Thread: Identity of suspect in MN bus accident still a mystery

Identity of suspect in Cottonwood bus accident still a mystery



The real identity of the woman charged in Tuesday's deadly school bus crash in Cottonwood remains a mystery.

Authorities know Alianiss Morales is not her real name.

Officials believe she's an illegal immigrant.

Friday evening, investigators with the federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency (ICE) searched the trailer in Minneota where she lives in an effort to figure out her true identity.

Tim Counts, spokesperson for ICE, says investigators interviewed the woman on Thursday.

He says, "Based on that brief interview, probable cause if you will, we determined that she's in the country illegally and that the identity she's using is not hers."

She appeared in court Friday to face four counts of criminal vehicular homicide after driving the van that collided with a school bus in Cottonwood on Tuesday, a crash that killed four students.

Authorities need to discover her true identity to confirm she's in the United States illegally.

And if they do confirm she's here illegally, could she be deported before the criminal case for the accident is complete?

According to Counts, "We believe that if someone has committed a crime here, the consequence shouldn't be just a free trip home. They should face the charges for that crime and if convicted, they should serve the time for that crime. And only then, after that process is entirely complete, do we want to take custody of them and begin the deportation process."

Counts says it is rare, but in some minor criminal cases, suspects here illegally have posted bail and were then deported before a criminal case was complete.

But in this case, he says such an outcome is highly unlikely. He says if this woman is here illegally, there are many legal tools prosecutors would use to make sure she stays here to face these serious charges.

Her bail is set at 400,000 dollars or 200,000 with extra conditions.

In 2007, the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency deported thirty-four hundred people in a five state area including Minnesota.

Counts says thirteen-hundred of those people had criminal convictions in addition to being in the country illegally. That said, his agency's priority is deporting those who are convicted of other crimes.
http://www.kare11.com/news/news_article ... yid=499855

02/23/2008
ICE Investigating Morales True Identity

The driver of the van who involved in the deadly Cottonwood school bus crash identified herself as 23-year-old Alianiss Morales of Minneota, Minnesota. But United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents say that's not her name. She's been using a fake ID and living in the United States illegally. And it's their job to figure out who she is.

The United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement or ICE was created in 2003. In that first year, ICE agents helped find and deport about 150,000 illegal immigrants. In 2007, more than 270,000 were deported.

But there are many illegal immigrants living in the United States under the radar of ICE officials. And one is now facing multiple charges in Minnesota.

People come to this country to make better lives for themselves, but not all of them take the proper steps to do so legally.

"There's no question that illegal immigration is a serious problem in this country," ICE Spokesman Tim Counts said.

Counts says illegal immigration is a problem that has been building in the United States for decades and it's not an issue that can be solved quickly. But ICE is not alone in their efforts of stopping the illegal activity.

"Customs and border protection which has jurisdiction of the borders has significantly ramped up not only the personnel of the border patrol, but also technologies to crack down," Counts said.

After she was arrested, ICE officials quickly learned the woman charged in connection the deadly Cottonwood bus crash was lying about her identity.

Counts says ICE is now working to find out Alianiss Morales' true identity, much like law enforcement agencies do in other cases.

"We use fingerprints, we use photographs. We use databases, not only our databases which contain millions of individuals, but databases from all other law enforcement agencies," Counts said.

Counts says the situation in Cottonwood, is espcially important to ICE because of the loss of children's lives. But he is confident that ICE will find out who Morales really is.

"Our agents are highly trained and exceptional investigators and I think it's safe to say that we will get to the bottom of the matter," Counts said.

Counts says some parts of the investigation are difficult because Morales in not in their custody. They would gain custody if she chooses to bail out of the Lyon County Jail, because ICE has a detainer on her.
http://www.keloland.com/News/NewsDetail ... Id=0,66758