CIS ILE: LE Authority to Verify Immigration Status State Trooper makes routine traffic stop. Identifies 14 subjects as illegal aliens. ICE deports all 14. ACLU claims "RACIAL PROFILING". US Court of Appeals finds in favor of Trooper. This program discusses the details and ramifications of the Estrada case.  Access this program NOW.        RATINGS: [SP] [CM] [PA]  Program Description One in three immigrants in the US is an illegal alien. Fifty percent of Mexicans and Central Americans are illegal aliens. More than half of arrivals since 2000 are estimated to be illegal. The Pew Hispanic Study says that greater than one fourth of drug offenders sentenced federally are non-citizens. According to the GAO 27% of the Federal prison population is alien and ICE figures show that 22% of state and local inmates are aliens. The types of crimes illegals commit include human smuggling and trafficking, ID fraud, identity theft, drug smuggling and distribution, gang crime, immigration benefits fraud and illegal employment. The CIS Immigration Law Enforcement series arms law enforcement with the knowledge, information and facts needed to deal with these issues. On July 11, 2006, Rhode Island state trooper Thomas Chabot pulled over a 15-passenger van for failure to signal when changing lanes. The driver of the van produced a valid license, registration and insurance, and said he was taking the passengers to work. Officer Chabot asked the 14 passengers for identification, a routine procedure. None had legitimate identification documents and they admitted to being illegal aliens. Chabot conducted a standard background check on the driver, which came back clean. He contacted ICE’s Law Enforcement Support Center and three minutes later the Providence ICE office called back. Chabot escorted the van to the ICE office. All 14 passengers were arrested for immigration violations. The Rhode Island chapter of the ACLU saw this as a blatant case of racial profiling and unlawful discrimination and filed a lawsuit. U.S. District Judge Mary Lisi and a panel of three U.S. Court of Appeals judges found in favor of Trooper Chabot. On this episode of CIS Immigration Law Enforcement moderator Jessica Vaughn is joined by Michael Hethmon, General Counsel and Garrett Roe, Staff Attorney of the Immigration Reform Law Institute to discuss the impact of this case on local and state law enforcement. This program is pre-recorded but viewers are able to ask their questions and have them answered by our experts via the Immigration Law Enforcement Forum. [Recommend this LEAPS.TV program to a colleague.] Guest Bios Michael Hethmon, General Counsel Immigration Reform Law Institute General Counsel Michael M. Hethmon directs the Immigration Reform Law Institute. Mr. Hethmon specializes in the representation of the interests of United States citizens in immigration-related cases. He has published commentary and analysis on a wide range of immigration-related legal issues. Mr. Hethmon also provides technical advice in drafting effective and constitutional legislative proposals to reform our immigration law to federal and state legislators. He has testified on immigration-related issues before Congress and state legislatures. Mr. Hethmon holds a BA in Near Eastern Studies from UCLA, an Masters in International Management from the Thunderbird Graduate School of International Management and a J.D. from University of Maryland School of Law. Mr. Hethmon is a member of the Maryland Bar. Garrett Roe, Staff Attorney Immigration Reform Law Institute Garrett R. Roe is Staff Attorney for the Immigration Reform Law Institute where he focuses on various issues involving basic and complex immigration-related litigation and constitutional issues arising out of state and local legislation. Mr. Roe holds a BS in Business Management from Central Missouri State University and a JD from University of Missouri, Kansas City. Mr. Roe is a member of the Missouri Bar. Patrick Charles, Staff Attorney Immigration Reform Law Institute Patrick Charles is a staff attorney with the Immigration Reform Law Institute in Washington, DC. Moderator Bio Jessica Vaughan, Director of Policy Studies Center for Immigration Studies Jessica Vaughan is the Director of Policy Studies for the Center for Immigration Studies, a research institute in Washington, DC (http://www.cis.org). Mrs. Vaughan has been with the Center since 1992, and her areas of expertise include: immigration law enforcement, policing and public safety; visa and benefits programs; and state and local immigration initiatives. She is co-author of a forthcoming report describing the public safety benefits of the 287(g) program, and a forthcoming study examining the incarcerated criminal alien populations. In 2008 she directed a Department of Justice-funded project on immigrant gangs. She is an instructor at Northwestern University's Center for Public Safety, testifies at Congressional and state legislative hearings, and is frequently cited in the news media. Prior to joining the Center, Mrs. Vaughan was a Foreign Service Officer with the U.S. State Department, where she completed consular and administrative assignments. Mrs. Vaughan has a master 's degree in government from Georgetown University and earned her Bachelor 's degree in international studies at Washington College in Maryland. She telecommutes to CIS from her home in Franklin, Massachusetts. Her web log (blog) can be viewed at http://cis.org/blog/13. Advisors   > Tom Wilson, Program Advisor         Program Director, Northwestern University Center for Public Safety Sponsored by This program is being made available at no charge to the law enforcement and public safety community thanks to the generous support of The Law Enforcement And Public Safety Channel.