DETROIT – Fifty community members rallied in southwest
Detroit June 11 against racial profiling and harassment by agents of Customs
and Border Protection (CBP). Testimonies were given by Lidia Reyes, Director of
the Latino Family Services agency, and Ramon Morales, a victim of profiling.

“Border Patrol has harassed clients, staff, and even my
husband outside of our community center,” said Reyes, “It’s not right
to target us just because we are Latino. 
This isn’t law enforcement – it’s racial profiling.  Border Patrol should be watching the
border, not bothering people on the streets of Detroit.”

Reyes detailed two instances where Border Patrol agents had
accosted her husband on his way to and from the center; one instance where her
sister, an employee of the agency, had been harassed; an instance where Reyes
and a client were targeted; and a final instance where a convoy of agents
mounted on bicycles circled her agency repeatedly during a Cinco de Mayo event.

Reyes was joined by Ramon Morales, who told his story of
profiling.  Mr. Morales was driving
down Fort Street in Detroit when he was stopped without explanation by Border
Patrol agents.  The agents searched
the car, and subsequently detained Mr. Morales for an immigration
violation.  At the time, Mr.
Morales was recovering from kidney surgery. While in detention at the Dearborn
City Jail, Mr. Morales was denied access to his kidney medication and given filthy
water to drink.

Leaders at the rally called on Secretary of Homeland
Security, Janet Napolitano, who oversees Border Patrol, to immediately rectify
the situation.  “Clearly the
Department of Homeland Security is either unable or unwilling to properly
control their operations in Detroit. 
First, ICE agents were surrounding elementary schools and conducting
illegal searches, now Border Patrol agents are harassing immigrants at
community centers.  Instead of
going after criminals, Border Patrol and ICE seem more interested in targeting
immigrant workers and families. 
This endangers the civil rights of our communities and seriously hampers
public safety,” said AIR Director Ryan Bates.

CBP at the Detroit-Windsor border is already the subject of an official
investigation resulting from reports of religious profiling made by the Council
on American Islamic Relations – Michigan. 
Agents aggressively and unnecessarily detained and questioned innocent
Muslims at the border regarding their religion, worship practices, and where
and who they worshipped.