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Search For Culprit In Immigrants' Crime Spree Starts On Capitol Hill

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: August 26, 2008

Though she bungled the delivery, U.S. Rep. Ginny Brown-Waite was right Monday to call for a federal investigation of how two illegal immigrants with arrest records were free to allegedly carry out a string of violent robberies and rapes.

This region was let down by a system that released two illegal immigrants who went on to terrorize women and restaurant owners. Lessons must be learned to prevent other innocent citizens from facing a similar horror.

But before throwing stones at Hillsborough County Sheriff David Gee, the congresswoman should have accepted responsibility for the federal government's failure to protect communities from criminals who enter this country illegally.

The federal government, after all, is charged with enforcing immigration laws. Yet Immigration and Customs Enforcement generally only deports illegal immigrants who have been convicted of serious crimes.

Perhaps the deportation bar is set too high. In a perfect world, any illegal immigrant who runs up against law enforcement should be deported.

But it's easy to call for zero tolerance, as Brown-Waite has. It's another thing to make it work.

Imagine you're a sheriff's deputy who stops a speeding car driven by a man who has brown skin and speaks no English. You think he's from Latin America, but how do you know if he's here illegally? The courts say you can't arrest someone for not speaking English and not surprisingly, illegal immigrants don't generally volunteer information about being illegal. Neither can you ask for proof of citizenship since Americans aren't required to carry national identification cards.

Perhaps the driver's license looks forged, though it seems to check out. You could take the man to jail on suspicion of violating immigration laws, but don't count on ICE to help with the research and interviews. The agency lacks the manpower for all but the serious cases.

Perhaps you're right and the man is convicted. And miracle of miracles, the federal government holds him for deportation, something that happens in only a fraction of cases. Odds are you will see the man again. The Mexican border is so porous that Sheriff Gee says some thugs facing deportation boast, "I'll see you guys in a couple of months."

So while a zero-tolerance policy theoretically makes sense, realistically it's impossible to hold immigration suspects until they get their day in court. Judges already complain about the workload at the courthouse. An aggressive, zero-tolerance policy would overwhelm them.

Brown-Waite was quick to single out Sheriff Gee for releasing Rigoberto Moron Martinez and Vincente Reyes-Carbajal, both illegal immigrants from Mexico, who've been cumulatively charged with more than 50 counts stemming from four separate attacks this summer.

Both men had previous arrests - Martinez for not having a valid driver's license and domestic violence, and Reyes-Carbajal for driving without a license.

Gee says his office told ICE about having Martinez in custody on a misdemeanor charge on Aug. 5. The agency automatically acknowledged the sheriff's daily alert, but never issued a detainer hold.

This happens all the time. ICE only selectively issues a detainer hold, which would prevent someone from posting bond or getting released on their own recognizance. Local judges lack the power to hold someone on federal immigration charges.

Brown-Waite sits on the Homeland Security committee, a position that provides a megaphone for fixing the mess with illegal immigration.

So yes, let's have that federal investigation, and let the chips fall where they may.

This blunder starts at the top.

Sheriff Gee would like to be the first to testify.

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