Santa Ana Police Department: taking payoffs to jail the innocentRuth Hull In Santa Ana, crime victims are rarely able to obtain assistance from the police when its needed. Police routinely ignore bruises, broken windows, and evidence of extreme violence. Policemen laugh as girls report child sexual abuse. Officers watch as elderly victims of torture are carried into ambulances. After the victims are removed, these officers allow violent intruders to occupy their homes. (Orange County case files: 30-2011-00503154-CU-PO-CJC) The Santa Ana Police Department is taking payoffs from ICE (Immigration and Custom Enforcement) to pick up law abiding people, fitting a racial profile, who have misplaced their identification or documents. Former Police Chief Paul Walters stated, We treat [the jail] as a business.Often these people, mostly Latinos, are legal citizens or residents. Has your drivers license ever been missing? If so, there could be a cell in Santa Ana for you. But only if you fit the profile. Roughly two thirds of the nations immigrant detainees are being held in local jails. Santa Ana has created two special dormitories for the purpose of housing undocumented residents. Families have been broken up. Children have been orphaned. Neighborhoods have been thrown into tragedy by these racist tactics, reminiscent of the American roundups of Asians during World War II. Here, the incarceration is worse than the re-location of the 1940s. The immigrant detention facilities in Orange County are among the nations worst. One of the most touching speakers was Villamar Ortiz, accompanied by her nine-year-old daughter Madeline Peralta. Though Madeline is a U.S. citizen, like her mother, her father Marco was taken by the Santa Ana Police Department on February 15, 2013 and is still being held while the police rake in $87/day for his incarceration even though he committed no crime. Scott Sink gave a scholarly speech about how NAFTA and the IMF (International Monetary Fund) have destroyed the livelihood of Mexican farmers. We force undocumented workers up here and then local police lock them up for profit as part of the prison-industrial complex. It was pointed out that Barack Obamas deportation of almost two million immigrants has broken up families and created a climate of fear across America. Later, even City Counsel members spoke on the need to discuss reform of federal policies. Former Police Chief and former City Manager, Paul Walters,who ushered in the policy of corruption, was firedearlier this year. Other problems relating to the city management by Walters included discrimination against the elderly, the disabled, and crime victims. At the December City Council meeting, it was pointed out that crime victims were being charged for services rendered to perpetrators of crimes against them. Later the utility services of crime victims were cut if they could not pay the perpetrators bills. In her comments, City Councilwoman Michelle Martinez expressed her concerns about the ICE contract and asked for an evaluation of the impact of terminating it. A resolution was being prepared by City Attorney, Sonia Carvolho, who was present at the meeting. Mayor Miguel Pullido asked that one of the members add the issue of the ICE contract to the agenda for the next meeting. It remains to be seen what steps Santa Ana will take to end discrimination against immigrants, the elderly, crime victims and the disabled in Santa Ana. The discussion at the end of the meeting provided some hope that there would be change. Ruth Hull is an activist and writer whose career has included work as a criminal defense attorney, a licensed private investigator, and an educator. linkwithin_text=Related Articles: 