Well how about we forget the past and go to the present...

Last I heard, the Latino population was larger than the white population in California by 2-4%. And that's just those who vote, and not their illegal "wetback" cousins.

Gawd, who do you blame for that? The Catholic Church? :rolleyes:

Since you put it that way, yes, I do blame the Catholic Church for the massive over-population of Latin America. The Church and poverty, but the two go together hand-in-glove, poverty causes over-population and vice-versa.

I am a Catholic, and have even been accused of being left-wing on occasion,:D , but I agree in part w/ Steve Stromberg's views, other than the racial slur. Mexicans and other Hispanics are wonderful people and "wetback" is a derogatory term. It is my opinion that the current, untennable situation regarding immigration causes a level of frustration and anxiety among some people that causes them to get angry and say (or type) things that they don't really mean. But of course I cannot speak for Steve.

I would be in favor of strong enforcement of immigration laws, targeting employers, and deporting people who are here illegally. End all exploitation of immigrant labor as well as the massive financial burden on our society that they cause. The situation w/ healthcare vis-a-vis illegal immigrants using ERs as primary care providers and the total abandonment of the public school system in L.A. is a harbinger of the future of the entire U.S. if serious changes are not made. An explosion in the population of uneducated people is not the prescription for functioning society, the U.S. will become Mexico w/o a neighbor to help out.

Farm labor? That one is easy. Legal immigration and guest workers could and would fill the jobs if the system was fixed. If food costs more but the tax/revenue to services structure is repaired, no one in their right mind would object. In the 1960s when the "Barraca" (sp?) system was in place, workers had better protections and the system worked beautifully w/ guest workers.

As for the other jobs? U.S. citizens would fill every last one of them. There are, (or until very recently were), populated places in the U.S. where citizens did all of the table bussing, dish-washing, lawn mowing, etc., etc.. In L.A., 90% of mechanics and plumbers are immigrants from the south, is someone going to tell me that "No American(sic) would do those jobs??" Where does this BS come from??

I for one would seriously consider starting a gardening business immediately in L.A. if illegals left, and yes, I am serious. They make serious bank, (like any business, the boss makes $$ and the workers get good exercise+ make some cash), and I could staff it immediately w/ unemployed, young U.S. citizens who are waiting for their record deal to pop. ;)

It would be a massive boom to the U.S. economy to get rid of illegal immigrants and have a legal immigration system that works; if restaurant jobs (for instance) could not be filled, we could allow thousands in the first year, but not all from the same 2 or 3 countries. There are millions of poor people in the world who would love a shot at the American dream, but cannot simply walk here. :cool:

I guess you send their W2 to the address on the drivers license they were given when they registered to vote :rolleyes: . Seriously, how do you get an illegal alien to pay taxes? Maybe they would be willing to file their returns knowing they were going to get a break for being in a lower earnings bracket.

From dd47
Here's the biggest argument, friend: it was theirs before we "took" it from them.

Do we need to "give" back all the land to the Native Americans. What the heck, lets just give it all back.

Isnt it human nature to war and take over land and territory? Survival of the fittest. Not saying I am into world domination or anything but I belive we, America, have been pretty good at excersising our strength as compared to the history of civilization.

As to the Illegal Alliens, I know of a few who have come to this country on vacation visas and havent left. The couple divorces before they get here, pay legal citizens here to marry and become legal. This s#*t pisses me off! Alot of these people I am talking about live better than U.S citizens! I fault the U.S. imigration services for this. I, as a U.S. citizen, am embarrassed, as these illegal immigrants are so arrogant in that they have "pulled one over on the U.S." Seems like all I can do is bring up the Miricale on Ice in Lake Placid and they shut right up. They get the last laugh though.

Joe

nostatic, I don't understand how access to cheap produce justifies turning your head towards illegal immigration.

I'm with Steve and speeder on this one. You don't have a right to cheap labor. When my father's family immigrated from Germany after WWII, they worked as migrant vegetable/fruit workers making less than dirt, but surviving. They immigrated legally, and this country gave them the foundation to prosper. The same could work for Mexicans. Let them legally immigrate (at a reasonable rate), and give them a chance to legally prosper.

