If the United States enforced its immigration laws properly and got some cooperation on the state level from Massachusetts, there is a chance that three murder victims in Lawrence would be alive today.

How many more innocent people must be shot, stabbed or run over before we enforce the laws that already are on the books, let alone make any serious attempt at immigration reform? The carnage has gone on long enough.

Jose Luis Tejada is the latest illegal immigrant in Massachusetts to be charged with a heinous crime. Tejeda, 39, a native of Tenares in the Dominican Republic, is charged with the murder last Monday of Milka Rivera and her teenage children, Max Ariel and Sachary Montanez. Tejada pleaded not guilty and is being held without bail.

Wednesday, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency lodged a detainer with the Essex County Sheriff's Department for Tejada. The action indicates that immigration officials believe Tejada may be in the country illegally. The detainer requests that a law enforcement agency notify ICE before releasing an alien.

According to police reports, Tejada said he was "tired" of listening to his girlfriend and her two teen children "yell and complain," so he took out a .357 Magnum and shot all three in the head at their Lawrence home.

"I shot until there were no more bullets," Tejada told police. "Then I tried to shoot myself, but there were no more bullets in the gun."

Rivera and her children are just the latest victims to suffer at the hands of illegal immigrants.

In Milford last month, Nicolas Guaman, an illegal immigrant from Ecuador, allegedly was driving drunk when he hit and killed 23-year-old Matthew Denice, who was riding his motorcycle. Guaman's truck dragged Denice for a quarter of a mile. When Denice finally was dislodged from the truck's wheel well, Guaman ran over him again, according to police reports.

Guaman previously had been arrested in 2008 on assault and breaking and entering charges.

The case reignited outrage over Gov. Deval Patrick's refusal to support the Secure Communities program, though which local law enforcement shares immigration status information with federal authorities.

Rather than support real efforts to remove law-breaking illegal immigrants from this state, Patrick continues to speak in platitudes.

"Illegal immigration didn't kill this person," he said after the death of Matthew Denice. "A drunk driver killed this person, and we have laws about that."

If this state enforced laws and cooperated with federal authorities on illegal
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