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May 04, 2005

Illegal alliens - guilty of 'trespass'

Jay Tea at Wizbang brings to our attention to a New Hampshire town that gets it when dealing with illegal alliens

JAFFREY – In a case that has drawn national attention because of a police chief’s unusual approach to dealing with illegal immigrants, a Mexican national pleaded guilty Tuesday to criminal trespass, a minor state law, because he is in the United States illegally.
Jay has muses his hope that this tactic will spread.

However, don't bet on it in places like Los Angeles that still has Special Order 40 in effect.

Sanctuary laws, present in such cities as Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, Austin, Houston, and San Francisco, generally forbid local police officers from inquiring into a suspect’s immigration status or reporting it to federal authorities. Such laws place a higher priority on protecting illegal aliens from deportation than on protecting legal immigrants and citizens from assault, rape, arson, and other crimes.

Let’s say a Los Angeles police officer sees a member of Mara Salvatrucha hanging out at Hollywood and Vine. The gang member has previously been deported for aggravated assault; his mere presence back in the country following deportation is a federal felony. Under the prevailing understanding of Los Angeles’s sanctuary law (special order 40), if that officer merely inquires into the gangbanger’s immigration status, the officer will face departmental punishment.

Street cops, especially those in gang details, are well aware of the players in the neighborhood. The gangbanger culture operates just below the radar of law-abiding citizens, but it is real, pervasive and very, very dangerous. Most of the Hispanic gangs have strong ties to the Mexican Mafia, which also has a high profile existence in the prison system.

And S.O. 40 and similar codes that forbid officers from even inquiring about a person's immigration status allow for the criminals to move with relative ease between the US and Mexico.

The argument from those who support such instruments as SO 40 is that they want illegals who are victims of crime not to feel afraid of cooperating with the police. However, what has actually happened is that these victims have been delivered up to the gangs as easy prey to exploit and intimidate directly due to the ease the criminals have in moving through the community. When the Black Angel who lives down the hall lets you know if he sees you talking to the cops he'll just come back and take care of you, you know you are not going to be "cooperative" with the police no matter what assurance of non-deportation they offer. You still have to live within the same community that is dominated by the gangbanger ... where are you going to go?

Take these legal handcuffs off the cops and let them do their jobs. Obviously the Feds are NOT doing theirs.

Posted by Darleen at May 4, 2005 06:37 AM

Comments

Thank God there are people of courage such as yourself to enlighten the rest of us.

Posted by: Carson at June 8, 2005 09:13 AM