PUBLIC INFORMATION — A day laborer
support group has sued the Riverside Police Department for records about the
agency's arrests of undocumented immigrants as well as correspondence with the U.S. Border Patrol, reports Sonja Bjelland of the Press-Enterprise.

The National
Day Laborer Organizing Network first requested the documents in May and
did not receive all it wanted, so it sued in July, according to court
documents. A status conference is set for Aug. 26.

The
move followed police and U.S. Border Patrol arrests in January of
undocumented immigrants near Madison Street and Indiana Avenue in
Riverside near the Home Depot store. Day laborers looking for work
congregate in that area. Police officials said they had received
complaints of people urinating in public, riding bicycles on sidewalks
and trespassing.

The request sought records about the
Police Department's plans with the U.S. Border Patrol and
correspondence between the agencies. In addition, the group asked for a
list of people arrested or cited for misdemeanors that includes the
nationality of the individuals, who was transferred to federal custody
and the legal basis for each arrest, according to court records.

In May, the Police Department sent a response stating that the agency
had supplied the records that exist and are not confidential. In that
response, the agency provided a list of the number of employees in the
department by position and the portion of the policy and procedures
manual related to the arrest and detention of undocumented persons,
according to court documents.

The response did not explain why the other records were withheld, according to court records.