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Indybay Feature

Santa Cruz Police Cooperate with ICE on Militarized Immigration Raids

by KPFA
As reported and documented by Santa Cruz Indymedia, the Santa Cruz Police Department cooperated with Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to carryout militarized immigration sweeps in Santa Cruz County.
Listen now:
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Correction: The audio states Mayor Cynthia Matthews, but should correctly state Mayor Cynthia Chase.

[ Audio: 3:42 minutes ]

Photos | Highly Militarized ICE Raids on California's Central Coast
https://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2017/02/15/18796534.php

Eyewitness Reports | Raids on Santa Cruz Immigrant Communities Cause Severe Damage
https://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2017/02/16/18796559.php

Indybay Feature | Nationwide Ramp-Up of Highly Militarized ICE Raids Includes California's Central Coast
https://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2017/02/16/18796566.php

On Monday, February 13, militarized ICE vehicles and soldiers with machine guns were escorted by Santa Cruz police. They broke down doors, detained women and children, and checked people's immigration papers. Members of the Salvadoran community were targeted for prosecution and deportation under the guise of searching for "gang members."
sm_ice-raids-santa-cruz-feb-13-2017_3.jpg
A militarized ICE vehicle rolls past the famous Giant Dipper roller coaster at the Santa Cruz Boardwalk while terrifying the predominantly Latino community living in the Beach Flats neighborhood.
§Apartment Windows Smashed By ICE and Local Police
by No Raids, No Wall
sm_ice-raids-santa-cruz-feb-13-2017_9.jpg
§Apartment Door Smashed By ICE and Local Police
by No Raids, No Wall
sm_ice-raids-santa-cruz-feb-13-2017_10.jpg
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by Robert Norse
Today's front page Sentinel story quotes DHS spokesperson Schwab saying:

"Several days prior to the operation, our special agent in charge [of the] office notified the Santa Cruz chief of police that any non-targeted foreign nationals encountered during the enforcement actions at the search and arrest locations would be held briefly until determinations could be made about their identities and case histories...The chief acknowledged this possibility and it was agreed that no foreign nationals would enter the Santa Cruz Police Department's facility or their police vehicles.." [See http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/article/NE/20170223/NEWS/170229877 ]

Schwab sounds pretty specific here and may be quoting from a document. One has to wonder whether the SCPD is trying to ge ahead of the outrage, if Schwab is accurate with this sudden press conference (that activist and victim Ernestina Saldana was apparently kept out of).

Chief Vogel and Deputy-Chief Flippo claim they had no prior knowledge of this. Who is lying? We need to see all communications between DHS (Department of Homeland Security) and the SCPD. I'll be looking for it, but the community needs to demand it with the same strength of voice and purpose that it did on February 14, stopping the City Council from shutting down speakers.

Those who hold the records, of course, are not the City Council, but the SCPD. If the same strength of purpose were made at the SCPD station as was made at City Council on February 14, we might get Vogel and Flippo to release their correspondence with the DHS and document who's lying and who's telling the truth.
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