ACLU: Report documents racial profiling in Cobb

By Andria Simmons

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

The American Civil Liberties Union of Georgia on Monday released a report documenting the stories of 10 people who say they experienced racial profiling by Cobb County law enforcement.

A spokesperson for the organization said the report shows the human impact of the 287(g) program at the Cobb County jail, a partnership with the Department of Homeland Security which allows deputies to check the immigration status of inmates. Inmates who are in the country illegally are turned over to Immigration and Customs Enforcement to begin deportation proceedings.

"Cobb police have abused the power granted to them under 287(g)," Azadeh Shahshahani, an ACLU of Georgia spokesperson, told about 15 people who huddled in the Marietta square during a rain-soaked morning press conference. "This has led to an atmosphere of terror where immigrants are afraid to contact police."

Many of the personal accounts involve people who were arrested for driving without a license after being stopped for committing a minor traffic offense. The drivers felt the real reason they had been pulled over was that they appear to be Latino.

According to one account, "Federico" was stopped for having a malfunctioning brake light on a Saturday afternoon while driving home with his family from a trip to the park. He was arrested for driving without a license and spent 18 days in jail. The report doesn't state which police department made the arrest.

Federico stated he had been stopped many times while driving in Cobb County. He said he was aware of many other Latinos that also had been pulled over "for no good reason."

A spokesperson for the Cobb County Sheriff's Office could not immediately be reached for comment Monday afternoon. About 70 state and local law enforcement agencies in the United States have formed 287(g) partnerships. Cobb County was the first local law enforcement agency in Georgia to implement the program in July 2007.

Hall and Whitfield counties signed agreements last year, and Gwinnett is soon to follow.

The ACLU of Georgia's report was aimed at convincing the government to halt the controversial program.

On the opposite side of the square, a group on the opposite side of the immigration debate held an informal rally to show support for 287(g). About 10 people were in attendance.

"Illegal immigration is not a race issue," said Inger Eberhart, who is on the board of the Dustin Inman Society, an anti-illegal immigration organization. "It is an issue of enforcing immigration law."

Eberhart, who is black, said the ACLU of Georgia was "race baiting" and hijacking the civil rights struggle of the recent past to further its goal of ending 287(g).

The release of the report this week coincides with an Oct. 15 deadline for the public to submit to the Department of Homeland Security comments about existing 287(g) agreements. The DHS is in the process of updating its agreements with participating law enforcement agencies.