The chief of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in the Valley said Wednesday it was a mistake to release 24 suspected illegal immigrants into a Mesa neighborhood rather than take them into custody.
The 2:30 a.m. incident Tuesday on Loop 202 resulted from a lack of manpower - a problem that was supposed to be fixed with the addition last fall of 50 extra immigration agents in the Valley.
"I'm not going to suggest . . . there were no mistakes made," said ICE acting special agent in charge Kyle Barnette, adding that he did not learn of the release until it was over. "We have the people - wake them up, get them out there."
A state Department of Public Safety officer on Tuesday noticed two full-size vans traveling together on the freeway near the Dobson Road exit, said DPS spokesman Steve Volden.
When the officer tried to pull them over on a traffic violation, one exited the freeway at Country Club Drive and crashed in a ditch. Nearly 30 people got out and began running, Volden said. Other DPS officers called to the scene caught 18 of them, he said.
The second van, which was packed with 25 people, tried to flee on the freeway but was pulled over. Two more DPS officers showed up and helped handcuff the suspects. One resisted, breaking an officer's wrist, Volden said.
The officers called ICE but were told no detention officers were available for at least four hours, Volden said.
Barnette said no detention officers work between 4 and 6 a.m., but he could not explain the lack of agents when ICE received the DPS call at 2:49 a.m.
One ICE agent picked up a van and headed to the scene immediately, but the van could only hold 18 people. So DPS officers asked the agent to get 18 suspects being held at McDowell Road and Mesa Drive, Volden said.
Twenty-four of the suspects on the freeway were marched one mile to the Gilbert Road exit, where they were freed. The man accused of breaking the officer's wrist was arrested on suspicion of aggravated assault, Volden said.
Barnette said no identity check was performed on the 24 who were released, so ICE has no idea whether some of them were hardened criminals or even illegal immigrants. However, the 18 taken into custody were all undocumented immigrants, he said.
"I will suggest my officer made a mistake," Barnette said. "I would not have sanctioned or authorized releasing those people into the community."
Such releases of immigration suspects were common in the past, but federal officials vowed to end that practice after launching the crackdown
dubbed "Operation: ICE Storm," which doubled the number of Valley agents.
Volden said ICE still sometimes fails to respond when groups of illegal immigrants are discovered. Patrol officers sometimes say it is "hit or miss" to get ICE to come out, and it depends on the number of suspects involved, Volden said.
He said one officer related a story to him about being told by ICE that "20 people is the number, as a general rule" to get federal agents to respond. But once the officer called and said he had 20 to 22 suspects.
"The (ICE) person we talked to said we need to have 30," Volden said.
Last month in Phoenix, ICE was called but did not come to a drophouse where 15 or 20 suspected illegal immigrants were found, said Phoenix detective Tony Morales. He said ICE has come out more frequently since the crackdown, but he remembers the frustrating days when immigration agents sometimes did not even answer their phones.
"We absolutely don't want it to go back," Morales said. East Valley police officials said ICE always responds when called, although fewer drophouses or large groups of illegal immigrants are found in the East Valley compared with Phoenix.
Only 19 of the 50 new ICE agents will be permanently deployed in the Valley, and shifting priorities could also affect the future staffing level, Barnette said. However, Barnette said the Valley would never be "neglected" by immigration authorities like in the past.
Source - http://www.eastvalleytribune.com/article_d5b695ab-f0ac-5fca-adb0-1ae120569058.html
20+ million ILLEGAL aliens are in the United States of America.
Right now in the United States of America, ILLEGAL aliens have more rights than you do!
9/26/2010 - HAZELTON, PA - UNITED STATES OF AMERICA - IT'S ILLEGAL TO ARREST AN ILLEGAL ALIEN. IT'S ILLEGAL TO ARREST OR PUNISH THOSE WHO HIRE OR RENT TO ILLEGAL ALIENS!!!
"There can be no divided allegiance here. Any man who says he is an American, but something else also, isn't an American at all. We have room for but one flag, the American flag, and this excludes the red flag, which symbolizes all wars against liberty and civilization, just as much as it excludes any foreign flag of a nation to which we are hostile...We have room for but one language here, and that is the English language...and we have room for but one sole loyalty and that is a loyalty to the American people." --Theodore Roosevelt
"This nation is in danger of becoming a Third World nightmare with all the corruption, disease, illiteracy, violence and balkanization known all over the world. We need a 10-year moratorium on all immigration to catch our collective breath and we need deportation of over 10 million illegal aliens in a slow and orderly fashion." --Ed Garrison
“The 1987 amnesty was a failure; rather than reducing illegal immigration, it led to an increase,” FAIR stated. “Any new amnesty measure will further weaken respect for our immigration laws. Therefore, all amnesty measures must be defeated.” --Frosty Wooldridge
President barry shits on the United States.
This is a picture of YOUR American president, (president barry soetoro, a.k.a barack obama) refusing to acknowledge the National Anthem of the United States of America. This picture clearly shows barry with his hands crossed across his vaginal area when the United States Anthem was playing.
barry has NO RESPECT for you, me, or America! Not only did he disrespect America, he just shit on the graves of every American Soldier that has died for this country.
6/15/2010 - PRESIDENT BARRY CAN'T EVEN KEEP A U.S. PARK OPEN!!! He gave the park to mexico & the illegal alien mexican drug cartel!!!
7/6/2010 - American President barry soetoro sues AMERICA!!!
9/11/2010 - YOUR president just gave mexico $1 billion dollars for deepwater oil drilling despite his own moratorium on U.S. deepwater drilling!? More proof that barry hates America!
Treason
–noun
1. the offense of acting to overthrow one's government or to harm or kill its sovereign. 2. A violation of allegiance to one's sovereign or to one's state. 3. the betrayal of a trust or confidence; breach of faith; treachery.
Traitor
–noun
1. a person who betrays another, a cause, or any trust. 2. a person who commits treason by betraying his or her country.
Pslam 109:8
May his days be few; may another take his place of leadership.
700 ILLEGAL ALIENS - 40 DAYS - ONE TRAIL
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400 ILLEGAL ALIENS - 35 DAYS - ONE TRAIL
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What's in their backpacks? Are any of them sick with a contagious disease?
United States Code, Title 8, Chapter 12, Subchapter II, Part VIII, §1325 - "Improper Entry by Alien," any citizen of any country other than the United States who: 1) Enters or attempts to enter the United States at any time or place other than as designated by immigration officers; or 2) Eludes examination or inspection by immigration officers; or 3) Attempts to enter or obtains entry to the United States by a willfully false or misleading representation or the willful concealment of a material fact; has committed a federal crime.
Violations are punishable by criminal fines and imprisonment for up to six months. Repeat offenses can bring up to two years in prison. Additional civil fines may be imposed at the discretion of immigration judges, but civil fines do not negate the criminal sanctions or nature of the offense.
ILLEGAL
-ADJ
1. FORBIDDEN BY LAW; UNLAWFUL; ILLICIT 2. UNAUTHORIZED OR PROHIBITED BY A CODE OF OFFICIAL OR ACCEPTED RULES
-N
3. A PERSON WHO HAS ENTERED OR ATTEMPTED TO ENTER A COUNTRY ILLEGALLY
Illegal Alien
–noun
1. a foreigner who has entered or resides in a country unlawfully or without the country's authorization. 2. a foreigner who enters the U.S. without an entry or immigrant visa, esp. a person who crosses the border by avoiding inspection or who overstays the period of time allowed as a visitor, tourist, or businessperson.
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