As far as Mexicans doing work Americans won't stoop to, I think it has to do with pay. In Memphis, TN, you can get a Mexican for $100/day or less. You can't hire a person legally (paying taxes and insurance) for that kind of money. However, I do admit Mexicans have a good reputation for their work ethic. Never have used them. Never will, thankfully. I'm too stubborn and would rather suffer a sore back.

jurgen

I didn't say it justified it. Notice another post where I say that an amnesty program coupled with real laws could be the beginning of reforming the system. The current situation is abhorrent, but you can't just implement a knee-jerk policy without considering the ramifications. We are in a global economy now, and the world goes as the US goes...and the US goes as California goes. I think things have to be carefully considered. Yes, you'll get some offset by lessened burden on healthcare and education systems, but it would be less than you think.

But at the risk of being tabsian, I'll offer that if you buy products made in China, or shop at Walmart, you are in effect supporting "slave wages" (if that's what you're worried about with the illegals).

flame away :)

Steve,

Its comments like that, that continue to undermine society, regardless of who has been called what before you or I were born. This is not 1939 or 1968! To begin with, this is not an amnesty program!

This program is designed to:

1. Issue 3 year, renewable work visas. As long as they are working, paying taxes, they can stay here.

2. Keep track of who is here. If you're here and working, you can stay. If you're here, not registered/not working, and mooching off the system, pack ur bags cause you're getting deported.

3. Face it, americans are not going to the field to pick fruit and vegetables or work in the steel mills. Not even mexican-americans born here will do the work. Kicking out productive illegal aliens will hurt that aspect of our economy.

You might want to get the facts straight and take a better look at yourself in the morning before you start spouting off your oral-hole.

Is that an observation, analogy or simply a poor excuse for the so-called "American norm?"

And "give" and "take" doesn't matter anyway, really; out here, the prodigy of those who were displaced are slowly taking it back anyway. Look who uses most of our public schools and health services. It sure isn't the people who established said public schools and health services.

I know a principal of an elementary school who won't even send her child to that same school she's in charge of. But that's just one anecdote. There are many many more.

Let's not forget that Homeland Security is highly in favor of this program. Why wouldn't be since a couple Air Mexico flights into LAX were cancelled two weeks ago for security reasons.

Steve I challenge you!!!
 

So I take it that you don’t want to have the Mexican worker paying taxes. Sure let their retired grandparents dip into the Social Security without ever working a day in their lives but don’t put into the pot?

NO MATTER WHAT YOU SAY THEY ARE GOING TO WORK HERE PERIOD! Everyone seems to know that they are doing it but no one steps up to the plate because of the consequences involved.

When I worked at UPS as a staff level manager I recruited and hired dozens of workers each quarter. Of those I hired guess which ones were the most dedicated and loyal workers out of the bunch? The Mexican and Philippine workers were top notch when it came to showing up on time, showing up every day, completing their work and not complaining about everything.

I’ve had the opportunity to interview thousands “Yes thousands” of people during my career and the funniest thing when speaking to the Mexican worker was their question after I hired them. “When can I start?”

Yes, I too have come a long way from working various positions in the warehouse including pulling orders, fork driving, steel worker, unloading and others I hate to remember but I can remember this. I didn’t recall many “OTMs” (Other Than Mexican) lining up to apply. Bull is not accepting the facts that we’re are winning, we now will have:

o Employers paying their fair share of taxes
o The workers paying their taxes
o We’ll have documentation on the workers

Why is it that you don’t see the Mexican worker lining up at the unemployment office as you may see other “OTMs” lining up to apply? Maybe because they are taking those jobs that no one else will take, they don’t have time to hassle with all the free-bees that are government has set up for all our couch potatoes. The Mexican worker would rather use that time to do what every other red blooded American should be doing “Looking for work”.

Steve I’d like to challenge you to find 20 “OTM” workers for this weekend to pull strawberry’s from the field at $5.00 per hour. It’ll only take me the time it takes to drive to Home Depot to find the people I’m looking for, how about it?

I don’t want you to get me wrong I believe in protecting our jobs in America but lets face it we don’t have workers here that are willing to take on the daunting task of picking fruit in the fields for hours. I also didn’t agree with giving illegal immigrants drivers license, but this is a different matter all together. If they are trying to do it legal, let’s give it to them, like I said several times already we are winning not loosing by doing this.


http://www.pelicanparts.com/support/smileys/smash.gif

Now I get pms that I will be Banned? Why? I guess in America 2004 we dont have Free Speech. Steve

Here is the Law:
Federal Immigration and Nationality Act
Section 8 USC 1324(a)(1)(A)(iv)(b)(iii)

"Any person who . . . encourages or induces an alien to . . . reside . . . knowing or in reckless disregard of the fact that such . . . residence is . . . in violation of law, shall be punished as provided . . . for each alien in respect to whom such a violation occurs . . . fined under title 18 . . . imprisoned not more than 5 years, or both."

