A group of five demonstrators gathered Thursday outside of the Lowndes County Courthouse, alleging the sheriff’s office is racially profiling Hispanic community members.
Julia Chavez, of Caledonia, who organized the gathering, said the goal of the demonstration was to advocate for members of the Hispanic and immigrant communities who are facing discrimination from law enforcement and other citizens in the county.
“There’s just a lot of mistreatment that has been going on, and my goal is to let people know that we are tired and we don’t want to be mistreated,” Chavez told The Dispatch.
Chavez accused LCSO of unfairly arresting, detaining and reporting undocumented immigrants to the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. She said the fear of law enforcement and deportation has the Hispanic community – especially immigrants – on edge.
“They’re afraid to go to the grocery store. They’re afraid to go out. They live in fear more than ever now,” she said. “They call it chisme. Chisme is the gossip. The gossip of the town right now in Columbus is do not leave. Don’t go outside. Don’t drive. Don’t do anything. Because as soon as the police see you, they’re taking you and they’re deporting you.”
Sheriff Eddie Hawkins told The Dispatch his office doesn’t deal with undocumented immigrants very often.
“I mean, we get one or two (cases of undocumented immigrants) every six months or so,” he said. “It’s not that big of a problem.”
Hawkins said the office’s policy for handling those cases is the same each time. If an immigrant who is in the country illegally commits a crime, they are brought to the Lowndes County Adult Detention Center like anyone else, he said.
“Once they’re here at the jail, then we determine who they are (and) where they’re from,” he said. “… If they’re here illegally or undocumented, then (we) notify ICE. We don’t have a choice. That’s the protocol.”
It’s up to ICE whether to place a hold on the person at that point, he said. If ICE doesn’t place any holds, the inmate can make bond or pay assessed fines. If a hold is placed, ICE sends someone to pick up the inmate from the detention center, Hawkins said.
“They take them to their holding facility, which is in Jackson,” Hawkins said. “(ICE) determines whether or not they’re going to deport them or verify their documentation and let them go from there.”
Aside from being required to contact ICE, Hawkins said the sheriff’s office has no jurisdiction over whether an undocumented immigrant is deported, and deputies aren’t out searching for immigrants to report. So, if they aren’t detained for a crime, the sheriff’s office has no reason to check a person’s citizenship or immigration status.
“We’re not out here looking for business,” he said.
Carrying a sign reading “Love all, love for all,” Chavez said she hoped the demonstration would serve as a reminder to treat others with respect despite their heritage.
“Just treat us like we’re human,” she said. “… My ultimate goal would be to ask the community just to show love. Teach your children to love people that don’t look like them and don’t talk like them.”
McRae is a general assignment and education reporter for The Dispatch.
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