A recent report from the Center for Immigration Studies states: “there are over 300 cities, counties, and states that are considered “sanctuary cities” — safe havens for illegal alien criminals. However, when you consider the localities across the country with “unofficial” policing policies, rather than city or county ordinances, a much more realistic number of municipalities and counties, which protect illegal alien criminals from deportation, is much closer to 3,000.1
In 2010, Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli issued a legal opinion that police officers across the state of Virginia could inquire into the immigration status of anyone they encounter during the course of an investigation.
Virginia Beach Sheriff Ken Stolle took issue with that opinion, telling the Virginian Pilot: “Why would a police officer be asking that? And what does he do if they refuse to answer?”
“It’s really a ridiculous issue,” Stolle added.
Of course, for Virginia Beach law enforcement, illegal immigration is quite a touchy issue.
The city’s de facto “sanctuary policy” came to light in 2007, when two teenaged girls were killed by a drunk-driving illegal alien with a long arrest record.
The case gained national notoriety thanks to the reporting of Fox News’ Bill O’Reilly, who helped expose Virginia Beach as a haven for illegal aliens. O’Reilly placed the spotlight on that city’s then mayor, the late Meyera Oberndorf, and Police Chief Jake Jacocks, and accurately characterized the resort town as a place where drunken Mexican invaders are allowed to roam freely.
Immediately after the case was reported, Chief Jacocks went on the offensive and claimed that O’Reilly was wrong in focusing on the fact that the accused was an illegal alien. He accused the Fox News commentator of turning the girls’ deaths into a “political issue.”
However, local ABC affiliate WVEC showed that the police chief was at least somewhat culpable in the tragedy, as they reported that “Chief Jacocks says the policy of not reporting illegals until after three DUI charges was his idea. He hoped it would let illegal immigrants feel comfortable if they were involved in an accident.”
Mayor Oberndorf told reporters, “I never want anyone to miss the fact that someone who was drunk caused the death of two innocent young women, and it had nothing to do with nationality or anyone doing anything inappropriate as far as the government is concerned.”
While the leadership of Virginia Beach has never formally declared the city to be a “sanctuary” for illegal aliens, as the leadership of Chicago or Tucson have done, it is every bit the haven to invaders that those two cities provide. Virginia Beach is dominated by hotels, restaurants, and housing developers, all of which hire tremendous numbers of illegal aliens.
Hotel owners often declare that they could simply not operate without the influx of Mexican and Central American nationals, who can frequently be seen passed out drunk on the beach during the summer. The city has also seen thousands of overpriced cookie cutter homes built in the last several years, most of which have been constructed by illegal Mexican labor.
The building boom turned local convenience and home improvement store parking lots into gathering spots for groups of often drunken Latino men.
While the city is very happy to rake in huge profits in increased real estate taxes, they pass precious little of that revenue on to the citizens. While having a population of 450,000 residents, Virginia Beach still relies heavily on volunteer rescue squads for medical emergencies.
Though city leaders bristled at his accusations, Bill O’Reilly got it right, as anyone who lives in or near Virginia Beach can attest to the unlawful transformation of this once beautiful city.
In December 2009, two illegal aliens (Jorge Alberto Fuertes Loredo and Isidor Loredo Amaya) were charged with murder. When this reporter initially called the Virginia Beach Correctional Facility and asked a deputy about the immigration status of Loredo and Amaya, I was put on hold for quite some time. When the young man came back on the line, he directed me to another deputy. When I called that number and received no answer, I started the process over again.
I was then told that whether or not Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) had placed a hold on the two was “privileged information” and he could not tell me. In fact, until I pressed him, he would not even tell me whether or not the Mexican nationals had been formally charged.
Despite the deputy’s insistence, the suspects’ immigration status is public information, but it was obvious he was only following orders from his superiors.
The rise in crime in Virginia Beach that can be attributed to illegal aliens is no doubt embarrassing to city officials. However, unless the city begins to take seriously the threat posed by the illegal aliens, whom they have welcomed, they will continue to be asked uncomfortable questions as that city’s death toll rises.
Perhaps Sheriff Stolle should tell Ray and Colette Tranchant, the parents of a dead teen, that he thinks enforcing immigration laws is “ridiculous.”
Of course, “sanctuary policies” have very deadly consequences for this nation’s police officers as well. Consider the following:
In June 2011, the illegal alien accused of killing Houston police officer Kevin Will was in court for his formal arraignment.
Prosecutors told District Judge Mike Anderson that Johoan Rodriguez, 26, is a member of a notoriously violent Salvadoran street gang.
“He’s an admitted member of MS-13,” said Assistant Harris County District Attorney Catherine Evans.
It was also revealed that the Mexican national has been twice deported.
On May 29, 2011, Houston police arrested Rodriguez, after he allegedly drove his car past a roadblock on the 610 North Loop, striking and killing Officer Will.
Will was investigating a hit-and-run accident when he was struck by Rodriguez’ Volkswagen Bug. Though the officer could not get out of the way in time, he did manage to warn a citizen of the speeding vehicle.
The officer’s body was dragged for some distance along the highway at estimated speeds of 80 mph.
According to police, the illegal alien had .3 grams of cocaine in his pocket at the time of his arrest. He also had a blood alcohol level of .238.
The illegal alien is charged with intoxication manslaughter, evading arrest, and drug possession.
The young officer, 38-year-old Officer Kevin Will, left behind a wife and two children, ages 6 and 10. His wife was six months pregnant at the time of his death.
Despite the evidence that “sanctuary policies” always result in more crime, liberal politicians just can’t seem to help themselves.
In April 2011, Montgomery County Council-member Nancy Navarro, along other councilmembers, introduced a resolution opposing the implementation of the Secure Communities program. The federal program mandates localities to submit the fingerprints of all arrestees and identifies illegal aliens in for deportation.
Montgomery County, Maryland, which is reportedly home to a third of the state’s Latino population, has yet to participate in Secure Communities.
Council member Nancy Navarro said her resolution would urge police to continue to only report “individuals who have been charged with a violent crime, rather than all individuals who have been arrested for any offense, which could include traffic and other offenses.”
Navarro told NBC Washington: “It sends a message to the community that everybody can be a target and therefore disproportionally affects the ability to collaborate with law enforcement,” she said. “I don’t think it’s what we want to do in Montgomery County.”
After illegal aliens committed several high-profile murders in Montgomery County, county officials were forced to change their policy in reporting criminal aliens to ICE. However, as Judicial Watch pointed out, Montgomery County police only report illegal aliens to the feds when they have been arrested for a very serious crime such as rape or murder.
Illegal aliens arrested for burglary, simple assault, and most weapons violations are still not reported to ICE for deportation. Just as with any offender, bail is set for them and they are released back onto the streets to either commit more crimes in the county or to flee elsewhere.
On February 16, 2010, police in Prince William County, Virginia, filed charges against Marcos Banegas, 26, for forcible sodomy and aggravated sexual battery on an 8-year-old girl. The Honduran national has been on the run ever since.
It was a crime that could have been prevented if police in Montgomery County, Maryland, had reported Benegas to ICE when they had him in custody. A year before he was charged with raping the girl in Virginia, he was arrested for second-degree assault on a child in Maryland.
However, because Montgomery County had an official policy against the police notifying ICE of a suspect’s illegal immigration status, Banegas was simply released after the charges were dropped by the girl’s mother, who was apparently dating Banegas.
Of course, Banegas would have been set free anyway by Montgomery County. Evidently, assaults are not considered violent enough.
In 2010, Montgomery County spokesman Patrick Lacefield defended the policy, telling the Washington Times: “People need to be held responsible for the crimes they commit. Reporting every single crime would be putting county police in the position of enforcing federal immigration policy.”
The following is a short list of some of the violent crimes recently committed by illegal aliens in Montgomery County, Maryland:
üIn July 2009, Edwin Umana, 21, was stabbed to death by seven Hispanic gang members.
üIn November 2008, Tai Lam, 14, was shot to death on a crowded bus by 20-year-old MS-13 member and Takoma Park resident Hector Mauricio Hernandez. This killing could have been avoided if Hernandez had been reported to federal authorities a month earlier, when the illegal alien was released after being caught carrying a concealed weapon.
ü In October 2008, police arrested Honduran national Jose Juan Garcia-Perlera, 33, for the murder of Frances Havenstein, 63, after being linked to the crime with DNA evidence. He was also charged with several counts of robbery in a string of home invasions which targeted elderly homeowners. He always tied up his victims, one of whom was 92 years old. At the time of his arrest, Garcia-Perlera was living in Hyattsville, Maryland, and working for an electrical contractor. He had been in the country illegally for six years.
ü In September 2008, while at a local mall, a Gaithersburg teenager was stabbed nearly 50 times by gang members Ricardo Mejia, 16, Oswaldo Michael Lainez, 16, Omar Diaz, 16, and Edgar Garcia, 15. Though he was stabbed in the heart, the teen survived the attack. All of the assailants were charged as adults with attempted first-degree murder, first-degree assault, reckless endangerment, and two conspiracy charges.
ü In April 2009, Montgomery County Police Chief J. Thomas Manger announced that criminal activity committed by illegal alien gangs MS-13 and the Latin Kings had increased significantly and accounted for the higher numbers of serious crimes such as rape, robbery, and murder.
According to the Maryland State’s Attorney’s Office, there are 40 active gangs in Montgomery County with a total of about 1,150 members.
Chief of the FBI’s MS-13 National Gang Task Force, Aaron Escorza recently said that gangs “know what law enforcement is doing. Word of mouth spreads quickly.” Illegal alien gangs are now spreading the word that Maryland is part of the “Wild Wild East.”
In December 2008, the Center for Immigration Studies released a comprehensive report on law enforcement’s handling of illegal alien gangs, entitled “Taking Back Our Streets: ICE and Local Law Enforcement Target Immigrant Gangs.” Here’s an excerpt from that report:
Consider the case of Milton Calderon-Menendez (age 25, citizen of El Salvador), who was arrested in March 2008, by the Prince William County (Va.) gang unit. Following procedures put in place just weeks before, Prince William County police checked his immigration status and learned that Calderon was an illegal alien.
The policy also requires them to notify ICE, which promptly put a hold on Calderon so that he would be held pending immigration charges, and would not be released (under Virginia law, illegal aliens are presumed to be ineligible for bail). As it turned out, Calderon had been arrested nine months before in Montgomery County, Maryland, about 40 miles away, for punching a 15-year-old in the face.
Calderon had admitted to Montgomery police that he was a member of MS-13. However, that department’s policy is to not inquire about immigration status. Montgomery County released Calderon on $2,500 bail and told him to return a month later for trial. He did not. About three days after his scheduled trial, Calderon and a friend assaulted the friend’s roommate — the friend beat his roommate in the head with a baseball bat while Calderon stabbed him in the chest. It was after this attack that Calderon was arrested in the neighboring state of Virginia.2
In 2003, the Durham, North Carolina, city council enacted Resolution 9046, which forbids police officers from inquiring into a suspect’s immigration status, unless they are believed to have committed a “serious crime,” such as rape, murder, etc. This policy had the full support not only of Mayor Bill Bell, but of former Durham Police Chief Jose Lopez as well.