Section 274 felonies under the federal Immigration and Nationality Act, INA 274A(a)(1)(A):

A person (including a group of persons, business, organization, or local government) commits a federal felony when she or he:

* assists an alien s/he should reasonably know is illegally in the U.S. or who lacks employment authorization, by transporting, sheltering, or assisting him or her to obtain employment, or

* encourages that alien to remain in the U.S. by referring him or her to an employer or by acting as employer or agent for an employer in any way, or

* knowingly assists illegal aliens due to personal convictions.

Penalties upon conviction include criminal fines, imprisonment, and forfeiture of vehicles and real property used to commit the crime. Anyone employing or contracting with an illegal alien without verifying his or her work authorization status is guilty of a misdemeanor. Aliens and employers violating immigration laws are subject to arrest, detention, and seizure of their vehicles or property. In addition, individuals or entities who engage in racketeering enterprises that commit (or conspire to commit) immigration-related felonies are subject to private civil suits for treble damages and injunctive relief.

Recruitment and Employment of Illegal Aliens

It is unlawful to hire an alien, to recruit an alien, or to refer an alien for a fee, knowing the alien is unauthorized to work in the United States. It is equally unlawful to continue to employ an alien knowing that the alien is unauthorized to work. Employers may give preference in recruitment and hiring to a U.S. citizen over an alien with work authorization only where the U.S. citizen is equally or better qualified. It is unlawful to hire an individual for employment in the United States without complying with employment eligibility verification requirements. Requirements include examination of identity documents and completion of Form I-9 for every employee hired. Employers must retain all I-9s, and, with three days' advance notice, the forms must be made available for inspection. Employment includes any service or labor performed for any type of remuneration within the United States, with the exception of sporadic domestic service by an individual in a private home. Day laborers or other casual workers engaged in any compensated activity (with the above exception) are employees for purposes of immigration law. An employer includes an agent or anyone acting directly or indirectly in the interest of the employer. For purposes of verfication of authorization to work, employer also means an independent contractor, or a contractor other than the person using the alien labor. The use of temporary or short-term contracts cannot be used to circumvent the employment authorization verification requirements. If employment is to be for less than the usual three days allowed for completing the I-9 Form requirement, the form must be completed immediately at the time of hire.

An employer has constructive knowledge that an employee is an illegal unauthorized worker if a reasonable person would infer it from the facts. Constructive knowledge constituting a violation of federal law has been found where (1) the I-9 employment eligibility form has not been properly completed, including supporting documentation, (2) the employer has learned from other individuals, media reports, or any source of information available to the employer that the alien is unauthorized to work, or (3) the employer acts with reckless disregard for the legal consequences of permitting a third party to provide or introduce an illegal alien into the employer's work force. Knowledge cannot be inferred solely on the basis of an individual's accent or foreign appearance.

Actual specific knowledge is not required. For example, a newspaper article stating that ballrooms depend on an illegal alien work force of dance hostesses was held by the courts to be a reasonable ground for suspicion that unlawful conduct had occurred.

IT IS ILLEGAL FOR NONPROFIT OR RELIGIOUS ORGANIZATIONS to knowingly assist an employer to violate employment sanctions, REGARDLESS OF CLAIMS THAT THEIR CONVICTIONS REQUIRE THEM TO ASSIST ALIENS. Harboring or aiding illegal aliens is not protected by the First Amendment. It is a felony to establish a commercial enterprise for the purpose of evading any provision of federal immigration law. Violators may be fined or imprisoned for up to five years.

Encouraging and Harboring Illegal Aliens

It is a violation of law for any person to conceal, harbor, or shield from detection in any place, including any building or means of transportation, any alien who is in the United States in violation of law. HARBORING MEANS ANY CONDUCT THAT TENDS TO SUBSTANTIALLY FACILITATE AN ALIEN TO REMAIN IN THE U.S. ILLEGALLY. The sheltering need not be clandestine, and harboring covers aliens arrested outdoors, as well as in a building. This provision includes harboring an alien who entered the U.S. legally but has since lost his legal status.

