In the last four years, south side resident Richard Rivera has been pulled over three times by the Border Patrol, and each time he says it’s because of the color of his skin.
He drives a Chevrolet truck with a faded “for official use only” sign that he bought at an auction a few years back. Each time he has been stopped by the Border Patrol he says they ask him if he stole the truck and if he’s an American citizen.
As he loads groceries into his truck at the Fry’s near Irvington Road and Interstate-19, he describes the incidents with clear passion and anger in his voice.
“They’re always rude to me and my family,” he said. “My family has been here for three generations. I hate being asked if I’m a citizen.” South side residents say what Rivera experiences is common and the Border Patrol has almost the feel of an occupying army. It has to do with ethnicity, rather than behavior, they say, and the problem continues without any respite.The Border Patrol is often the responding police agency to emergencies on the south side. Various policing agencies respond to emergency calls if they are the closest units, including the Border Patrol. Because there are so many Border Patrol vehicles cruising the south side, they are often the first to respond, so their presence seems heavy. If an investigation is required, it is turned over to the police with jurisdiction in the area.
Rivera said it doesn’t surprise him anymore when he gets pulled over. In addition, it seems like there are no public officials who care about the problem.
The Border Patrol says they don’t engage in racial profiling, but because the Tucson Sector includes most of Southern Arizona, the vast majority of people they deal with are of Latin American descent.
“We don’t catch a lot of Latin Americans on the Canadian border,” said Rob Daniels, a public affairs officer for the Tucson Sector. “We don’t racially profile anyone – we are looking for anyone who is here illegally.”
Daniels was quick to point out that in the Tucson sector, agents have arrested people from more than 40 countries. He said that last week agents captured five illegal immigrants from China.
The Border Patrol is the largest law enforcement agency in Southern Arizona, with more than 3,100 agents in the Tucson Sector. Daniels said because of the agency’s size, they often respond to routine calls and aid in community policing.
Still, the Border Patrol has different arrest authority from the Tucson or South Tucson police departments.
The Border Patrol can ask anyone for proof of citizenship, and that’s what south side residents say is the real insult.
But Daniels said the agency doesn’t stop people because of ethnicity, but rather for specific behavior like a modified suspension on their vehicle meant for smuggling drugs or humans.
“At first I wanted to call my congressman, but now it feels like nobody is going to listen,” Rivera said.
Tucson City Council member Regina Romero has received complaints from her south side constituents about harassment by the Border Patrol.
But, she said, the Tucson City Council doesn’t have any jurisdiction over the Border Patrol. Her office has a contact with the Border Patrol but she is much better equipped to deal with complaints about the Tucson Police Department.
“Border Patrol agents are doing their work to the best of their ability,” she said.
Pima County Board of Supervisors Chairman Richard Elías declined to comment, but last year when Pima County Sheriff Clarence W. Dupnik hinted that he wanted his officers to have similar powers to the Border Patrol, Elías was opposed.
Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio has received similar permission for his officers, leading to allegations of abuse and racial profiling from the Phoenix community.
But not every south side resident has had a bad experience with the Border Patrol.
Beki Quintero, the president of the Sunnyside Neighborhood Association, said her neighborhood benefits from whatever additional policing it can get.
Complaints about the Border Patrol from Sunnyside Neighborhood are rare, she said.
“I wouldn’t see the Border Patrol always being around as being a problem,” she said. “If someone is doing something illegal – that’s the problem.”
Alessandra Mendez has been stopped by the Border Patrol many times, but each time she says it wasn’t because she was doing anything illegal.
This occurrence, she said, is something that everyone who lives on the south side experiences. She said every time she’s been stopped and asked about her citizenship, it’s because she’s Hispanic.
She said she sees the Border Patrol on a daily basis and at times their presence makes her feel uneasy. She said she has been pulled over a number of times, especially if she drives out to the San Xavier del Bac Mission.
“Sometimes when I’m driving and I see them, I get a nervous feeling,” she said.
“I don’t get that feeling when I see the Tucson cops.”