The following is the text of Resolution 9046:
RESOLUTION SUPPORTING THE RIGHTS OF PERSONS REGARDLESS OF IMMIGRATION STATUS
WHEREAS, the City of Durham [comprises] immigrants from throughout the world who contribute to Durham’s social vivacity, cultural richness and economic vitality; and
WHEREAS, Durham has been a city that traditionally is open to and inclusive of all individuals and respects the rights of and provides equal services to all individuals, regardless of race, ethnicity, or immigration status; and
WHEREAS, the September 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon have left some immigrant communities afraid to access benefits to which they are entitled, for fear of being reported to the Department of Homeland Security, Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services (BCIS); and
WHEREAS, the Durham Police Department issued a General Order, providing guidelines stating, among other things, that Durham Police Officers may not request specific documents for the sole purpose of determining a person’s civil immigration status, and may not initiate police action based solely on a person’s civil immigration status; and
WHEREAS, a number of other jurisdictions in the United States have enacted policies or laws recognizing that their officers and employees should properly play a limited role with respect to matters relating to immigration status;
NOW THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF DURHAM:
Section 1: It is the policy of the City of Durham not to violate the constitutional or statutory rights of any person, including any such rights protecting persons from discrimination on the basis of ethnicity, race, national origin and immigration status.
Section 2: Unless otherwise required as part of a City officer or employee’s duties, by law or by court order, no Durham City officer or employee, during the course and scope of their employment, shall inquire into the immigration status of any person, or engage in activities designed to ascertain the immigration status of any person. This policy shall not be construed to prohibit any Durham City officer or employee from cooperating and sharing information with federal or state authorities and other governmental entities as required by law.
Section 3: In the event of conflict between federal law, regulations or any other requirement and this City resolution, the federal law, regulations or any other requirement shall control and supersede any conflicting provision of this resolution.
Section 4: This resolution shall take effect upon adoption.
In September 2007, during a city council meeting, Chief Lopez, told citizens that the policy will eventually result in the reduction of crime, as neither victims nor witnesses would have to worry about inquiries into their legal status in the country.
However, the chief’s assertion, often voiced by open-borders politicians, has proven to be false.
In March 2016, Interim Police Chief Larry Smith told the Durham City Council that violent crime rose 18 percent last year
“January of 2015 was the most violent month in Durham since we’ve been keeping statistics,” he said.
The News & Observer reported
Thirty-seven criminal homicides were committed in the city last year compared to 22 in 2014. Smith said 12 were “member-based,” meaning either the suspect or the victim was a confirmed gang member.
Robberies rose 12 percent, and aggravated assault, 23 percent.3
Even our Nation’s Capital
In October 2011, Washington, D.C. Mayor Vincent Gray signed an executive order, which bars District police officers from questioning anyone, even those they arrest, about their immigration status.
Gray said: “This executive order ensures public safety by ensuring that our police resources are deployed wisely and our immigrant communities feel safe cooperating with those who are sworn to protect them.”
Gray adamantly made that statement, but just how shielding those here illegally from possible deportation then “ensures public safety” is still unclear.
Shortly after the order was signed, Corey Stewart, the outspoken chairman of Prince William County, Virginia’s Board of County Supervisors, told Fox News: “This is an abomination. This is the capital of the United States, and to have the nation’s capital as a sanctuary city where essentially federal law is not going to be enforced sends all the wrong messages — not just in the United States but around the world.”
Stewart recently sued the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in an effort to discover what action (if any) the federal agency has taken against the 4,000 illegal aliens his county has turned over to ICE for deportation.
Stewart took this measure after Prince William County police began noticing that the illegal aliens they arrested for various crimes, and then turned over to ICE, kept showing up in their jail.
A tragic example of the feds’ “catch and release” policy came on August 1, 2010. Carlos A. Martinelly Montano, 23, slammed head on into a car in which three Benedictine nuns were traveling. Sister Denise Mosier was killed instantly while her two companions were taken by helicopter to the hospital in serious condition.
Montano was charged with DUI and involuntary manslaughter.
It was actually Montano’s third DUI arrest in Prince William County over the last five years. At the time of the crash, the illegal alien was free on bond while awaiting deportation proceedings.
The case received national attention and had many Americans calling for Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano’s resignation.
According to spokesman Jonathan Perok, Prince William County Police notified ICE after both Montano’s first and second DUI arrests. The department is now investigating how the illegal alien was able to obtain a valid driver’s license.
Stewart issued the following statement on the case: “The despicable thing is that this criminal was … handed over to ICE twice, and released by ICE twice. He’s gone out and killed a nun. That’s a perfect example of what’s wrong with immigration enforcement in this country. The blame is on representatives in Congress for being so flaccid on the issue, and they continue not to fund the deportation of illegal immigrants in this country.”
As we have seen in the past, cities which lay out the welcome mat for illegal aliens are simply inviting criminals to victimize their own citizens.
The Victims...
∙ The Bologna Family
(Tony, 48; Michael, 20; Matthew, 16)
On June 22, 2008, Tony Bologna along with his sons Michael and Matthew were shot to death by Edwin Ramos as they sat in their car on a crowded street, in San Francisco´s Excelsior District.
Ramos, who is a member of the notoriously violent drug gang known as MS-13, allegedly shot the Bologna family to death because Tony Bologna had temporarily blocked the car in which Ramos was traveling, as the two cars made their way through an intersection. The Bologna men were returning home from a family barbecue.
Though in the country illegally, as a juvenile, Ramos assaulted a man on a city bus in 2003, and tried to rob a pregnant woman in 2004. However, he was never deported.
Shortly after the shooting, the San Francisco Chronicle reported, Juvenile Probation Department officials failed to report Ramos to federal immigration authorities for deportation because of San Francisco´s stated sanctuary policy.
Ramos has been charged with three counts of murder, gang membership, and illegal use of a firearm. If convicted, he faces life in prison. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Despite the Bologna family’s tragic loss, it is apparent that the far-left-leaning officials in San Francisco failed to learn anything.
On June 1, 2011, San Francisco Sheriff Michael Hennessey announced that he would begin releasing illegal-alien criminals from jail, regardless of whether or not federal immigration officials have requested the inmate be held. The sheriff vowed to uphold the city’s “sanctuary policy,” in direct violation of federal law. Sheriff Hennessey stated: “I’m trying to enforce San Francisco’s city of refuge law. The city of refuge law says we are not supposed to comply with federal officials except with felonies. I’m just doing our best to enforce local law. That’s my job.”
San Francisco officials are angry because ICE agents have been using data obtained under the Secure Communities program to detain and deport illegal aliens arrested for misdemeanors.
According to ICE, between June 2010 and February 2011, 111 illegal aliens were deported after being identified through Secure Communities in San Francisco on immigration violations alone. Another 85 illegal aliens were deported after committing misdemeanors in the city, along with 45 convicted felons.
At the time, Tom Fitton, President of Judicial Watch said of the illegal policy: “It’s an astonishing abuse of his office. I guarantee you that someone who is released by him as a result of his lawlessness will go on to commit a more serious crime. People are going to get hurt, or worse, and it will be on him.”
∙ Allison Kunhardt, 17, and Tessa Tranchant, 16
On March 30, 2007, a Mexican national named Alfredo Ramos slammed into the rear of a vehicle in which Allison Kunhardt and Tessa Tranchant were stopped while waiting at a traffic light.
Ramos, 22, was traveling at a high rate of speed and was drunk at the time (he blew a .14 BAC, or blood alcohol concentration). The two high school students had to be cut from their crumpled car and both died a short time after being transported to the hospital. Ramos suffered only a busted lip.
Though an illegal alien, Ramos had been living in Virginia Beach for quite a while and worked at a local Mexican restaurant known as Mi Casita. Ramos had also been previously convicted of three separate charges of public intoxication, identity theft, and even a DUI, but continued to live in the area. He speaks only Spanish and required an interpreter at all of his court proceedings.
Ramos was not reported to ICE until he killed these two young girls. Tessa’s brother, Dylan, was tasked with identifying his little sister’s body. Dylan, a Marine, had only been home from Iraq for two weeks, when his sister was killed.
∙ New Mexico girl sexually assaulted, 6
In May 2010, police in Albuquerque arrested Juan Gonzalez, 20, after he allegedly sexually molested a 6-year-old girl inside Midtown Sports and Wellness Club.
At the time of the assault, the little girl was alone in a play room, while her mother was working out. Gonzalez was charged with criminal sexual penetration of a minor, kidnapping, and tampering with evidence.
The Mexican national had access to the gym, as his mother is an employee at Midtown. Upon his arrest, Gonzalez reportedly told police officers that he enjoys touching children. Apparently, the 6-year-old was not the illegal alien’s only victim, but merely his latest. In 2005, when he was 15, Gonzalez was arrested for raping two girls at party.
The charges were later dismissed by a juvenile court judge after Gonzalez was determined to be incompetent. Gonzales was released and ordered to attend counseling.
In 2008, Gonzalez was once again arrested by Albuquerque police, and again the case was dropped. The Bernalillo County District Attorney’s office says that because of medical privacy laws, they cannot release details of the case, nor can they discuss why the charges were dropped.
The mother of one of the girls assaulted in 2005, recently told a KRQE reporter that she knew Gonzalez would attack others. The woman said: “It was just a matter of time. Unfortunately, this little girl had to get hurt. My prayers go out to her.”
∙ Dr. Edward Horowitz, 64
On April 19, 2015, police in Omaha, Nebraska, arrested Pedro Diego-Antonio, 31, after he reportedly hit a man crossing the street at the intersection of 38th and Dodge Streets. The Guatemalan national fled the scene, but was taken into custody, only a few blocks from the fatal crash.
As a result of the impact, the victim, 64-year-old Dr. Edward Horowitz, was thrown nearly 20 feet, into the windshield of a U-Haul truck stopped at a red light. Less than an hour later, he died at a local hospital from his massive injuries.
Diego-Antonio, who had a .24 BAC (more than three times the legal limit) at the time of the accident, was charged with vehicular homicide, felony DUI causing serious bodily injury or death, and felony leaving the scene of an accident.
Perhaps, the most maddening fact about this case, is that Diego-Antonio was stopped and cited only 11 days before the fatal DUI, for driving on a suspended license. In fact, it was the second time that year that the illegal alien was ticketed for driving without a license, after being convicted of a 2011 DUI.
Dr. Horowitz was a professor at Creighton University, and the school’s administration issued the following statement on Horowitz’s death:
Creighton University School of Medicine mourns the unexpected loss of Edward Horowitz, M.D., an associate professor of medicine in the Division of Infectious Diseases who also held a secondary appointment in the Department of Medical Microbiology & Immunology.
Horowitz was a passionate educator and, as such, has touched the lives of countless medical students during his tenure at Creighton University. His loss weighs heavy on the hearts of faculty, staff, and students within the medical school and across the campus. As a community, we grieve with his family and friends and we offer our heartfelt support for his closest colleagues and collaborators.
Horowitz, born in Los Angeles, Calif., in 1950, started a nearly four-decades-long career at Creighton University as a medical student. He graduated from the School of Medicine in 1978 before completing an internship, residency, chief residency and a fellowship in infectious diseases — all at Creighton University Affiliated Hospitals.
Once named a “Best Doctor in America,” Horowitz practiced at the VA Medical Center as well as the Creighton Travel Clinic at Alegent Creighton Clinic in Dundee. He also provided care to the community as a staff physician at the Omaha Indian-Chicano Health Center in the 1980s, La Plaza Health Center in the 1990s, and at the Magis Clinic at Siena/Francis House since 2001.
∙ Florida girl repeatedly raped, 11
On October 18, 2013, Collier County sheriff’s deputies arrested Cecilio Rivera-Lozano, 23, after he reportedly spent the last eight months molesting an 11-year-old girl in Naples, Fla. Two days earlier, the victim reported the abuse to a neighbor, who notified the girl’s mother. The Naples Daily News reported:
She said Rivera-Lozano, a close associate of the family, began inappropriately touching her in March. The girl reported Rivera-Lozano would disrobe and force sexual acts upon her, according to the arrest report.