An employer can be convicted of the felony of harboring illegal aliens who are his employees if he takes actions in reckless disregard of their illegal status, such as ordering them to obtain false documents, altering records, obstructing INS inspections, or taking other actions that facilitate the alien's illegal employment. Any person who within any 12-month period hires ten or more individuals with actual knowledge that they are illegal aliens or unauthorized workers is guilty of felony harboring. It is also a felony to encourage or induce an alien to come to or reside in the U.S. knowing or recklessly disregarding the fact that the alien's entry or residence is in violation of the law. This crime applies to any person, rather than just employers of illegal aliens. Courts have ruled that "encouraging" includes counseling illegal aliens to continue working in the U.S. or assisting them to complete applications with false statements or obvious errors. The fact that the alien is a refugee fleeing persecution is not a defense to this felony, since U.S. law and the UN Protocol on Refugees both require that a refugee must report to immigration authorities without delay upon entry to the U.S.

The penalty for felony harboring is a fine and imprisonment for up to five years. The penalty for felony alien smuggling is a fine and up to ten years' imprisonment. Where the crime causes serious bodily injury or places the life of any person in jeopardy, the penalty is a fine and up to twenty years' imprisonment. If the criminal smuggling or harboring results in the death of any person, the penalty can include life imprisonment. Convictions for aiding, abetting, or conspiracy to commit alien smuggling or harboring, carry the same penalties. Courts can impose consecutive prison sentences for each alien smuggled or harbored. A court may order a convicted smuggler to pay restitution if the alien smuggled qualifies as a victim under the Victim and Witness Protection Act. Conspiracy to commit crimes of sheltering, harboring, or employing illegal aliens is a separate federal offense punishable by a fine of up to $10,000 or five years' imprisonment.

Enforcement

A person or entity having knowledge of a violation or potential violation of employer sanctions provisions may submit a signed written complaint to the INS office with jurisdiction over the business or residence of the potential violator, whether an employer, employee, or agent. The complaint must include the names and addresses of both the complainant and the violator, and detailed factual allegations, including date, time, and place of the potential violation, and the specific conduct alleged to be a violation of employer sanctions. By regulation, the INS will only investigate third-party complaints that have a reasonable probability of validity. Designated INS officers and employees, and all other officers whose duty it is to enforce criminal laws, may make an arrest for violation of smuggling or harboring illegal aliens.

State and local law enforcement officials have the general power to investigate and arrest violators of federal immigration statutes without prior INS knowledge or approval, as long as they are authorized to do so by state law. There is no extant federal limitation on this authority. The 1996 immigration control legislation passed by Congress was intended to encourage states and local agencies to participate in the process of enforcing federal immigration laws. Immigration officers and local law enforcement officers may detain an individual for a brief warrantless interrogation where circumstances create a reasonable suspicion that the individual is illegally present in the U.S. Specific facts constituting a reasonable suspicion include evasive, nervous, or erratic behavior; dress or speech indicating foreign citizenship; and presence in an area known to contain a concentration of illegal aliens. Hispanic appearance alone is not sufficient. Immigration officers and police must have a valid warrant or valid employer's consent to enter workplaces or residences. Any vehicle used to transport or harbor illegal aliens, or used as a substantial part of an activity that encourages illegal aliens to come to or reside in the U.S. may be seized by an immigration officer and is subject to forfeiture. The forfeiture power covers any conveyances used within the U.S.

RICO -- Citizen Recourse

Private persons and entities may initiate civil suits to obtain injunctions and treble damages against enterprises that conspire to or actually violate federal alien smuggling, harboring, or document fraud statutes, under the Racketeer-Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO). The pattern of racketeering activity is defined as commission of two or more of the listed crimes. A RICO enterprise can be any individual legal entity, or a group of individuals who are not a legal entity but are associated in fact, AND CAN INCLUDE NONPROFIT ASSOCIATIONS.

Tax Crimes

Employers who aid or abet the preparation of false tax returns by failing to pay income or Social Security taxes for illegal alien employees, or who knowingly make payments using false names or Social Security numbers, are subject to IRS criminal and civil sanctions. U.S. nationals who have suffered intentional discrimination because of citizenship or national origin by an employer with more than three employees may file a complaint within 180 days of the discriminatory act with the Special Counsel for Immigration-Related Unfair Employment Practices, U.S. Department of Justice. In additon to the federal statutes summarized, state laws and local ordinances controlling fair labor practices, workers compensation, zoning, safe housing and rental property, nuisance, licensing, street vending, and solicitations by contractors may also apply to activities that involve illegal aliens.

