What if claustrophobics were to lobby to become a protected class? Would the ACLU have compassion and request that underutilization of the seatbelt not be a valid criterion for issuing citations in law enforcement traffic stops? Why, no. If one is claustrophobic, they can pay for a psychiatric evaluation and procure an official piece of paper identifying them as such. Not so with illegal immigrants. They don’t need a piece of paper to be let go. In a deja vu article with a fresh dateline, we read again that one of the worst problems the ACLU had with the Jackson County roadblocks was “inadequate documentation of checkpoints.” The sheriff’s office also got in trouble for not embracing silo mentality. Deputies were engaging in “troubling coordination with federal immigration officers.” Although members of the ACLU are satisfied with Sheriff Jimmy Ashe’s cooperation to date, he is not off the hook.
Although the sheriff’s office has agreed to implement the changes, the ACLU will continue to watch the county, [ACLU representative Raul] Pinto said.
“We will be keeping our ears in the community in Jackson County,” he said.