The Mexican national sexually assaulted the girl “almost every day,” according to court documents. Rivera-Lozano has been charged with two counts of sexual battery of a child and one count of lewd and lascivious molestation. He was booked into the Collier County Jail on an ICE detainer. As is often the case, this tragedy would not have occurred if this illegal alien had been deported the first time he was arrested. Rivera-Lozano was arrested several other times over a five-year period in Collier County, while ICE was never notified. Those arrests include:
• Driving without a license, February 6, 2013
• Shoplifting, October 11, 2009
• Reckless driving, August 24, 2008
Despite Rivera-Lozano’s illegal status in this country, he was granted bail with each of those aforementioned arrests.
∙ Marten Kudlis, 3
On September 10, 2008, the parents of 3-year-old Marten Kudlis buried their son at Fairmount Cemetery, after he was killed, while waiting for his ice cream in a Denver Baskin-Robbins.
An SUV speeding through the intersection of Havana and Mississippi, with Guatemalan national Francis Hernandez at the wheel, slammed into a pickup truck, which was then pushed into the ice cream shop’s window. The toddler was sitting at a table in front of that window, and was sent flying as the truck came crashing through it.
After the crash, Hernandez jumped from his Chevy Suburban and fled the scene. He was later apprehended without incident.
Marten was taken to the hospital, but died a short time later due to massive internal injuries.
The two women in the pickup truck struck by Hernandez were Patricia Guntharp, 49, and Debra Serecky, 51. They were both pronounced dead at the scene.
KMGH of Denver covered the child’s funeral and reported that the first song heard during the service was Eric Clapton’s “Tears in Heaven.”
In a heart-wrenching display of grief and anger, Marten’s mother Marat Kudlis shouted: “That bastard!” referring to the illegal immigrant who killed her son. Between the tears, Marten’s father cried out: “I really loved him.”
The rabbi conducting the service told the heartbroken family and friends: “This burden feels like more than we can bear because it is so sudden. It’s a parent’s worst nightmare. It does not seem fair and it is not fair to lose someone so young.”
A teddy bear was placed in the tiny open casket which held Marten’s body.
Following the funeral, many of the mourners returned to the crash site, which has become a makeshift memorial, filled with flowers, stuffed animals, and cards with expressions of sympathy and support for the Kudlis family.
One of those mourners, Duane Stokes, told a KMGH reporter: “I helped pull Marten out of the building. I was right there with him. He squeezed my hand. I held his hand until he passed on. My fiance and I were just saying a prayer to Marten and just getting one last glimpse of everything around here. Just to say goodbye to him.”
Marten’s death has hit the community hard, and his funeral was attended by many people who never met him, but have been saddened and angered by his senseless death.
Hernandez, who has no less than 12 aliases and two dates of birth, had been arrested 19 times between 2003 and 2008. The Colorado Bureau of Investigation also confirmed that Hernandez was arrested by nine different police departments, during that same time period. Despite his lengthy arrest record and illegal status in this country, Hernandez had never been deported, nor have deportation proceedings ever been started against him.
The police report shows that after Hernandez ran from the scene he phoned his girlfriend, Brenda Aleman, asking her to come pick him up at a local Hooters restaurant. A court document reads: “(He) stated after the accident he was scared and fled the scene; he was afraid he would be taken to jail because he had no insurance, no driver’s license, and that would prevent him from seeing his kids.”
Hernandez and Aleman have an infant and a 2-year-old.
It should be noted that the Congressional Research Service has classified Denver as a “sanctuary city.” As noted above, the term refers to a policy taken by cities, which refuse to inquire into an arrestee’s immigration status, or to inform federal authorities when a suspect in custody is believed or known to be an illegal alien.
Shortly after the deadly crash, former Colorado Congressman Tom Tancredo (R) said that Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper, as well as Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter, “have blood on their hands.”
While both Hickenlooper and Ritter have long been criticized for their opposition to tough enforcement of our immigration laws, Gov. Ritter has tried to deflect any attention from his office onto the federal government and called Tancredo’s comments “out of bounds.”
Rep. Tancredo issued the following statement: “While it might be politically expedient to blame Washington for what happened this week or to characterize my criticism of him as ‘out of bounds,’ the fact remains that Gov. Ritter is in charge of enforcing and keeping Coloradans safe. It’s time for Gov. Ritter to take concrete steps to ensure that illegal aliens like Francis Hernandez, who had been apprehended by police more than a dozen times, end up behind bars, not back behind the wheel.”
∙ Dacus Lamont Sims, 32
On April 22, 2007, Sims was run over while crossing a Charlotte (NC) street. He was hit by Luciano Melendres, an illegal alien from Mexico with a history of driving drunk.
In 2006, Melendres was charged with a DUI, but instead of being reported to ICE for deportation, or even sentenced to jail by the Mecklenburg County judge, he was given a six-month suspended sentence and 12 months’ probation.
A week later, he killed Sims.
The illegal alien continued on to a friend’s house, where he was apprehended.
Melendres was charged with DUI, felony hit-and-run, driving with a license revoked, not having insurance, and a registration violation.
∙ Donna, 47, and Sean Wilson, 38
On June 8, 2006, the Wilsons were traveling through Lakewood, Tennessee, when illegal alien Garcia Gustavo Reyes’ SUV crossed the center line and crashed head-on into their vehicle. Sean Wilson died at the scene, while his wife, Donna, died a short time later at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. Amazingly, Reyes had been pulled over by police, only minutes before the fatal crash.
Open containers of alcohol were observed in Reyes’ vehicle and he was obviously intoxicated, but the illegal alien drove off during the traffic stop, according to Lakewood Police Chief Lawrence Lee.
When he crashed into the Wilsons’ vehicle, Reyes had a BAC of 0.34 percent, more than four times Tennessee’s legal limit. Incredibly, since 2001 Reyes had been arrested and convicted of various crimes at least 20 times in the Nashville area, before killing the Wilsons. He had been convicted multiple times of DUI (4 counts), driving on a revoked license, leaving the scene of an injury accident, theft, assaulting a police officer, and resisting arrest. However, Reyes was never referred to the feds for deportation proceedings. Reyes pleaded guilty to two counts of aggravated vehicular homicide, reckless aggravated assault by a motor vehicle, and evading arrest with risk to other motorists, and received a 25-year sentence.
∙ Kent Boone, 33
On March 31, 2007, Boone, was driving through Solano County (CA) along Highway 12, on his way to work, when a Ford Expedition traveling at approximately 90 mph crossed the center line and slammed head-on into Boone’s Ford pickup.
The driver of the Expedition was Isidro Pena, an illegal alien with a long criminal history.
In 2003 Pena was convicted of DUI and again in 2005, as well as for a felony drug charge in Contra Costa County. Also, in 2005, he was convicted of a DUI in Solano County.
He had also been convicted a total of six times for driving without a license.
In April 2005, Pena pleaded no contest to felony drug possession and DUI. He was sentenced to 122 days in the Solano County jail and released. The sheriff’s office failed to notify ICE.
When the illegal alien killed Boone, he was both drunk and high, and two pounds of methamphetamine were found inside his vehicle, according to the California Highway Patrol.
He was charged with suspicion of drug offenses, DUI, and murder.
As to why Pena was never reported to ICE, the Contra Costa Times reported:
“We actually treat everybody like they were here legally,” said Richmond (CA) police Capt. Alec Griffin. “We don’t make contacts with ICE just in the course of normal business.”
In Richmond, with its large immigrant population, local police do not participate with ICE in roundups of suspected illegals. The city terminated daylight traffic checkpoints aimed at stopping street crimes, Griffin said, because immigrants feared they were being targeted.
Boone left behind a wife, two children, and three stepchildren.
∙ Michael Grubbs, 63
On November 24, 2014, Grubbs was crossing a Las Vegas street, pushing a stroller which contained his 18-month-old granddaughter, when Galina Kilova, an illegal alien from Bulgaria, drove onto the right shoulder and mowed the grandfather down. Kilova fled the scene and continued on to work, hiding her damaged vehicle away from her usual parking spot.
Witnesses were able to provide a partial plate number, as well as a description of the driver.
Kilova’s employer phoned in a tip to police, and she was arrested and charged with leaving the scene of an accident involving injury or death.
In 2006, Kilova came to the U.S. on a tourist visa and was charged with a DUI in 2007. Despite the charge and the expired visa, she was not reported to ICE.
∙ Heather M. Coble, 25
Agustin Macias-Marquez, 28, an illegal alien from Mexico, pleaded guilty to killing Heather Coble, 25, and Coble’s sister-in-law, Madison Perry-Coble, 24, on New Year’s Eve, 2012.
In addition to the homicide convictions, Marquez was convicted of DUI, and other charges related to the December 31, 2012, crash, in which Marquez failed to stop at an intersection and crashed into the car in which the victims were riding. Ms. Coble died at the scene of the accident, and Ms. Perry-Coble died later that week due to her head injuries.
Ms. Coble, who lived in Shippensburg, NC, was pregnant at the time of her death. She was survived by her two young children.
Marquez reportedly had been arrested for DUI in 2011 but was not deported because he was a witness in a different homicide case.
∙ John Zupan, 66
Edy Porfirio Reynoso-Ramirez, 32, an illegal alien apparently living in Portland, Oregon, was arrested August 29, 2011, for the injury and subsequent death of John Zupan, 66 on August 30th.
Ramirez crashed his vehicle into Zupan’s motorcycle and then fled the scene of the accident. Zupan was hospitalized but died from his injuries the next day.
Authorities determined Ramirez was speeding and driving erratically, crossing into Zupan’s lane and causing a collision with Zupan’s BMW motorcycle. Ramirez attempted to hide from police but was quickly captured.
Ramirez was subsequently charged with DUI, reckless driving, hit-and-run, and assault. Because Zupan died from his injuries, Ramirez was also charged with Zupan’s murder.
Despite Ramirez’s previous encounters with the law going back to 2003, local law enforcement apparently never notified ICE. According to one police official, this was possible because of Portland’s sanctuary policy, which prohibits its employees from inquiring about a person’s immigration status.
∙ Christopher Rowe, 4
On August 23, 2011, Marcos Lopez Garcia, 22, was arrested and charged with felony hit-and-run, vehicular manslaughter and driving unlicensed in the death of 4-year-old Christopher Rowe of Santa Rosa, California.
Garcia was accused of driving drunk and running the 4-year-old boy over in a crosswalk. After striking the child, Garcia allegedly left the victim to die, and fled the scene of the accident. The boy later died of his injuries at Children’s Hospital.
It was also reported that Garcia had two other arrests for driving unlicensed, but was never reported to the feds. Garcia was apparently also working in the U.S. illegally at a Santa Rosa pizza shop.
∙ Kendrick Owens, 13
On March 8, 2010, Kendrick was walking with a friend along the road in New Caney, TX, when police say the 1998 Dodge Dakota driven by Javier Correa, 28, struck and killed him.
Correa sped away from the scene, and drove to his nearby home. A tow truck driver who saw him hit Owens, followed Correa and alerted police to his location. A few minutes later, Texas Department of Public Safety Troopers arrived and took him into custody.
Correa was charged with intoxication manslaughter and failure to stop and render aid.
According to police, several drivers called 911 to report Correa’s reckless driving shortly before he hit the Keefer Crossing Middle School student.
Court records show that Correa, had a prior DWI conviction in 2005, as well as a previous conviction for assault causing bodily injury in 2000.
∙ Officer Brandon Mendoza, Mesa Police Department, 32
On May 12, 2014, Officer Mendoza was headed home on U.S. 60 when he was hit head-on by Raul Silva Corona, who was drunk and traveling in the wrong direction on the highway in Tempe, Ariz.
Mendoza was taken to a local hospital, where he died from his injuries.
Thirty-two-year-old Officer Mendoza, was a thirteen-year veteran of the Mesa Police Department. He volunteered his time at the Boys and Girls Club, was an animal lover, and had recently fostered a homeless pit bull he named Lucy Blu.
Breitbart reported:
“This was not the first time Corona had broken the law. The AP notes that in 1994 Corona pled guilty to a criminal conspiracy charge in Colorado, and prosecutors dismissed other charges of burglary, assault, and leaving the scene of an accident.”
