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| Home Front: Politix |
| Two Illegal Alien Round-ups |
| 2006-05-10 |
| EFL N.Kentucky - 76 arrested from home construction company ICE agents detained 76 suspected illegal immigrants, raided the Crestview Hills headquarters of Fischer Homes and arrested four construction site supervisors for the home builder. The four appeared in U.S. District Court in Covington, where they pleaded not guilty and were released from custody on their own recognizance. "This was not a random roundup of illegal aliens," Dean Boyd, spokesman for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, said. "These were arrests that were conducted as a result of a criminal investigation that has been carefully planned . . . for some time." The four construction site supervisors - Timothy Copsy, Doug Witt, William Allison and Bill Ring - are each charged with harboring illegal aliens for commercial advantage or private financial gain. The maximum possible punishment for the charge is 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The 76 suspected illegal immigrants remained in the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service on Tuesday night. Each is charged with entering the country illegally, a misdemeanor punishable by up to six months in jail. U.S. Marshal John Schickel said 66 were being held at the Boone County jail in Burlington and 10 at the Grant County jail in Williamstown. Boyd said the suspected illegal aliens were working as laborers at three Fischer Homes developments in Hebron, Union and Florence. A representative for Fischer Homes released a written statement as local, state and federal law-enforcement officials, including the IRS, were seen coming and going from the building. "Fischer Homes utilizes a rigorous screening process for all of its employees, including citizenship verification," Fischer Homes president Robert Hawksley wrote. "We require all subcontractors to sign a document promising they will use no illegal aliens as employees. Fischer Homes does not, in any way, condone the hiring or use of illegal immigrants." Boyd said the case was initiated more than a year ago and was not in response to the public protests in connection with the immigration debate on Capitol Hill. "On the national level, we are really stepping up our efforts to investigate illegal employment schemes," he said. "Expect more investigations like this. We are bringing criminal charges against employers, seizing assets and using all the tools at our disposal to target employers who are illegally hiring, harboring or laundering the proceeds of those schemes." Ariz. Posse to Round Up Illegal Immigrants The four Mexican immigrants had been on their way to build a dairy farm in this town about an hour southwest of Phoenix. But after a traffic stop for a faulty brake light, members of a sheriff's task force targeting human and drug smugglers found they were not U.S. citizens. Now they were bound for federal custody. Beginning Wednesday, more illegal immigrants coming through Maricopa County could meet the same fate as the sheriff's department beefs up its efforts to find illegal immigrants. A 250-member posse that will operate similarly to the anti-smuggler task force will patrol the area for illegal immigrants who pay smugglers to cross through Arizona, the busiest illegal entry point along the 2,000-mile U.S.-Mexico border. The posse will be made up of existing sheriff's deputies and members of the department's 3,000-member posse reserve of trained, unpaid volunteers. The four illegal immigrants pulled over Monday will be turned over to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and sent back to Mexico. But those that are captured by the posse may end up in jail, charged under a state law that has been used against more than 100 illegal immigrants in Maricopa County this year. The law made human smuggling a state crime in Arizona - it was already a federal crime - allowing local law enforcement agencies to arrest suspected smugglers. It was meant to crack down on smugglers, but under a disputed interpretation, County Attorney Andrew Thomas argues the law can be applied to the smuggled immigrants themselves. Thomas maintains illegal immigrants who pay smugglers to enter the United States are committing conspiracy to smuggle and can therefore be prosecuted under the state law. The sheriff's office began arresting illegal immigrants under that interpretation in March, and with the new posse, will continue doing so by patrolling desert areas and main roadways in the southwestern part of the county. It remains to be seen whether a judge will uphold the smuggling law as applicable to illegal immigrants. Lawyers for some arrested illegal immigrants have filed motions to have the charges dismissed. A Los Angeles attorney brought into the case by the Mexican Consul General's Office in Phoenix filed another motion claiming Thomas and Arpaio are violating state and federal law and are using the conspiracy charges to control illegal immigration, which is the federal government's job. |
| Posted by:trailing wife |
| #7 The common claim is that there are currently 12 million Mexican illegals. Seems to me that number would fill Mexico's legal quota for, say, the next 24 years.... |
| Posted by: Glinter Sneresing9043 2006-05-10 22:50 |
| #6 AP - Excellent start. Lets add a few... 7. Deny federal funds to so-called 'sanctuary cities' and counties. Sorry but you can't pick and choose which laws you will enforce. 8. If they get deported and come back they get to spend some time in a 'relocation camp' out in the middle of nowhere - at least until the migrant seasons are over. 9. If you want to have a guest worker program fine. First they must apply from their own country. Open it up to all countries. and if they are here illegally they are disqualifed for *life*. 10 Fines and prosecution for hiring illegals pierce the corperate veil. That means that Mr. walmart can find his ass bunked up with bubba for 5-10 years. any more? |
| Posted by: CrazyFool 2006-05-10 22:37 |
| #5 The key to solving the illegal alien problem is fairly straightforward: 1. Secure the borders. 2. Take the money out of hiring illegals. That means enforcing the existing laws against employers hiring illegals. 3. Deny social services to illegals. 4. Give them a free trip back to the border and $50 travel money. Take fingerprints and iris ID. Open the door and hope that it does not hit their a$$es on the way out. 5. Get rid of the Anchor baby provision in the law. Just because they were born here does not mean that they get to become citizens here. 6. Nobody who has entered illegally gets to be a citizen. They violated the law. They lose. Look into the immigration law and determine a reasonable annual immigration rate that the country can do to successfully assimilate the LEGAL immigrants. Set up a point system for encouraging people with marketable skills to get preference. |
| Posted by: Alaska Paul 2006-05-10 22:04 |
| #4 SPoD - You really don't need mass arrests of the illegal aliens. That's expensive, and even in an ideal world would totally clog the judicial system. What you want is enough arrests - and successful prosecutions of - those HIRING the illegal aliens. THAT could seriously discourage others from hiring illegals. And that should cause many of them to head on back home on their own. (The other necessary element to achieving success in this manner is reduction of social aid - the most that should be available is a free bus ticket to the border.) |
| Posted by: Glenmore 2006-05-10 19:39 |
| #3 "Fischer Homes does not, in any way, condone the hiring or use of illegal immigrants." And then his lips fell off. Perfect case of someone getting rich while hiring illegals for work people like me can do. Construction job are not jobs no one wants to do. It's like this at construction sites all across this nation. This is part of a PR operation. No serious mass arrests and deportations will take place. This is part of a "same old thing different day" that the INS does from time to time. It's a drop in the bucket. I am still waiting for that trickle down. I'll vote Republican and hold my nose. I'll only be doing for the good of those serving our country and what little security or elected government provides at our borders. On almost every other important issue the Republicans have failed to do anything positive. At least they haven't meddled in the economy and raised taxes. |
| Posted by: SPoD 2006-05-10 15:25 |
| #2 A Los Angeles attorney brought into the case by the Mexican Consul General's Office in Phoenix filed another motion claiming Thomas and Arpaio are violating state and federal law and are using the conspiracy charges to control illegal immigration, which is the federal government's job. The Mexican government as no standing in this matter, as they have abdicated control of their side of the border. (IMHO, they're actually promoting illegals, and are fully aware of the "extracurricular" activities of many in their police and military.) |
| Posted by: Rob Crawford 2006-05-10 14:46 |
| #1 Jim Gilchrist - President '08. No more problem. |
| Posted by: JerseyMike 2006-05-10 14:01 |