OK I wont call them wetbacks, you are right they are

CRIMINAL ALIENS.

is that better I guess it is a better discription and the Truth.

Free Speech is one thing, twisting the meaning of that right of freedom of speech is something else. I guess racial slurs like spic, kike, nigger and wetback are okay because they existed before we were young and do not infringe on our freedom of speech (Oh, I forgot chink, we can't forget about us chinese).......Its people like you that continues to feed the under-lying hate among people in America. We are all Americans and we one of the things that brought us here was the melting pot of a working society that we do just that. Work together for the good of a nation.

And as for the law lesson, I guess we are justified in sending everyone who eats at the Sizzler salad bar to jail because we are contributing to the crime of creating a demand for more garden greens, thus creating more of a demand to hire people that can harvest the crops........moron.

Wow.....
 

Wow, cut & paste hope that didn't take up too much of your time:

Allowing those who illegally entered the United States to come forward and keep their jobs is the most controversial aspect of the plan.

Administration officials rejected the notion that it would amount to amnesty for illegal immigrants.

They said there is no guarantee those who join the new temporary worker program would qualify for Green Cards.

The workers would have no advantages if they do apply, the officials said, and they would be expected to return to their country of origin when their temporary visa expired.

Officials said the measure was designed largely for economic reasons -- to match "willing workers with willing employers," as administration officials put it.

The officials said the employers would have to show they cannot find U.S. citizens to fill their jobs.

They said getting undocumented workers to come forward would bring them into the tax system and "out of the shadows," as one official put it, and guarantee them wage and employment rights.

One of Bush's goals, the officials said, was to "promote compassion" and get Congress and the country to "understand the broken system" that now includes an estimated 8 million undocumented immigrants, most of them from Mexico.

Wow, that was easy: CNN

http://www.cnn.com/2004/ALLPOLITICS/01/06/elec04.prez.bush.immigration/

There is no such thing as free speech on an internet forum. Especially on one that is owned by and represents a private business. Political views, aside.

Gee John I get called a Gringo and I dont get bent out of Shape. They call us a great many really bad names why do you post a few with discription of the meaning so non spanish speaker will know what they are being called?

They just come here to work:
CRIME VICTIMS OF ILLEGAL ALIENS

There is an enormous number of Americans who have been harmed by the criminals who pass through the nation's open borders. For that reason, this section can only provide a symbolic tribute to the many unnamed victims who have been killed, raped, robbed, crippled and otherwise personally violated.

It is particularly shocking that even in post-911 America, the government still refuses to protect the people in the most basic ways from the world's terrorists and criminals who enter at will to do as they please. The borders remain a sieve while the human carnage from crime perpetrated from illegal aliens continues to mount. In another stunner of INS malfeasance, the agency often cannot even manage to deport dangerous criminal aliens when they reach the ends of their prison terms.


NEW ITEMS ARE ADDED AT THE BOTTOM
• The murder of Kris Eggle (see the separate page of collected articles), a park ranger in the Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument in southern Arizona on August 9, 2002, was little noted by the media, although the press has paid considerable attention to the deaths of illegal aliens on the border. By contrast, Ranger Eggle was shot down by Mexican drug dealers who were using Organ Pipe as a route for their smuggling. Only 28 when he was murdered, Eggle was a valedictorian and an Eagle Scout who joined the National Park Service because he loved the outdoors. (Organ Pipe is considered to be the most dangerous of the national park system: 200,000 illegal aliens and 700,000 pounds of drugs were intercepted at the park in 2001.) The Eggle family is determined that his death will not be forgotten by working for real border control, including a Washington press conference with Tom Tancredo in the fall of 2002. The Eggles have a family website, www.kriseggle.org, to inform interested parties about what they are doing.



• In a particularly tragic example of government inattention to illegal aliens who have run amock, one of the snipers who terrorized the Washington DC area for three weeks in October 2002 was a foreign national who had been apprehended the previous year. As a stowaway, he was required by law to be immediately deported back to his home country. Instead, the INS overroad the Border Patrol's designation and released John Lee Malvo upon the unsuspecting American public. Had immigration law been followed by the INS, there would have been no two-man hit team and it is likely that there would have been no devastating series of murders. As columnist Michelle Malkin has observed, the INS releases dangerous alien criminals all the time.