∙ Mackenzie Maddox, 6
In June 2008, Mackenzie was hit and killed while crossing the street in a suburb of Milwaukee. The man behind the wheel was previously deported Mexican national Jose Rodriguez.
As the little girl and her mother crossed the street at S. 84th St. and W. Cleveland Ave. in West Allis, WI, the car driven by Rodriguez came speeding through the intersection, striking both the little girl and her mother Andrea. Mackenzie died at the scene and her mother was taken to Froedtert Hospital; her mother survived her injuries.
Rodriguez, worked for an Oak Creek waterproofing business.
Rodriguez, had four prior convictions, including a DUI.
∙ Demetri Smith, infant
On June 10, 2012, Zach and Aileen Smith were traveling along Interstate 25 in San Miguel County (NM) when a vehicle driven by Ramon Hernandez, 43, crashed into their car.
Aileen Smith suffered severe contusions to her midsection as well as a broken sternum. She was seven months pregnant with the couple’s first child.
The injuries sustained by the unborn child were too severe, and he died only one minute after being delivered by C-section. It was the illegal alien’s fifth DUI.
According to the New Mexico State Motor Vehicle Division, Hernandez was convicted of DUI twice in 2000, once in 2003, and again in 2004. He was driving on a revoked license at the time of the fatal crash. His license was reportedly suspended due to unpaid traffic tickets.
∙ Stacey Aguilar, 22
On February 23, 2016, police in Hayward, Calif., arrested 23-year-old Esmid Valentine Pedraza, a Mexican national in the country illegally, for the murder of his former girlfriend, Stacey Aguilar. Her bullet-riddled body was discovered in a rural section of Fremont.
Pedraza has multiple arrests in Alameda County for DUI, domestic violence, and even murder, but federal officials were apparently never notified of his arrests, nor convictions.
KRON reported the following statement from ICE:
“U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has lodged a formal request with the Alameda County Jail seeking to have the jail notify ICE prior to Mr. Pedraza’s release so the agency can arrange to take him into custody to pursue possible follow-up immigration enforcement action.”
∙ Sarah Root, 21
On January 31, 2016, Eswin Mejia, an illegal alien, was street racing in Omaha, Nebraska, when he rear-ended Root’s vehicle, killing the young woman, who only a day earlier, had graduated from Bellevue University with a 4.0 GPA.
Mejia had a blood alcohol level four times the legal limit, and was driving on a suspended license at the time of the fatal crash, according to police.
Although the illegal alien was facing up to 20 years in prison for Root’s death, Douglas County Judge Jeffrey Marcuzzo granted bond for Mejia at $50,000. The Honduran national’s brother then posted the required ten percent for his release, and Root’s killer promptly disappeared.
Despite his illegal status in this country and his previous run-ins with the law, Mejia was never reported to ICE, as Douglas County employs a “sanctuary policy.”
In 2014, Mejia failed to show up in court for a traffic violation, and was later taken into custody on an unrelated offense in 2015, but was allowed to bond-out.
∙ Drew Rosenberg, 25
On November 16, 2010, Rosenberg, a second-year law student, was riding his motorcycle home from classes, when he was hit by unlicensed illegal alien Roberto Galo. In fact, the illegal alien not only hit the young man once, but actually backed up and ran over Rosenberg again, crushing the victim’s abdomen, in an attempt to flee the scene. The only reason Galo actually stopped and was taken into custody was due to the brave actions of another motorist.
Later that day, the Rosenbergs, who live in Los Angeles, were notified by staff at San Francisco General Hospital that Drew had been killed in a car accident.
Only six months earlier Galo had been charged with driving without a license, driving the wrong way on a one way street, and driving without insurance.
On July 27, 2010, Galo appeared in court to answer for the June violations. The DA’s office made a deal with the illegal alien from Honduras: in exchange for pleading guilty to driving the wrong way on a one-way street, the charges of driving without a license and driving without insurance would be dropped.
Despite the lack of a driver’s license, Galo continued to drive on San Francisco’s streets, which would eventually lead to the grisly death of Drew Rosenberg, along with the bright future the young man had ahead of him.
Six district attorneys and nearly two years later, on August 16, 2012, Galo was sentenced by the judge to six months in jail and three years’ probation for vehicular manslaughter.
The Rosenbergs were not allowed to make an impact statement.
On April 4, 2013, Roberto Galo was deported to Honduras. His girlfriend (also an illegal alien) and their two children left the country on March 29.
As of today, it is anybody’s guess as to the whereabouts of Roberto Galo.
In response to their son’s death, the Rosenbergs started the website Unlicensed to Kill, and have become activists in the fight to end “sanctuary policies,” as well as demanding that the federal government actually enforce the nation’s immigration laws.
The website states:
Unlicensed to Kill was started to bring attention to the horrendous problem of unlicensed drivers who have no regard for the law and are responsible for death and destruction on our roads and highways every day. Last year 7,500 people were killed by unlicensed drivers.
After my son was killed by an unlicensed driver in November 2010 I started to research the issue. I was stunned at what I found. Not only were unlicensed drivers killing people in numbers only exceeded by drunk drivers, but many times they were barely being punished and many times faced no charges at all.
There are two different kinds of unlicensed drivers. There are those who have never been issued a license and those whose licensed has been suspended, revoked, or expired. Over 90 percent of those who have never been issued a license are in this country illegally....
Despite all of this death and destruction very little is being done nationally, and in California many cities and the state are actually reducing the penalties and making it easier for unlicensed drivers to drive. While Unlicensed to Kill’s main focus is on those who have never been issued a license, the two are inextricably linked (as are DUI’s) and hopefully our efforts will spur individuals, groups, and our governmental agencies to take this problem seriously and begin to get these people off the roads.
Over 20 people a day are killed by unlicensed drivers. It’s time to put a stop to this slaughter.4
∙ Officer Rodney Johnson, Houston Police Department
On September 21, 2006, Officer Rodney Johnson was shot and killed while making a routine traffic stop. The man that murdered him had been deported back to Mexico seven years earlier. However, due to the federal government’s refusal to defend the Mexican border, this human predator easily re-entered the United States, eventually killing Johnson.
Officer Johnson stopped a commercial vehicle traveling 20 miles over the posted speed limit. The truck was driven by Mexican national Juan Leonardo Quintero. A co-worker and Quintero’s two step-daughters were also in the vehicle.
When Quintero was unable to provide any form of identification, Officer Johnson handcuffed him and placed him in the backseat of his patrol car. Once the officer was once again seated behind the wheel, Quintero removed the 9-mm handgun concealed in his waistband and began firing at Johnson through the plastic shield separating the front and back seats. Johnson was shot in the head five times. He was pronounced dead shortly after being taken to a local hospital.
Forty-year-old Officer Rodney Johnson was a 12-year veteran of the Houston Police Department and a U.S. Army veteran. While serving on the HPD, Officer Johnson received two Lifesaving Awards.
He left behind his wife Joslyn (also a police officer) and five children.
In 2006, Clara Rodriguez, who lived in the neighborhood where Johnson patrolled, had this to say about the murdered officer: “He was just so very nice. He was not ever mean. It just breaks my heart. I feel so very bad for his wife. He got up and went to work this morning, and this is what happened. This is what happened to one of the people who protects us, who truly took care of us.”
Juan Leonardo Quintero had prior arrests in Houston. He is a convicted child molester and DUI offender. He had been working for a Houston area landscaping company and, despite the DUI conviction, was driving a company vehicle at the time Officer Johnson stopped him.
On May 20, 2008, a Houston jury sentenced Quintero to spend the rest of his life in prison.
∙ Officer David Hofer, Euless Police Department, 29
On March 1, 2016, Jorge Brian Gonzalez shot to death Officer Hofer in Texas, while the illegal alien was apparently high on methamphetamine.
The Dallas Morning News reported:
Gonzalez was arrested in April 2011 on a charge of theft from a person. It was the start of a string of arrests for thefts, assaults and making terroristic threats. Every arrest occurred in Euless, except for a Fort Worth case of assault causing bodily injury to a family member last March, records show.
His father called Fort Worth police last year to an apartment on East Loop 820 after Gonzalez threatened his father and his sister Jennifer with a knife. He had also hit his sister with a 1-by-4-inch board, according to the police report. The father told police that his son was on drugs and violent, the report says.
In November 2015, Gonzales was accused of theft and criminal mischief of between $100 and $750, records show. He pleaded guilty to the criminal mischief charge and was convicted around the same time as for the theft charge.
He was released from the Tarrant County jail January 11. At most, Gonzalez was sentenced to 90 days in jail for his past crimes.5
Brian Gonzalez’s rap sheet includes: a July 2011 theft charge, an August 2011 aggravated assault with a deadly weapon charge that was reduced to a misdemeanor assault charge on a guilty plea; and two terrorist threat charges in summer 2015.
Gonzalez, who came to this country illegally from Argentina, was shot to death by Officer Hofer’s partner.
Officer Hofer served with the Euless Police Department for two years and previously served with the New York City Police Department for five years, according to ODMP.6
∙ Jamiel Shaw, 17
In March 2008, as Jamiel Shaw was walking home from a local shopping mall, Pedro Espinoza, an illegal alien gang member, with a long history of arrests, pulled alongside the teenager, and asked him what gang he was in.
According to witnesses, the high school football standout did not answer him; he did not answer because he had no part of gang life. Espinoza then opened fire on Jamiel, killing him, only a few hundred feet away from his house. His father actually heard the gunshots that would take his son from his side forever.
At the time of his murder, Jamiel’s mom, Anita Shaw, was deployed in Iraq with the U.S. Army. She returned home for his funeral.
In May 2012, Espinoza was found guilty of first-degree murder and is currently sitting on California’s death row. Because Los Angeles is a “sanctuary city” for illegal aliens, even violent gang members such as Espinoza are all too often placed back into the communities they terrorize, rather than turning them over to ICE for deportation.
The Shaw family continues to fight for the passage of “Jamiel’s Law,” which would force Los Angeles law enforcement to crack down on and target illegal alien gang members, much the same way the Shaw family and many others believe that those same illegal aliens are now targeting the black residents of Los Angeles.
The family has a website dedicated to Jamiel, and the passage of the measure. Visitors can make a donation through the website; all donations go to purchasing media ads to promote “Jamiel’s Law” and to raise awareness of the dangers posed by illegal aliens to American citizens.
In late 2010, I spoke with Jamiel’s aunt, Althea Rae Shaw, who said of her nephew:
I just miss him so much, he loved his country and he was so proud that his mom was serving in Iraq…he couldn’t wait to see her come home. We need a city council geared to protecting American citizens, instead of illegal aliens. We need public officials who will stop bowing down to illegal aliens.
Jamiel Shaw was not a gang member, nor was he on suspension from school when he was murdered; he did not use drugs, he did not burglarize homes, and he did not spew racist epithets, because he had a good, Christian family. Jamiel was simply a good kid with a very bright future, loved by a strong family…a family who still loves him and who still fights for him.
∙ Emilee Olson, 9; Hunter Javens, 9; Jesse Javens, 13; and Reed Stevens, 12
In February 2008, four children were killed in Cottonwood, Minnesota, after their bus was hit by an illegal alien who ran a stop sign.
On a gloomy Tuesday morning, Mexican national Alianiss Nunez Morales went sailing past a stop sign on County Road 24, and right into a school bus carrying 28 Lakeview School students. The bus flipped over on its side, injuring several children and killing four.
In addition to the children who were killed, four others were hospitalized at Avera McKennan Hospital and University Health Center in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Another child was transported to the Mayo Clinic.
