by ABC-7 Reporter Veronique Masterson

CHAPARRAL, N.M. -- Some residents of one Otero County community no longer have to feel intimidated by local authorities.

There have been allegations the Otero County Sheriff's Office is targeting Hispanics in Chaparral. Although the sheriff did not return ABC-7's calls, he did speak with ABC-7 when complaints began to surface in 2006.

"At no time do we say, this person is Hispanic, so we are going to pull him over. We work under the color of law. I've made it very clear we don't tolerate anything the law says we can't do," Otero County Sheriff John Blansett said.

Now District Judge Martha Vasquez has ordered Otero County Sheriff's deputies to stop illegal raids, racial profiling and unlawful searches and seizures in Chaparral starting Monday.

Residents said they felt intimidated since Operation Stone Garden began in 2006. The federal program is aimed at finding illegal immigrants in the U.S.

It gives money to local and federal agencies to fight illegal immigration. Human rights advocates applauded Vasquez's decision.

"The residents of Chaparral can feel safe knowing the sheriff can't bust into their home anymore. They can't target them on how they look or target them on the language they speak. They can't try to force them to turn their neighbors in," Briana Stone of the Paso del Norte Civil Rights Project said.

"People should feel free to go around the town and not feel the pressure from the police, just because of how they look," Stone said.