• David Nadel was a familiar community activist in Berkeley, California, and owned the popular Ashkenaz dance club that featured eclectic music, such as zydeco, cajun, klezmer and the blues. In 1996, he was murdered in the club by an apparent Mexican illegal alien, Juan Rivera Perez, whom Nadel had earlier ejected for harassing other patrons. Perez was in Ashkenaz as part of an English as a Second Language program graduation party. Police believe Perez escaped to Mexico, which is famously unhelpful in extraditing violent criminals. Despite the outcry from law enforcement, victims and the press, our government does not insist on normal compliance in law enforcement from Mexican authorities.

• In another case of justice denied, the murderer of Phoenix high school student Tanee Natividad merely crossed the border into Mexico to escape law enforcement. A local television station was able to track down the murderer in a bar just a few miles across the border without much effort. Max LaMadrid has no reason to hide because the Mexican government actually helps violent criminals escape American justice. According to Arizona Attorney General Janet Napolitano, action by the Mexican supreme court making it more difficult to extradite criminals has "created an incentive for people to flee into Mexico as a safe harbor." At one time, Mexico would not extradite criminals who might be subject to the death penalty; the Mexican court recently extended this "protection" to any Mexican who might receive a life sentence, thereby giving a free pass to rapists, kidnappers and child molesters. In fact, the investigating reporter found 100 cases of violent criminals from the Phoenix area escaping into Mexico in just the last few years. Meanwhile, the grieving family of 16-year-old Tanee gets no justice — like thousands of others in the southwest.

• At the left is shown Darlene Squires, the distraught mother of a disabled teenager, one of two girls who were raped on October 24, 2002, by three members of a Salvadoran street gang located in Somerville, Massachusetts. Aged 17 and 14, both victims are deaf and one has cerebral palsy. Mrs. Squires believed that the attacks were a retaliation against her family because her husband confronted the young men after they had harassed the Squires son. Later reports indicated the men arrested for the crime were illegal aliens.Law enforcement officials were concerned about increased violence from the MS-13 gang which was "believed to have originated in part with soldiers and their families who left El Salvador." Local residents estimate the gang has more than 100 members in their community. An update a few months after the Squires crime showed that the gang problem in the community has only gotten worse.

• The lives of many law enforcement officers have been lost at the criminal hands of violent illegal aliens. One such was David March, a Los Angeles County Sheriff who was killed when he pulled over a car for a routine traffic stop. The driver was a dangerous Mexican drug dealer, Armando Garcia, who had been deported twice and has a long history of violent crime. After shooting Sheriff March twice in the head, Garcia was able to escape and is believed to be in Mexico, where officials refuse to send him back for trial. Garcia is also wanted for two attempted murders. At least one member of Congress, Adam Schiff, has called for President Bush to insist that Mexico extradite violent felons. Furthermore, the Attorneys General for all 50 states wrote to Ashcroft and Secretary of State Colin Powell to demand action on the extradition issue.

• Compared with many on this page who suffered violent crime, Barbara Vidlak got off easy with just identity theft. Still, you wouldn't want her problems. The rip-off of her Social Security number by an illegal immigrant has caused Barbara's phone to be turned off, loss of health insurance for her two kids as well as extra money out of pocket from the 34-year-old Omaha resident for credit checks and other expenses, such as lost time at work. She also had to act as a detective to track down the culprit who has filled her life with turmoil and stress. The reporting on this crime is notable for its relentless sympathy for the perpetrator, even when the damage to the victim is obvious for all to see. Rather than note how illegal immigration is not a victimless crime, reporter Cindy Gonzalez quotes an "immigrant rights" advocate who says that "In some ways, both women are victims."

• Eighteen-year-old Tricia Taylor of Detroit was in court in December 2002 to hear the plea of the illegal alien who caused her to lose both legs above the knees. Jose Carcamo was driving under the influence (.08 percent blood alcohol level) and speeding when he drove over a curb and smashed Taylor into a wall. One report stated that Carcamo has had 17 violations since 1995. Another noted that he was drag racing at the time of the crash. It is agreed that the car was travelling between 50 and 75 miles per hour on a street posted for 25 mph. Taylor's companion Noah Menard suffered a fractured skull and collarbone, as well as requiring eight pins to reconstruct his mangled elbow. The INS had twice begun deportation proceeding against Carcamo to return him to El Salvador, but regrettably did not follow through. Carcamo will be out of jail in a few years, but Tricia Taylor faces a lifetime of pain and disability because of another failure of the INS to remove a dangerous alien. Incidentally, drinking to excess and then driving is celebrated in Hispanic cultures rather than condemned.
Sentencing Update: On January 13, 2003 Jose Carcamo was sentenced to 3-5 years in prison. Four months after the crash, Tricia Taylor still must take pain medication, antibiotics, anti-depressants and sleeping pills. Chronic bone infection means she may yet lose more of her right leg. Carcamo sent a note of apology to Taylor and Menard, but misspelled the names. She responded, "It hurts me every time I see him. He acts like he's sorry, but you'd think he would know our names." She is not forgiving, either: "I have my whole life with no legs ... I'm only 18. He gets no forgiveness."