Morales was arrested and charged with four counts of vehicular homicide as well as several misdemeanors. Apparently, she was not even licensed to drive in Mexico. Lt. Mark Peterson of the Minnesota State Patrol told reporters: “She (Morales) doesn’t have a driver’s license anywhere that we’re aware of.”
Of course, that was not Morales’ first brush with the law. In 2006 she had pleaded guilty in a Chippewa County court to driving without a license.
Morales told police that she was on her way to work when she caused the fatal wreck. Despite her illegal status, she was employed by Norcraft Cabinetry in Eagan, Minn. The company’s website (norcraftcompanies.com) displays a section entitled “Code of Business Ethics and Conduct.” Within that section, the following statement is made: “All employees must respect and obey the laws of the cities, states, and countries in which we operate.”
∙ Bob Clark, 65
Though the 1983 movie A Christmas Story did not make much of an impression when it was initially released, it has since become a perennial holiday favorite with families across the country. We are not only treated to Ralphie’s hilarious quest to obtain a Red Ryder BB gun, but the film also reminds us, at least a little, of our own childhood and Christmases past.
While most of us are familiar with the cult classic, many may not know the tragic way in which the director of A Christmas Story, Bob Clark, died. He was killed by a drunk-driving illegal alien.
On April 4, 2007, the 65-year-old director was traveling along the Pacific Coast Highway with his son, Ariel Hanrath-Clark, 22, when an SUV veered into oncoming traffic, causing a head-on collision with Clark’s vehicle. Both father and son died at the scene.
The driver of that SUV was Hector Velazquez-Nava, a Mexican national living in Los Angeles. He had a 0.24 blood-alcohol level…three times the legal limit.
The illegal alien had no driver’s license and had a 2004 conviction for solicitation of a prostitute in Los Angeles. For that conviction, Velazquez-Nava was sentenced to 24 months’ probation and a $1,500 fine.
On October 16, 2007, Velazquez-Nava was sen-tenced to six years in prison after pleading no contest on two counts of gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated.
∙ Dennis McCann, 66
On June 8, 2011, McCann was walking in a crosswalk in Chicago when he was mowed down by Saul Chavez, 36, driving a Dodge Neon. Chavez hit the victim, then dragged his body, still lodged beneath the car, for a whole block, and only stopped after a police officer drew his weapon on the Mexican national.
Chavez had a blood alcohol concentration of 0.29 percent when he killed McCann, according to court records. He was also convicted of a DUI in 2009, and was actually on probation at the time.
For McCann’s death, he was charged with aggravated DUI causing death. ICE issued a detainer for Chavez, but because Cook County has a sanctuary policy for illegal aliens, Chavez was allowed to bond-out.
On July 21, 2015, the victim’s brother, Brian McCann, testified before the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee.
An excerpt from that testimony follows:
On behalf of the McCann family I want to thank you, Senator [Chuck] Grassley, [R-IA]and the other members of the Judiciary Committee for this opportunity to share with you my efforts to return justice to our family after the violent death of my brother Denny on June 8, 2011 in Chicago, Illinois. Denny was crossing Kedzie Avenue on a marked crosswalk four years ago and was violently struck by a drunk driver who dragged Denny under his car for a block in an attempt to flee before Denny died. The family was notified by the Chicago Police and the killer was placed into custody and charged with aggravated DUI causing death. Two days later ICE issued a detainer because the young man was an illegal alien with a prior felony.
The family was assured by the Cook County prosecutor that the defendant would not be allowed to post bail and be released. Three months later the Cook County Board passed the ordinance that effectively requires the Sheriff to ignore detainers. During the intervening weeks after Denny’s violent death Cook County President Toni Preckwinkle and former mayoral candidate and Commissioner Jesus Garcia pushed for the ordinance and rammed it through on September 7, 2011.
Two months later the killer made bail and absconded to Mexico. Perhaps the most disturbing aspect of this whole ordeal was that we also learned that this illegal alien was prosecuted for another felony two years earlier and ICE was never notified then. He was removed from probation February 2011 and four months later killed Denny.
In short Denny would be alive today and enjoying the birth of a new granddaughter born two weeks ago if the Cook County criminal justice system that included the county board did their job. I received confirmation that he is indeed in Mexico from the FBI and is currently driving a truck. I had to prevail on my Congressman to get the FBI to cooperate with my request for information and action. I have not heard from the Bureau in over six months.7
∙ Grant Ronnebeck, 22
On January 22, 2015, a store surveillance camera captured the images of Apolinar Altamirano, 29, fatally shooting Ronnebeck, the clerk at the QuickTrip convenience store in Mesa, Arizona, near the intersection of Stapley and Broadway.
Ronnebeck, had worked in the store since high school. Altamirano apparently shot Ronnebeck after growing impatient with the amount of time the transaction was taking. The illegal alien asked for a pack of cigarettes and then dumped a pile of coins on the counter.
Ronnebeck fell dead behind the counter, and Altamirano stepped over him, helping himself to more cigarettes before walking out of the store, according to police.
Altamirano fled the scene in his car, leading police officers on a 25-mile, high-speed chase that ended when the suspect crashed his vehicle at the intersection of 19th Avenue and Buckeye Road. Two guns were found inside the car.
Altamirano had actually been banned from entering the store two weeks before the shooting.
The Arizona Republic reported:
Apolinar Altamirano had been told to stay out of the QuikTrip at Stapley Drive and Broadway Road, in central Mesa, on January 9, the document said.
“I think he had been at the store previously and there was a disturbance,” said Detective Steve Berry, a Mesa police spokesman. “He was told he was not allowed in the store.”8
Altamirano was charged with first-degree murder, felony flight, and armed robbery.
While all crimes committed by illegal aliens are 100 percent preventable (with only a secure border and immigration laws which are enforced), this murder is doubly maddening, as Altamirano pleaded guilty to burglary in 2012 and should have been deported.
On July 21, 2015, Grant’s uncle, Michael Ronne-beck testified before the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee, a portion of that testimony follows:
At 4:00 a.m. on January 22, 2015, just six months ago, while working the overnight shift at his Quiktrip store, Grant assisted a man buying cigarettes. The man dumped a jar of coins on the counter and demanded cigarettes. Grant tried explaining that he needed to count the coins before he could give the man the cigarettes. The man then pulled a gun, and stated “you’re not gonna take my money”, and “you’re not gonna give me my cigarettes.” Grant immediately offered up the cigarettes to the man, who shot him in the face point blank, killing him. Seemingly unaffected, the man coldly and callously stepped over Grant’s dying body, grabbed a couple of packs of cigarettes, and then left the store. After a 30-minute high speed pursuit through the streets of Mesa and Phoenix, Arizona, the man was taken into custody. Inside his car were the cigarettes, and two handguns, one believed to be the gun used to kill Grant. Apolinar Altamirano, the alleged murderer, is an illegal alien. According to a news article detailing his 2012 arrest, he is a self-proclaimed member of the Mexican mafia, and says he has ties to the Sinaloa drug cartel. The news article states that in August of 2012, he was arrested with two others after kidnapping, and sexually assaulting a woman and burglarizing her apartment. She was allegedly held naked and against her will for a full week prior to escaping. He took a plea deal, and pled guilty to a charge of felony burglary for that incident....
It is my family’s greatest desire that Grant Ronnebeck’s legacy will be more than a fading obituary, a cemetery plot, or a fond memory. Instead, we want Grant’s death to be a force for change and reform in the immigration policies of this great nation.9
∙ Officer Shane Figueroa, Phoenix Police Department, 25
On October 25, 2008, Officer Figueroa was responding to a “shots fired” call when his patrol car was hit by a pickup truck driven by Mexican national Salvador Vivas-Diaz, who was drunk at the time.
Vivas-Diaz had a long history of DUI arrests, and the illegal alien had four outstanding warrants at the time of the fatal crash. Officer Figueroa served with the Phoenix Police Department for more than two years. He left behind a wife, and a 3-month-old daughter.10
∙ Detective Donald Young, Denver Police Department, 45
On May 8, 2005, Det. Young was working at an event hall when he was shot to death in an unprovoked attack by Raul Garcia-Gomez.
The Mexican national had already been arrested three times when he murdered Det. Young, but because of Denver’s “sanctuary policy” he was never reported to Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Garcia-Gomez actually worked in a restaurant owned by Denver Mayor Hickenlooper, who has been a longtime champion of sanctuary policies.
Det. Young left behind a wife and three children.
∙ Officer Henry Canales, Houston Police Department, 42
On June 23, 2009, Officer Canales was shot to death by a Mexican national while assigned to an undercover operation targeting a group of individuals trafficking in stolen merchandise.
The illegal alien, Roberto Carrillo, was then shot to death by other officers.
Carrillo was deported in 1999 and had actually been ticketed four times since 2002, but was never reported to federal immigration authorities, due to Houston’s sanctuary policy.
Officer Canales was a military veteran and served with the Houston Police Department for 16 years. He left behind a wife, a son, and a daughter.
∙ Josh Wilkerson, 18
On November 16, 2010, Wilkerson was beaten and tortured to death by 19-year-old Hermilo Moralez in Pearland, Texas. The illegal alien beat the young man with a stick and choked him several times.
Morales then stuffed Wilkerson’s body into the victim’s own vehicle, and dumped it in a field, before setting fire to the remains.
After Morales confessed to the grisly act, he led police to the location where he had set Joshua’s body ablaze. While tromping through the rural area, he actually attempted to grab one of the accompanying officer’s weapons from his holster.
The medical examiner listed the manner of Wilkerson’s death as “ b lunt head, neck and abdomen trauma and strangulation.”
On July 21, 2015, Joshua’s mother, Laura Wilkerson, testified before the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee, a portion of that testimony follows:
My husband George and I live just outside of Houston, Texas. We raised 3 children. We are a typical Texan/American blue collar, hardworking family. George worked endless hours so that I could stay home with our children. We wanted to provide them with our beliefs and our values. We wanted them to know Jesus. We provided for their needs, built them up to be honest, compassionate and caring human beings. We accomplished that....
That fateful day of Tuesday, November 16, 2010: His dad was at work already. His Brother was away in the United States Air Force. His Sister was in College. Josh came down and said Mom, I am leaving to school. I put down what I was doing, and said hey, no way your leaving without a hug. He smiled, rolled his eyes a bit. We hugged. We both said I love you, and I watched him get in his truck and head to school. Josh never came home from school that day. The killer: Here is what I know about him. His name is Hermilo V. Moralez. He is 19 years old. His parents, who were in this country illegally, brought him here illegally when he was 10 years old. He has a sister. His parents had recently kicked him out of their home. He was charged with harassment.
He was in front of a Judge 10 days before he murdered Joshua. He relied on a friend’s mother for shelter and food. He had no driver’s license, no money for lunch, and no transportation. He was an acquaintance of Josh’s through school. He had given him a ride home 3-5 times. He asked Josh that day for a ride home. He brutally murdered Joshua.
The trial: We waited 2 long years for the trial, only to see such images of Josh that were horrific. We watched as a shock belt was put around his waist because no one was certain of his behavior. We watched as he showed no remorse whatsoever. We listened to 15 hours of audio tape, in which his only concern was how much time would he get, was there a bed in jail, when would he leave, could he have a hamburger, etc. All of these audio tapes are from before he finally told detectives the truth about where Josh’s body was. The killer was a black belt in mixed martial arts. He bragged from the stand about how his “killing skills” just took over.
We watched as he got off of the stand and stood over the District Attorney so he could show the jury how he strangled Josh. He said that he first hit Josh in the face, so that he would not be able to fight back. He then kneed him in his stomach. We listened to him say that he was frustrated that Josh still had bloody bubbles coming out of his nose. He picked up a closet rod and beat Josh so severely on the head that the rod broke into 4 pieces. He strangled him over and over. He waited, Joshua died. Per the Medical Examiner he tortured him. He tied Joshua up like an animal. He cleaned up the scene, put Josh in our truck, and went to the store to buy gasoline.
