In the latest press release by the Milwaukee Police Department on allegations of collaborating with U.S. ICE agents fails to address which Milwaukee police officer or supervisor at the scene decided to turn over the undocumented immigrant to U.S. ICE in September without a judicial warrant.
By H. Nelson Goodson
Hispanic News Network U.S.A.
October 12, 2019
Milwaukee, Wisconsin- On October 8, the Milwaukee Police Department released a press release concerning allegations that police do collaborate with U.S. ICE agents, even when there are no active warrants to arrest a suspected undocumented immigrant who is on probation for a Conceal Weapons conviction, despite the person on probation following his probation restrictions. In this case, Jose Alejandro de la Cruz-Espinosa who is undocumented and was on probation had his freedom revoked at the scene where rogue U.S. ICE agents attempted to take him into custody without a judicial warrant. A Milwaukee police officer who was driving by the scene was flagged down by an ICE agent to help them take De la Cruz-Espinosa into custody while he sat in the rear of a truck with his family (two daughters and wife) inside. Additional police arrived at the scene including a police K-9 Unit, who realized that no one at the time had a valid warrant to take De la Cruz-Espinosa into custody.
So what happened, police at the scene contacted his Wisconsin Department of Corrections (WIDOC) probation officer to revoke his probation in order to take him into custody. The WIDOC Probation Officer Minerva Santiago-Gomez revoked his probation and issued a warrant without following protocol and informing her immediate supervisor for his approval before issuing the warrant.
Then after Santiago-Gomez issued a questionable warrant, police took De la Cruz-Espinosa into custody for a frivolous probation violation. If that wasn't enough to realize that De la Cruz-Espinoza's rights were being violated, police arrested him on a state probation violation and then at the scene just turned him over to rogue U.S. ICE agents who also didn't have a valid warrant for his arrest.
The question that hasn't been addressed by Milwaukee Police Chief Alfonso Morales, whose contract is coming up and the Milwaukee Police Captain Paul Lough from Milwaukee 2nd Police District Station is who decided to turn over De la Cruz-Espinosa to U.S. ICE agents without due process for his probation violation? De la Cruz-Espinosa should have never been released to ICE agents without being processed for the violation.
The Milwaukee Police Department press release dated October 8, 2019 indicates that De la Cruz-Espinosa has a criminal history record for fire arms possession, delivery of controlled substances, battery, receiving stolen property, disorderly conduct and obstructing, according to MPD, which De la Cruz-Espinosa's wife disputes.
No doubt, the Milwaukee police officers and supervisors from MPD District 2 at the scene who arrested De la Cruz-Espinoza showed that they violated his due process for the state probation violation and turned him into ICE custody.
Hispanic News Network U.S.A. (HNNUSA) reviewed online court records of De la Cruz-Espinosa convictions, but only the Conceal Carry conviction is posted and the judge on the case never specified that, if De la Cruz-Espinosa violated his conditions of his probation, he would immediately be turned over to ICE for deportation. There are due process procedures in place to protect everyone from abuse by those who take the law into their own hands, and in this case the police officers at the scene violated De la Cruz-Espinosa's rights to due process and Chief Morales should definitely fire all the officers connected to the decision to turn De la Cruz-Espinoza to U.S. ICE agents on September 23.
Also, if the ICE agents involved lied to police to get custody of De la Cruz-Espinosa should all be charged for making false reports to show accountability and to regain the public trust, especially from the undocumented community who are taxpayers and also pay their salaries.
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