• Another American stymied in the pursuit of justice for a murdered child is Ron Cornell, shown here with a car-hood portrait of his murdered son Joey. His son's killer, Gonzalo Villalobos, escaped to Mexico and, like so many others, is being protected by the Mexican government's refusal to extradite. At one point, Villalobos' whereabouts in El Salvador were known precisely, but there is no extradition cooperation with that nation either. (After the devastation of Hurricane Mitch in 1998, the United States sent $110 million in disaster relief aid to El Salvador.) This article includes a rogues gallery of mug shots of fugitives safe in Mexico.

• In June 2002, these four residents of Whidbey Island in Washington were the shooting victims of a Jamaican national who was evidently frustrated that he had ruined his plans to get a green card through marriage to an American woman. Preston Dean "Hugh" Douglas angered his girlfriend Holly Swartz because he had sexually abused her seven-year-old daughter. When Holly moved herself and her child into her mother's house, Douglas reacted by shooting Holly, her mother Marjorie Monnett (the mother of eight children), Marjorie's son Bruce and Bruce's girlfriend Sierra Klug. Holly and Marjorie were killed, and Bruce and Sierra survived. Douglas shot and killed himself. Reportedly Douglas was in the country illegally, although he was working as a bouncer at a local Chinese restaurant.

• On the day after New Years 2003, six-year-old Jose Soto was riding his bike around the parking lot near his parents' apartment house when he was struck and severely injured by a man backing out in a red truck. Witnesses were shocked when the man stopped and pulled the child from under the truck and roughly threw him aside before speeding off. At this writing, Jose is in critical condition in a Houston hospital and the perpetrator is believed to be on his way to Mexico, if not already there. The man's name was released a few days later: Jose Ines Morales. As noted above, once a criminal reaches Mexico, he has effectively eluded the law permanently, since America's southern neighbor refuses to extradite, as a matter of policy, criminals who may be punished according to the severity of their crimes.

• Sister Helen Chaska was murdered in late summer 2002 by being strangled with her rosary beads — the beads were found imbedded in her neck. She was also raped, as was another nun who accompanied Sister Helen during walking prayers. Both women were in Klamath Falls, Oregon, doing missionary work when the crimes occurred. Her accused murderer is Maximiliano Esparza, who is in the United States illegally, and was convicted in 1988 of robbery and kidnapping in Los Angeles. He was sentenced to six years in prison, was released in 1992 and was on probation until 1995. By law, this man should have been deported to Mexico after his release in 1992. Instead, the INS allowed him to remain in the United States and commit even more heinous crimes. In this article, Michelle Malkin notes the Esparza crime and other examples of INS standard procedure of "catch and release" in violation of law.
Sentencing Update: On April 8, 2003, Esparza was sentenced to life in prison without parole. The sentence was a deal worked out with the prosecution to avoid a trial with the possibility of the death penalty. Klamath County District Attorney Ed Caleb said that he wanted to avoid forcing the other nun who had been attacked to testify. In addition, Caleb sent a bill to the Mexican consulate for the cost of investigating and prosecuting the case. Not much chance of getting any money, but it is a reasonable gesture.

• It has been a decade since Oregon State Police Trooper Bret Clodfelter was murdered by an illegal alien, but the crime has not been forgotten. Trooper Clodfelter of Klamath Falls had arrested three Mexican men for being drunk and disorderly, then offered them a ride and was murdered for his generosity. The prosecuter sought the death penalty, but one dissenting juror meant Francisco Manzo-Hernandez got life in prison instead. To add to the tragedy, Clodfelter's widow Rene committed suicide a year after her husband was murdered. The couple had been married just over a month when the murder occurred.