He put Josh in a field. He put his school ID next to Josh’s body, doused him with the gas, and set him on fire. After that the killer went to a friend’s house, took a shower, and went to see a movie. He laughed, He had popcorn and a coke.
Instead of getting our child home that day, we got an autopsy report that reads in part: This body is received in a grey body bag. A white male with a toe tag that reads Joshua Wilkerson. He is 100 pounds. He has been tied up with braided rope multiple times. 13 rounds of rope from his neck, through the belt loop on the back of his pants, to his hands and feet behind his back. His body is charred from fire. There is significant skin slippage on his buttocks, his abdomen, and on his face. His hands are completely charred. He has many fractures in his face. His throat is crushed. ln his pocket he has 1 piece of gum and a tardy slip. Trust me this is the short version.11
∙ 12-year-old North Carolina girl raped
On November 15, 2014, FBI agents raided a residence in Raleigh and rescued a 12-year-old girl who had been kidnapped on her way to school in Maryland a few days earlier.
The victim disappeared four days earlier, as she left for Perry Hall Middle School, about a mile from her Baltimore County home. Investigators believe her alleged abductor, 22-year-old Victor Yanez Arroyo, initially made contact with the sixth-grader through online X-Box gaming.
The girl was quickly reunited with her elated family in Maryland.
Though the victims of sex crimes are not typically identified, the girl’s family has decided to come forward, in hopes of helping others.
Arroyo was charged with kidnapping and first-degree rape. He was booked into the Wake County Detention Center on an ICE detainer.
During Arroyo’s first court appearance, it was learned that in 2007, the illegal alien was convicted of assaulting a woman in North Carolina, and was currently on probation for that offense.
∙ Parker Moore, 20
On November 15, 2014, just hours after Moore, who played linebacker for the Linfield College Wildcats, helped lead his team to a conference championship, he walked into a 7-Eleven convenience store across from campus in McMinnville, Oregon, and in what police characterized as a “random attack,” was stabbed multiple times by Juventino Bermudes-Arenas.
The illegal alien initially fled the scene, but later returned and was confronted by police. Bermudes-Arenas was ordered to drop the knife, but refused and was shot to death by the officers, according to court documents.
Moore was taken to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead a short time later.
Yamhill County District Attorney, Brad Berry, told the press:
It is not believed that he was in the United States lawfully based on inconsistent social security numbers given to his employer, lack of official U.S. paperwork, and from information provided by his family.
In 2000, Bermudes-Arenas was actually arrested “for a minor offense” by McMinnville police, but was released without being reported to federal officials.
Moore was a business management major, and worked as a resident adviser. A memorial service was held in his memory at Ted Wilson Gymnasium on campus.
∙ Deputy Michael Davis, Placer County (Calif.) Sheriff’s Department, 34
On October 24, 2014, Deputy Davis pulled over a pickup truck driven by Luis Enrique Monroy-Bracamonte, a twice-deported illegal alien drug dealer, who opened fire on the deputy with an AR-15.
Davis was taken to a local hospital, where he was later pronounced dead.
Deputy Davis served with the Placer County Sheriff’s Department for 15 years.
Utah court records revealed that Monroy-Bracamonte recived 10 tickets and misdemeanor traffic offenses between 2003 and 2009, but was never reported to federal officials.
∙ Deputy Daniel Oliver, Sacramento County Sheriff’s Department, 47
On October 24, 2014, Deputy Oliver pulled into a Motel 6 parking lot, as he was responding to a “suspicious vehicle” call. As he approached the vehicle, Luis Enrique Monroy-Bracamonte opened fire on Oliver, as well as his partner.
Oliver was shot in the head at close range and died at the scene.
Deputy Oliver was a 15-year veteran of the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Department. He left behind a wife and two daughters. Deputy Oliver and Det. Michael Davis were killed by the same illegal alien, during a multi-city shooting spree.
On July 21, 2015, Deputy Oliver’s widow testified before the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee; a portion of that testimony follows:
Over the past nine months, I have experienced the reality of my thoughts through the loss of my husband. Danny Paul Oliver was a special person that knew the reality of humanity. Danny was not a man to boast or gloat of his accomplishments. In fact when Danny was given a standing ovation at a community meeting, he felt unsure on how to handle the overwhelming approval. Danny simply felt he was doing his job and that was all he needed to feel accomplished. Danny Paul Oliver, my husband’s last shift ended as a 15-year veteran of the Sacramento Sheriff’s deputy by doing something he would have done countless times before in his career, Danny was walking toward a car to see what the occupants were doing on his beat. Danny prided himself on helping communities and feeling like he was truly making a difference. Danny was a POP officer, also known as Problem Oriented Policing. My husband and father of two never made it to the driver’s window on Friday October 24, 2014. At about 10:30 a.m., a man armed with numerous weapons aimed one out of the car from the parking lot of a Motel 6 at Arden and Ethan Way in Sacramento and opened fire, killing my husband, Danny Paul Oliver, with a shot to the forehead as my husband simply asked how the armed man’s day was going.... Each day I look for parental back up to child rearing and I feel the loss. Each day my children reach milestones like a wedding engagement, graduations, and our weekly family brunches, I am reminded that I no longer have my husband. I was married for 25 years to my high school sweetheart and we watched each other grow up. We could just look at each other and know what one another needed. Perhaps support, a loving smile, or even a “we will talk when we get home” look. It is hard to build this trust and understanding but we had it mastered with ease. Today I honor my husband, Deputy Danny Paul Oliver, and the other fallen heroes, who are always with us, in our hearts and in our memories. I wonder if we would be having this speech about my loss if the government enforced immigration laws as we see them in print. Thank you for honoring him and the others who have paid the ultimate price. If the loss of my loving husband and father of our children could have been avoided, I hope, I can be a voice to explain the grief we have endured. My life is forever changed and saddened. Please help put policy in place to make sure that criminal immigrants are not allowed to dictate the life of true humanitarians like Deputy Danny Paul Oliver.12
∙ Marilyn Pharis, 64
On July 24, 2015, Victor Aureliano Martinez broke into a Santa Barbara home and beat Pharis with a hammer and repeatedly raped her. She died a few days after the brutal attack.
Martinez was arrested the same day, and was charged with murder, sexual assault, and burglary.
According to Santa Maria Police Chief Ralph Martin, Martinez had been arrested no less than six times in the 15 months before he murdered Pharis.
At a press conference, Martin said:
Two weeks before this murder Santa Maria Police officers arrested him for possession of meth (methamphetamine). You know what we had to do? We had to cite him out; that’s the problem with this system — this is not just in Santa Maria, this is all over the state of California and all over the United States.
On August 11, 2015, Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) issued the following statement:
Following a 2009 arrest, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement opted not to issue a detainer requesting that local authorities hold him until he can be transferred to federal custody for removal proceedings. In 2014, Martinez was arrested on felony drug and sexual assault charges, which were later reduced. This time, ICE did issue a detainer, but the Santa Maria sheriff’s office declined to honor it because of a local sanctuary policy, which requires local authorities to ignore requests from federal immigration officials.13
∙ Joe Storie, 51
On October 5, 2011, Luis Alberto Rodriguez, 44, drunk, sped through a flashing red light at the intersection of Colington Road and U.S. 158 in Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina, and crashed his Chevy Lumina into the pickup truck driven by Paul Davis. The truck was hit with such force that it flipped over, killing 51-year-old Joe Storie, a passenger in the vehicle, according to court documents.
Two other passengers, Joe’s wife, Alicia Storie, and his sister, Chris Storie, were both critically injured in the wreck and were taken to Norfolk General Hospital in Virginia by air ambulance. Rodriguez was taken to the same hospital with serious injuries.
Incredibly, days later, Rodriguez walked out of that same hospital, embarking on what would be, only his first flight from justice.
Police called Sentara Norfolk General every day while Rodriguez was a patient to check on his recovery and were told, “he is in no condition to walk out of here” each time.
Kill Devils Hills police, along with other agencies, eventually tracked the criminal alien to the state capital (and “sanctuary city”) of Raleigh, and brought him back to Dare County.
Rodriguez was charged with one count of felony death by vehicle, two counts of serious injury by vehicle, and one count of driving while impaired. The illegal alien claimed poverty, was appointed a public defender, and a secured bond was set at $100,000.
Despite the fact that he was in the country illegally and claimed to be “without assets,” on January 9, 2012, Rodriguez appeared before Dare County District Judge J.C. Cole, with his own, hired lawyer, for a second bond reduction hearing (after an initial hearing saw District Judge Edgar Barnes uphold the higher bail amount).
Apparently, Judge Cole was impressed by the illegal alien’s “family values” and actually reduced the secured bail amount to $50,000. Rodriguez found a bondsman and was released with a pending court date of April 23, 2012. Of course, Rodriguez failed to show for court and the illegal alien remains at large, more than five years after he killed Storie.
∙ Jamie and Mary Ann Oxendine, and their 17-year-old son, Austin
On January 25, 2015, Hoke County (NC) sheriff’s deputies arrested Rodolfo Marin-Vela, 29, after he reportedly ran through a stop sign at the intersection of North Old Wire Road and Shannon Road, and crashed into another car.
In that other vehicle were Jamie and Mary Ann Oxendine, as well as their 17-year-old son, Austin. All three died at the scene of the crash.
The crash occurred just outside the home of Ray Crumpler, who told WRAL:
We heard a loud crash. As soon as we heard it we immediately walked outside on the porch and saw the vehicles.
Basically all three of them looked like it was instantaneous. I’ve seen wrecks, but the impact was pretty bad. I checked for a pulse and I didn’t feel anything.14
Marin-Vela has been charged with driving while impaired, reckless driving, three counts of felony death by vehicle, stop sign violation, no driver’s license, seat belt violation, open container of alcohol, and exceeding a safe speed for conditions. He is currently being held at the Hoke County Detention Center on an ICE detainer.
In September 2014, Marin-Vela had been arrested in Raleigh for public intoxication, and released on bail.
∙ Kate Steinle, 32
On July 1, 2015, Kate was walking along Pier 14 in San Francisco with her dad, Jim Steinle, when she was hit by a .40 caliber slug, fired by five-time deportee and longtime drug dealer, Juan Francisco Lopez-Sanchez. The bullet tore through her chest, hitting the aorta.
Kate fell to the ground; her last conscious words were reportedly “Dad, help me.”
Jim performed CPR on his daughter until paramedics arrived on the scene. She was pronounced dead two hours later at San Francisco General Hospital.
The illegal alien confessed to killing her.
Breitbart reported:
An ICE official told Breitbart News that ICE Enforcement and Removal had begun processing the suspect for reinstatement of removal from the U.S. in March. But instead Lopez-Sanchez was transferred on March 26 from the Bureau of Prisons in another city to the San Francisco Sheriff’s Department (SFSD) because of a drug warrant. ICE then filed the detainer request to be notified prior to Lopez-Sanchez’s release from custody.
A San Francisco court dismissed Lopez-Sanchez’s drug charges on March 27.
San Francisco and SFSD policy is to deny ICE detainer requests, barring special circumstances, such as a warrant for a suspected violent offender. The ICE detainer request was denied, and on April 15, 2015 Lopez-Sanchez was released. Two and a half months later Kate Steinle was killed.15
Shortly after her death, Kate’s family began a memorial fundraising site to raise money for Challenged Athletes Foundation and PAWS, charities which were important to Kate. Her older brother Brad posted the following message on the page:
I am Kate’s big brother, Brad. And days ago the most loving, beautiful, and amazing person was taken from us…my best friend, my love, my sister. Kate had a special soul, a kind and giving heart, the most contagious laugh I have ever heard and smile I have ever seen. Kate loved to laugh, travel, spend time with friends, and most of all loved her family.
