell volunteers that the more they understand about the public's rights, the least likely they will have legal trouble.
Training concludes with video camera instruction along with documentation instructions.
Armed with a stack of “Know Your Rights” cards, they are ready for patrol.
Each patrol is different from the previous one, but all offer great practice, Aragon said.
Generally the group will split up in two or three cars with three or four people in each car. Each person has one documenting responsibility: texting, filming or intervening. The patrol drives around south side Tucson and run down leads if calls come in.
Patrols must also have a "phone person" who stays in contact with volunteers at the patrol headquarters who are receiving the phone calls and text messages from the public.
Aragon points out that if police and Border Patrol know there are ready witnesses to their stops and interaction with local residents, it may prevent future racial profiling abuses.
Molly Reid, 23, is a Migra Patrol volunteer, originally from Rhode Island who moved to Tucson to volunteer with No Mas Muertos. She heard of the patrols and has been on two so far.
“I haven’t seen anything happen yet,” Reid said with a giggle,” I am just doing what I can to help.”
As Isabel Garcia of Derechos Humanos said, “lo mínimo que podemos hacer es ser un testigo.”
