Original Article Couple settle suit alleging profiling Daniel Gonzlez The Arizona Republic Jun. 23, 2005 12:00 AM A Phoenix couple jailed for two hours in 2003 after a Parker police officer mistook them for undocumented immigrants have settled a wrongful-arrest lawsuit with the town for $75,000. Raymundo and Eufemia Espinoza contended in a federal lawsuit that they were singled out solely based on their skin color when they were arrested while dining at a restaurant in Parker on Nov. 2, 2003. The couple, along with Eufemia's brother, Dario Montes, 41, of Lake Havasu City, were jailed for about two hours until Parker police determined they were indeed legal residents of the United States. Montes will share in the settlement. Parker Town Manager Lanny Sloan and Police Chief Rodney Mendoza did not return phone calls Wednesday seeking comment. The settlement comes amid a growing national debate over whether local police should be involved in trying to enforce federal immigration laws. The Espinozas and Montes and his wife, Maria Luisa, had just attended a wedding in Parker when they stopped to eat at Ruperto's, a local restaurant. While dining, they were approached by Parker police Officer Michael Harris, who called them outside and demanded to know whether they were U.S. citizens, Eufemia, 45, said in an interview. Harris was at the restaurant investigating a fight. Eufemia said she told Harris, "No, we are not, but we have papers," to which he replied, "I didn't ask you if you had papers. I asked you, are you American citizens?" The three were handcuffed and taken to jail, Eufemia said. Maria Luisa Montes, a U.S. citizen, was not arrested because she happened to be carrying her birth certificate, Espinoza said. Eufemia said she and her husband, 46, have lived in the United States since they were children and have had green cards for more than 25 years. The Espinozas and Monteses were victims of racial profiling, said Alfred Flores, a Phoenix lawyer who represented the three. "They were asked (about their citizenship) because of the color of their skin," Flores said. "If they were Anglos, that question would never have been asked." Flores said he hopes the settlement will send a message that local police should not be enforcing immigration laws without proper training. Federal law prohibits local police from enforcing immigration laws without prior agreements. "If they want to enforce immigration laws, the enforcement needs to be done systematically and uniformly and by way of agreement with the federal government," Flores said. Earlier this year, the state Legislature passed a bill authorizing police officers to investigate, arrest, detain or deport undocumented immigrants. The bill was vetoed by Gov. Janet Napolitano. Most local police departments across the country have resisted trying enforce immigration laws out of concern it will damage community relations and hurt efforts to fight crime and divert limited resources, said Angela Kelley, deputy director of the National Immigration Forum, a Washington, D.C., immigrant advocacy organization. A few agencies, however, have entered partnerships with the federal government to train some officers to enforce immigration laws as part of focused efforts to combat gangs and other specific crimes, she said.