Please remember every day that love is all that matters. Loving friends, loving life, and most of all loving your family.
The day before Kate died she changed her Facebook cover photo with a saying that said “Whatever’s good for your soul…do that.”
Please always remember Kate and live your life by these words.
Kate grew up in Pleasanton, California, and was a graduate of California Polytechnic University. She worked for Medtronic, a medical equipment company in San Francisco, and had a bright future ahead of her.
The Sanctuary Cities and Counties...
Despite the rhetoric coming from many local officials claiming that they have no legal role in enforcing our immigration laws, the claim is simply a lie.
In 1996, the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act (IIRIR) was passed as a federal law which requires local governments to cooperate with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (now part of the Department of Homeland Security).
‘Sanctuary Nation’
On April 14, 2015, Sarah Saldana, Director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), appeared before the House Judiciary Committee, and some stark revelations about the lawlessness of the Obama administration came to light.
Of course, these facts and figures were completely buried by this nation’s mainstream press:
• Between Fiscal Years 2013 and 2014, ICE re-leased 66,565 illegal aliens, who were previously convicted of crimes in this country.
• Those criminal aliens account for nearly 30,000 DUIs, 2,600 incidents of domestic violence, 800 sexual assaults, nearly 500 kidnappings and almost 300 murders.
U.S. House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-VA), announced:
The average daily population (ADP) of aliens in detention facilities has declined to approximately 26,000 beds. This has occurred despite a mandate in law that requires ICE to maintain a 34,000 ADP in detention facilities.16
After analyzing the data, Jessica Vaughan, director of policy studies for the Center for Immigration Studies, told Newsmax:
Whereas some ICE offices once processed as many as 100 illegal aliens a day for removal, now these same offices often process fewer than five per day, with the same staff.17
That’s right... a 95 percent drop in deportations!
For several years, the Obama administration claimed to be deporting around 400,000 illegal aliens annually, until the now-deceased Cochise County (AZ) Sheriff Larry Dever exposed Obama’s lie.
In March 2011, Sheriff Dever told Fox News that for two years, U.S. Border Patrol officials had been telling him they were ordered on multiple occasions to reduce and even stop apprehending illegal aliens crossing the U.S./Mexican border.
Sheriff Dever said that a Border Patrol supervisor informed him that the agency was ordered to keep the number of arrests down during specific reporting periods. Dever stated:
The senior supervisor agent is telling me about how their mission is now to scare people back. He said, ‘I had to go back to my guys and tell them not to catch anybody, that their job is to chase people away. They were not to catch anyone, arrest anyone. Their job was to set up posture, to intimidate people, to get them to go back.18
The following month, Dever told the Senate Homeland Security Subcommittee on Border and Maritime Security that the Border Patrol’s new policy of giving a warning to illegal aliens rather than taking them into custody, known as “ Turn Back South,” was not only being practiced near the border, but far north of it as well.
Though the Obama administration wants us to believe that every illegal alien in this country is either a valedictorian or an upstanding “New American,” who only wants to work and build a better life for his family, the facts paint a much different picture.
Last year, a team of investigative reporters with KIRO 7 in Seattle, released a rather shocking report, which discovered that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has recently released at least 11 illegal aliens, convicted of sex crimes, into Seattle-area neighborhoods.
KIRO 7 reported:
In the Seattle area, sex offenders who are undocumented were dropped off from Tacoma to Bellingham.19
Illegal alien sex offenders were found in the following ZIP codes:
98003, Federal Way
98011, Bothell
98023, Federal Way
98032, Kent
98036, Lynnwood
98092, Auburn
98104, Downtown Seattle
98108, Seattle
98203, Everett
98226, Bellingham
98421, Tacoma
ICE officials admitted that once released back onto our streets, these dangerous criminals are not tracked, and the agency basically washes their hands of the situation. It should also be noted, that local communities are not warned of these impending releases.
Of course, under President Obama, ICE agents are no longer allowed to arrest and deport illegal aliens, for simply being in this country illegally.
In 2012, Obama ordered ICE agents to stop detaining illegal aliens charged with misdemeanor crimes.
The memo was signed by former ICE director John Morton, and as is customary with this administration, the memo was quietly released on a Friday evening.20
Illegal aliens are now only eligible for deportation proceedings under the following conditions:
• the alien has previously been convicted of or charged with a felony;
• the alien has three or more prior misdemeanor convictions;
• the alien has a prior misdemeanor conviction or has been charged with a misdemeanor offense that involves violence, threats, or assault;
• sexual abuse or exploitation;
• driving under the influence of alcohol or a controlled substance;
• unlawful flight from the scene of an accident; -
• unlawful possession or use of a firearm or other deadly weapon;
• the distribution or trafficking of a controlled substance, or other significant threat to public safety;
• the alien has been convicted of unlawful entry or has illegally reentered the U.S. after a previous removal or return;
• the alien has an outstanding order of removal;
• the alien has been found by an immigration officer or an immigration judge to have knowingly committed fraud;
• the alien otherwise poses a significant risk to national security, border security, or public safety.
Of course, in reality, under the Obama administration, even felons can stay, and ICE agents have become little more than a chauffeurs for criminal aliens.
What follows is a short list of the consequences of Obama’s policies of non-enforcement, and his executive order amnesty, a.k.a. Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA).
What is quite possibly the most searing indictment of the Obama administration’s policy of non-enforcement of current immigration laws, and a walking, talking example of how we are no longer “a nation of laws,” comes in the form of Mexican national Migual Almenza Maldonado.
On November 6, 2015, Maldonado was arrested by Gaston County (NC) sheriff’s deputies for second-degree trespassing. It was his 12th arrest since January 2014.
His arrest record follows:
January 18, 2014 (Trespass, 2nd Degree)
March 27, 2014 (Trespass, 1st Degree)
June 12, 2014 (Failure to Appear, Misdemeanor)
July 10, 2014 (Trespass, 2nd Degree)
July 11, 2014 (Trespass, 2nd Degree)
August 29, 2014 (Failure to Appear, Misdemeanor)
December 3, 2014 (Trespass, 2nd Degree)
March 6, 2015 (Trespass, 2nd Degree)
June 22, 2015 (Intoxicated and Disruptive)
July 14, 2015 (Indecent Exposure, Use of Premises)
October 15, 2015 (Trespass, 2nd Degree)
Maldonado’s arrest on July 14, 2015, came after he “ exposed himself to a 45-year-old man at a dialysis center off Burtonwood Drive in Gastonia,” reported the Gaston Gazette.
Of course, this menace will remain a burden to the taxpayers of North Carolina because U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents are no longer allowed to deport illegal aliens for misdemeanors (and in many cases, for felonies as well).
On July 4, 2015, Pinal County sheriff’s deputies arrested Manuel Perez-Vasquez, 29, after he reportedly rammed his SUV into another vehicle on Papago Road, a crash that left two small children injured.
Perez-Vasquez was headed west near the intersection of Amarillo Valley and Papago Roads, when his Ford Explorer veered into the eastbound lane and struck an Oldsmobile Bravado.
The mother and her two children ( 2- and 5-year-old boys) were transported to a local hospital. The oldest boy suffered severe lacerations as a result of the crash.
Perez-Vasquez quickly fled the scene, but was picked up a short time later.
Perez-Vasquez is in the country illegally and has been deported back to Mexico, at least six times since May 2012, according to Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu.
InMaricopa.com reported:
Detectives from the PCSO Vehicular Crimes Unit determined Perez-Vasquez traveled left of center, causing the collision. Perez-Vasquez allegedly showed signs of drug impairment and was placed under arrest on suspicion of driving while impaired by drugs and leaving the scene of an injury collision, a felony. He allegedly confessed to smoking marijuana before the collision.
“ He refused to give a blood sample when arrested because he knew he had drugs in his system,” Babeu said. “Detectives had to get a search warrant from a judge to obtain the blood sample.”21
This case is yet another example of just how pointless deportations have become under a president who has abandoned border security.
On May 7, 2015, Santa Clara sheriff’s deputies arrested Edgar Covarrubias-Padilla, and subsequently charged him with several counts of child molestation, possession and distribution of child pornography.
He is accused of molesting a 10-year-old boy, but officials fear Covarrubias-Padilla may have sexually assaulted dozens more. He was booked into the Elmwood Barracks section of the Santa Clara County Jail, on $200,000 bond.
In 2012, Covarrubias-Padilla, an illegal alien, applied for and received amnesty under President DACA. Covarrubias-Padilla works as a nighttime counselor at Walden West Science Camp, which is run by the Santa Clara County Department of Eductation.
Sickeningly, this predator was affectionately known by his peers, and undoubtedly by his victims, as “Papa Bear.”
The San Jose Mercury News reported:
Every night homesick, ill or disruptive children were taken by volunteers or teachers — or walked alone — to “the Hub,” the camp office where he was stationed. Kids sometimes stayed alone with him there.
“ Children were told from day one that if you got a nightmare you could go to the Hub and go to “Papa Bear” and receive comfort and support,” said Erin Evers, a Santa Clara Unified District parent whose boys attended Walden West in April. In pre-camp orientation sessions, parents also were told that “Papa Bear” was the go-to night guy.
Of course, this is not the first illegal alien to commit a serious crime in this country after receiving Obama’s executive order amnesty.
Recently, Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) wrote a letter to Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary, Jeh Johnson; an excerpt from that letter follows:
Dear Secretary Johnson:
In February and March of 2015, I wrote to you about Emanuel Rangel-Hernandez—a recipient of the President’s Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program who was charged with four counts of first-degree murder in Charlotte, North Carolina. Last month, I wrote to you concerning another DACA recipient, Jose Bojorquez, who was arrested on suspicion of second-degree murder. This month, I write to you again about another potential DACA recipient who has allegedly distributed and possessed hundreds of images of child pornography and who has used his position at a summer camp, employment he may have legally obtained only with employment authorization he achieved as a DACA recipient, to molest and victimize the children he was tasked with helping.
Recent press accounts have reported that Edgar Covarrubias-Padilla, a night counselor at a popular science campin California, was charged with sexually abusing a 10-year-old boyalong with distribution and possession of child pornography. Mr. Covarrubias-Padilla allegedly applied for and received deferred action under the DACA program. On Monday, Covarrubias was charged with four felonies, which included possession and distribution of more than 600 child porn images and a charge for lewd and lascivious act with a child under 14.
The Santa Clara County Office of Education confirmed that Mr. Covarrubias-Padilla worked at two campsites over the past two years in various capacities that involved contact with children. According to news accounts, since this story broke last week, the Santa Clara Sheriff’s office has received over 100 calls and 50 emails from concerned parents. Reportedly, at least some of these calls are from parents who believe that their children were among Mr. Covarrubias-Padilla’s victims.
Whistleblowers allege that Mr. Covarrubias-Padilla filed a DACA application for deferred action on October 8, 2012, and was approved through May of 2015. Mr. Covarrubias-Padilla also allegedly filed an application for employment authorization in October of 2012 that was approved with validity until May of 2015. The Committee has received reports that on November 17, 2014, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) placed a note in Mr. Covarrubias-Padilla’s record that indicated that he was part of an ongoing investigation for exploiting children and distributing child pornography. Mr. Covarrubias-Padilla has been employed at the camp for the last two years.
These allegations are deeply troubling because, if true, they suggest that DHS was aware for months or years that Mr. Covarrubias-Padilla posed a public safety threat to the children he was monitoring, yet took no action to revoke his DACA authorization.22
It is obvious that these so-called “DREAMERS” are receiving no criminal background checks by the DHS, and Obama has an unwritten policy to allow all illegal aliens to stay in this country, regardless of the harm they cause U.S. citizens.
On April 15, 2015, Elmer Galeas-Padilla, 23, blew through the intersection of New Bern Station Court and South Blvd., and struck the moped being operated by 56-year-old Jefferson Davis James, according to police.