• Officer Sheila Herring was lost to a bullet from an illegal alien in an early morning altercation at a Norfolk bar on January 16. The accused man, Mario Roberto Keen, a citizen of Jamaica, had reportedly shot a man in the bar after which the police were called. When several officers arrived, Keen opened fire and shot Officer Herring who died later in surgery. Keen was shot and killed at the scene. He had been sentenced to five years in prison in 1990 for selling cocaine and was later deported. Keen attempted to re-enter the United States in New York in 1997, but was reportedly barred from entering. It is not known when Keen succeeded in entering the U.S. But back to Sheila Herring: from all accounts she was an excellent police officer and loved her job. She had been a cop in Detroit for ten years before moving to Virginia. She was 39 and had an 18-year-old daughter.

• Angie Morfin of Salinas, California, testified before the House Immigration Subcommittee in June of 1999 about the murder of her 13-year-old son by an illegal alien gangster. Her boy Ruben was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time and was shot down by a Mexican who escaped to Mexico. Her testimony also noted how the Latino community in her town wants immigration laws enforced, particularly to deal with the problem of illegal alien gangs that are responsible for a lot of violent criminal activity. Since her son's murder, Angie Morfin has spoken out about the need for more Border Patrol agents and other enforcement to make her community safer so that no other mothers must suffer the loss that she has.

• Thirteen-year-old Laura Ayala went missing in March 2002, taken just a few feet from in her home in Houston. At this writing, there is no child and no body, although blood identified as being hers was identified in 2002 in the car of men believed to be connected with her abduction. Because of some evidence that she had been taken to Mexico, part of the search has been there. One complication was Houston's policy of "sanctuary" which disallows police from investigating a person's citizenship status. Illegal alien Walter Alexander Sorto was in police hands for traffic tickets but could not be deported because of the sanctuary policy: he is believed to be connected in Laura Ayala's disappearance which occurred several months after the ticket problem. Houston police office John Nickell testified before Congress (2/27/02) about how sanctuary laws inhibit the effectiveness of beat cops to deal with criminals and prevent crime.

• The danger on the highways from truckloads of illegal aliens in border areas has been increasing drastically. It is not unusual for a van full of illegal aliens to speed down the road in the wrong direction to avoid American law enforcement, causing death and injury to both American citizens and foreigners. One of the worst examples (shown at the left) took place near San Diego June 25, 2002, where seven people were killed and at least 31 were injured when a van tried to avoid a border checkpoint by turning the lights off and speeding against oncoming traffic in the wrong lane. Larry S. Baca of Albuquerque was killed when his Ford was smashed head-on by the immigrant van and knocked airborne. On March 10, 2003, two men were killed and 20 people were injured when a stolen truck loaded with illegal aliens tried to outrun American authorities.

• Dana Pevia was kidnapped from her North Carolina school bus stop in 1999 when she was only 11. In March, 2003, she was able to escape her captivity in Mexico and visit the American Consulate in Guadalahara. The officials there contacted the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and through them reached Dana's mother Wanda was contacted. Dana returned home a few days later with her two children. The apparent kidnapper Hector Frausto, a "Mexican construction worker," was arrested in North Carolina on March 27. Dana was evidently forcibly kept captive by his family in Mexico for much of that time. She was only able to get away because she had the help of a sympathetic neighbor. The unasked question is why the obvious suspect's family in Mexico was not investigated four years ago. Was the unhelpful Mexican legal system being obstructionist yet again?

• The Marti family as pictured here during a happy moment no longer exists. Sean, just 24 years old, and his daughter Sage, 5 months old, were killed February 27 by a drunk illegal alien who was driving the wrong way on Highway 84 in Idaho. Natalie Marti was in a coma after the head-on crash and returned slowly to waking consciousness over a period of weeks. With coma victims, full mental functioning and memory can take much longer. She had attended college in Boise while she and Sean managed an apartment complex.
Edgar Vasquez Hernandez, who worked as a house framer, was charged with two counts of vehicular manslaughter and one count of aggravated driving. Court records show Hernandez was intoxicated at the time of the crash. Hispanics are statistically more likely to drive drunk than other groups, and motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death up to age 24 among Latinos.
Sentencing Update: On June 10, 2003, Hernandez pleaded guilty to two counts of vehicular manslaughter and one charge of aggravated driving under the influence. He will be sentenced on September 18.
More Attention Called for Criminal Aliens (July 19, 2003): The Marti case was used as an example of crime that could have been prevented if there were adequate enforcement against illegal alien criminals. The Idaho Statesman reported that in February 2002, federal agent J. Kent Nygaard wrote a memo to immigration officials warning that American citizens would die as a result of irresponsible policies regarding dangerous felons.