Immigration Officials explain their failure to deport illegal aliens that murder
Posted on Saturday, July 23 @ 15:08:51 EDT
Topic: Crimes Scenes illegal immigration laws
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 Agency can't explain records lapse: Immigration didn't have illegal immigrant's (The one that murdered Scott Gardner) DWI arrests in database
Nearly 1,000 undocumented immigrants have been arrested in North Carolina since October, most with criminal records, a federal immigration spokeswoman said Friday.
(illegal immigration, crimes, laws, Americans, Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Murder, Scott Gardner's family)
7/24/2005
JIM MORRILL
Charlotte Observer
But Sue Brown couldn't say why officials had no record of multiple drunken-driving arrests by an illegal immigrant charged with DWI in the weekend death of a Gaston County man.
"We prioritize and get the people who are going to be killing us and maiming us and injuring our children," said Brown, a spokeswoman for the Department of Homeland Security's Immigration and Customs Enforcement branch, or ICE.
"That's what we do. We go after those people first."
The agency has come under fire since Scott Gardner of Mount Holly was killed when his car was hit in Brunswick County by a truck driven by Ramiro Gallegos, 25. It was the fourth time in three years that Gallegos, from Mexico, was charged with driving while impaired.
U.S. Rep. Sue Myrick, a Charlotte Republican, has asked Homeland Security officials to explain what she describes as their failure to enforce immigration laws. U.S. Rep. Mike McIntyre, a Lumberton Democrat, plans to raise similar concerns next week.
"This is not a partisan issue," said McIntyre, whose district includes Brunswick County. "This is an issue that affects every American citizen and family, and the Department of Homeland Security needs to hear that loud and clear.
"...What's happened to the Gardner family should not go unanswered."
Brown said her agency typically learns of criminal charges against illegal immigrants from its own investigators and local law enforcement. Gallegos' previous arrests apparently never came to the attention of ICE.
"We will be looking to find out exactly why that happened, why he wasn't in our database," she said. "But we don't want to point fingers. ... We are going to be working as hard as we possibly can with (Myrick), with our law enforcement partners to make sure this never happens again."
The stiffest DWI sentence Gallegos received was 30 days in jail -- after his third charge.
The state has an estimated 300,000 illegal immigrants. This week officials targeted Gallegos for deportation, whether he's convicted or not.
Details of his previous arrests -- including any efforts to contact immigration -- were not available Friday from the Brunswick County Sheriff's Department or the N.C. Highway Patrol.
Highway Patrol Sgt. Carlton Albritton, a supervisor over Brunswick County, said officers rarely know a suspect's legal status. He said they run names through a database to see if the suspect is wanted by immigration or other authorities.
Brown said ICE focuses on illegal immigrants accused of serious felonies such as murder, rape and sexual abuse. Drunken driving is a misdemeanor.
More than half the 953 people arrested by immigration agents had criminal records, she said. The number includes 14 Charlotte fugitives, most of whom had convictions ranging from theft and forgery, to larceny and weapons charges. All had been ordered deported but fled.
Some police agencies say they don't bother to call immigration when illegal immigrants are charged.
"That is a common theme," said Marshall Fitz, an associate director of the American Immigration Lawyers Association. Either police stop calling because immigration officers rarely show up or they say they are concentrating on more serious crimes, he said.
Brown said immigration authorities know there are cracks in the system.
"We're not perfect," she said. "(But) we have very good cooperation with our partners."
Update on Tina Gardner and Suspect
Illegal immigrant Ramiro Gallegos remained in the Brunswick County Jail Friday in connection with a crash that killed Scott Gardner of Mount Holly. Gardner's wife, Tina, remained in critical condition. The couple's children suffered minor injuries.
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