The victim was transported to Carolinas Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.
Witnesses reported the vehicle that struck James had Texas license plates, which read DMP8296.
CMPD Detective J.B. Reibold described the illegal alien’s car as a black 2005 Nissan Murano, with “a tinted rear window and chrome door handles, plus damage near the rear passenger-side door from where James’s moped hit it,” Crime in Charlotte reported.23
Two days after the fatal wreck, charges of driving on a revoked license and felony hit-and-run were filed against Galeas-Padilla, who is still at large at this time.
Galeas-Padilla is in the country illegally and was actually wearing an electronic monitoring ankle bracelet, issued by ICE, until he reportedly cut it off on Wednesday morning, police said.
In 2009, ICE began placing the monitoring devices on what they call “non-violent” detainees while they undergo deportation proceedings…effectively placing these invaders on “house arrest.”
In March 2010, the San Francisco Bay Guardian reported:
This pilot program, which began in eight cities, including San Francisco, has since grown to a nationwide multimillion [dollar] opportunity for contractors and now involves at least 30 cities: Atlanta, Charlotte, Baltimore, Boston, Hartford, Buffalo, Chicago, Kansas City, Dallas, Denver, Detroit, El Paso, Houston, Los Angeles, Delray Beach, Miami, Orlando, Newark, New Orleans, New York, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Portland, Seattle, San Francisco, Salt Lake City, San Antonio, San Diego, St. Paul, and Washington.
In July 2009, DHS/ICE’s Office of Detention and Removal Operations (DRO) awarded a $372 million, 5-year contract to BI Incorporated, a Boulder, Colorado-based company, to provide support services for its Intensive Supervision Appearance Program (ISAP), as the federal government previously called its electronic monitoring program.24
Are localities being ‘bought off?’
About seven years ago, nearly 75 percent of county jails across the nation, listed “ICE Holds” within the public viewing section of their online booking logs. Since President Barack Obama took office, the number of sheriff’s offices providing easy access to the number of illegal aliens being held in their jails has steadily decreased.
In fact, today, less than 25 percent of local jails’ list ICE Holds on their websites. It would seem that the decrease in information has coincided with the increasing number of local cities and counties employing sanctuary policies.
During this same period, the Obama administration has been doling out billions of dollars worth of military equipment to local law enforcement through the Defense Department’s “1033” program, and the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) State Homeland Security Program and the Urban Areas Security Initiative.
In FY 2013, DHS awarded $1.6 billion in grant money to state and local law enforcement agencies. During that same period, the Defense Department gave approximately $500 million worth of “surplus” equipment to local police and sheriff’s departments.
Is there a connection?
Well, up until a few years ago, the Marin County (CA) Sheriff’s Office (MCSO) listed ICE Holds on the booking log section of their website; then, they rather abruptly stopped without a clear explanation for the change in policy.
However, in Febuary 2013, the MCSO used $370,000 in DHS grant money to purchase a “BearCat G3,” for their SWAT and Special Ops Team.
The Marin Independent Journal reported:
Marin County officials say an armored truck is a good thing to have on hand in a world so volatile that terrorism, mayhem, and calamity can strike any neighborhood in any town or any place at any time.
But in a region where law officers take the Boy Scout motto “Be Prepared” to heart, a county decision this week to buy a $370,000, steel-plated, state-of-the-art response and rescue vehicle from a Massachusetts defense contractor has triggered a firestorm of protest.
Critics are blasting the move by Sheriff Robert Doyle and the county Board of Supervisors, contending the BearCat G3 rescue truck from Lenco Armored Vehicles is a ridiculous waste of money.
The BearCat, which can withstand explosive blasts and .50 caliber gunfire, is “used by SWAT and special-ops teams at high-security facilities” and is just what the county’s Special Response Team needs in order to handle “incidents that are beyond the capability of first responders,” Sheriff Doyle advised supervisors. The sheriff said the 16-member special response team includes a four-member “weapons of mass destruction unit” to deal with “chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, and explosive agents.” The team is trained in “terrorism response scenarios” and is designed as “a regional asset in the North Bay.”
It’s the only unit of its kind in the North Bay. 25
Incidentally, this federally funded purchase occur-red about the same time as the ICE Holds disappeared from the MCSO’s booking logs.
On August 20, 2014, The Guardian reported:
The Urban Areas Security Initiative focuses on the “unique planning, organization, equipment training, and exercise needs of high-threat, high-density urban areas” vulnerable to terrorism and other catastrophes. It will spend $587 million this year, both in cities proven to be terrorist targets such as New York ($179 million) and Washington, D.C. ($53 million) and those that are not, such as Charlotte, North Carolina ($3 million).26
Of course, all of the aforementioned cities are sanctuaries for illegal aliens.
On November 24, 2013, the New York Daily News ran a story about various New York county sheriff’s offices which had recently received Mine Resistant Ambush Protected vehicles (MRAPs) from the Defense Department. These used “urban tanks,” generally cost between $550,000 and $700,000, but they are given to the localities.27
The only expense to county taxpayers in acquiring these vehicles is transportation costs, which are usually around $4,000.
The counties listed in the article were Albany, Jefferson, Nassau, Steuben, Sullivan, and Warren, none of which allow the public to see ICE Holds in their booking logs.
Though sanctuary city policies are actually a violation of federal law, we are living in lawless times, with the blessing of the current administration. No other event demonstrated the fact that we have a criminal president, enabling other criminal politicians, than when Gov. Jerry Brown signed the 2013 “Trust Act” into law, effectively making the entire state of California a “safe place” for foreign criminals.28
In conclusion, sanctuary policies always spell tragedy for that locality’s residents, with a surge in violent crime.
A 2015 report from the government watchdog group, JudicialWatch, listed the following astounding results from San Francisco’s sanctuary policy:
Judicial Watch announced today it obtained records from the San Francisco County Sheriff’s Department revealing that violent crime in the Bay area has skyrocketed since 2011, with the number of arrests for murder up 55 percent, and the number of arrests for rapes up 370 percent. …
“Citizens understand that when San Francisco and other sanctuary cities release illegal alien criminals onto the streets, crime is going to increase,” said Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton. “These new crime statistics suggest that there are more murders and an epidemic of rape linked to San Francisco’s releasing illegal alien criminals in violation of law.”29
The easiest way to convince cities, counties, and even whole states to stop protecting illegal alien criminals is to cut off all federal funds to those entities...no more money for roads, schools, etc., until they comply with federal law and begin cooperating with ICE.
Of course, we must first have a federal government, beginning with a president who is willing to enforce our own laws, before this can happen.
It should be noted that on October 29, 2015, North Carolina Governor Pat McCrory signed into law House Bill 318, known as the Protect North Carolina Workers Act, which bans cities and counties across the state from enacting so-called “sanctuary policies” to shield illegal aliens from deportation, after being apprehended for other crimes.30
At the signing ceremony, Gov. McCrory said: “Today, North Carolina is standing up for the rule of law, which is central to North Carolina values and our country’s values. Public safety officials must have the flexibility and tools to investigate crimes and sanctuary city policies that deprive law enforcement of those tools.”
A year earlier, The Social Contract published an exclusive piece, entitled “Illegal Alien Crimes In North Carolina,” which was a comprehensive study on both the human and financial costs of crimes being committed by those who have no legal right to be in this country.31
In particular, the study highlighted the fact that more than 120 North Carolinians were killed by illegal aliens, during a ten-year period, as well as the thousands of child sexual assaults committed by illegal aliens in the Tarheel State.
The study also pointed out that throughout the majority of Mexico (19 states as well as the Federal District of Mexico City), the age of sexual consent is merely 12 years of age. To date, The Social Contract remains the only publication to continually discuss this abomination, which is undoubtedly brought to this country, along with the cheap labor represented by illegal aliens from Mexico.32
The study also discovered that nearly every city, large and small, throughout North Carolina has in place either an official “sanctuary policy” (such as Durham), or an unofficial one (such as Smithfield); in other words, corrupt politicians and their large, unscrupulous donors have placed a revolving door on the state’s 100 county jails for illegal alien offenders.
Through the help of patriots such as James Johnson and Maureen Wilson, both with the citizens’ advocacy group NCFIRE, copies of this study were placed into the hands of state legislators, sheriffs, and district attorneys, as soon as the ink was dry on the magazine. Citizen lobbyists finally had hard numbers and troubling, documented facts which the politicians could no longer ignore.
We at The Social Contract are very proud of this study and the results it produced, one year later. The governor’s action is a step in the right direction to ending the carnage being wrought in what has become the “virtual border state” of North Carolina. ■
Endnotes
1. http://cis.org/Sanctuary-Cities-Map
2. http://cis.org/ImmigrantGangs
3. http://www.newsobserver.com/news/local/community/durham-news/article65222582.html
4. http://unlicensedtokill.org/the-story/
5. http://crimeblog.dallasnews.com/2016/03/suspect-in-euless-officers-slaying-was-meth-addict-just-released-from-jail-tuesday-his-family-says.html/
6. https://www.odmp.org/officer/22792-police-officer-david-stefan-hofer
7. http://www.judiciary.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/07-21-15%20McCann%20Testimony.pdf
8. http://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/mesa/2015/01/23/mesa-qt-murder-court-records-abrk/22219037/
9. http://www.judiciary.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/07-21-15%20Ronnebeck%20Testimony.pd
10. http://www.odmp.org/officer/19621-police-officer-shane-cory-figueroa
11. http://www.judiciary.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/07-21-15%20Wilkerson%20Testimony.pdf
12. http://www.judiciary.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/07-21-15%20Oliver%20Testimony.pdf
13. http://www.grassley.senate.gov/news/news-releases/%E2%80%98sanctuary%E2%80%99-policies-helped-cause-another-tragedy-blocking-removal-undocumented
14. http://www.wral.com/three-killed-in-hoke-county-crash/14384742/
15. http://www.breitbart.com/california/2015/07/11/kathryn-kate-steinle-remembered/
16. http://docs.house.gov/Committee/Calendar/ByEvent.aspx?EventID=103305
17. http://www.newsmax.com/DeroyMurdock/Violent-Illegal-Alien-Convicts/2015/05/07/id/643267/
18. http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2011/05/03/sheriff-testifies-border-patrol-agents-ordered-reduce-arrests-illegal/
19. http://www.kirotv.com/news/news/undocumented-sex-offenders-left-seattle-area-neigh/nmjt8/
20. http://www.ice.gov/doclib/detention-reform/pdf/detainer-policy.pdf
21. http://www.inmaricopa.com/Article/2015/07/06/2-children-injured-in-papago-crash#.VZshqDwChl8.facebook
22. http://www.grassley.senate.gov/news/news-releases/camp-counselor-charged-child-porn-sex-abuse-allegedly-received-deferred
23. http://www.crimeincharlotte.com/suspect-in-hit-and-run-that-killed-moped-driver-identified/#.VTNqtZMmCSp
24. http://www.sfbg.com/politics/2010/03/16/who-profits-ices-electronic-monitoring-anklets-0
25. http://www.marinij.com/general-news/20130214/critics-rip-marin-sheriffs-370000-armored-truck
26. http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/aug/20/police-billions-homeland-security-military-equipment
27. http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/police-surplus-armored-trucks-iraq-article-1.1527650
28. http://www.catrustact.org/
29. https://www.judicialwatch.org/press-room/press-releases/judicial-watch-san-francisco-crime-surge-homicide-arrests-up-55-rapes-arrests-up-370/
30. https://governor.nc.gov/press-release/governor-mccrory-signs-protect-north-carolina-workers-act
31. https://www.thesocialcontract.com/artman2/publish/tsc_25_1/tsc_25_1_gibson_1.shtml
32. http://www.diputados.gob.mx/LeyesBiblio/pdf/9.pdf