York Co. to deport illegals arrested for other offenses


Updated: Dec 6, 2007 08:14 PM PST

STATEWIDE (WIS) - A South Carolina mother whose son died at the hands of an illegal immigrant says it didn't have to happen.

Emily Moore says, "He struck them head-on. My son died seven hours later from his injuries and his wife Tina is in a permanent vegetative state in a nursing facility today."

It's still hard for Emily Moore to talk about the day a drunk driver killed her son. "Two and a half years later we're all saying - friends and family - how in the world could something like this happen?"

She says that drunk driver was an illegal immigrant, an illegal that had been arrested five separate times, all for driving under the influence. Moore says, "Scott didn't have to die."

Now she's finding some peace. York County's Sheriff's Office announced they're taking part in what's called the 287g program. If an illegal immigrant commits a crime in the county, they'll do their time, then get deported. Sheriff Bruce Bryant says, "Whereas before we didn't have the mechanism, we didn't have any means of doing it."

Now, when someone's arrested, the sheriff's office runs their fingerprints through a federal database and almost instantly finds out if they're a citizen. Moore says, "I think every county in every state needs to put the 287g program into place."

York County is the first to do it in South Carolina. So far Sheriff Bruce Bryant says he's deported 44 illegal immigrants. "We've had them in here in our county that involve murder, drug trafficking, assaults."

And, as in Emily's case, some drive drunk. The sheriff says, "Had the officers in these counties where this man was apprehended the first five times had that info, he wouldn't have been in this country or on that highway that day."

"If you don't want to be deported in York County, don't violate the law," says Sheriff Bryant.

Right now Sheriff Bryant says only 34 agencies are taking part in the 287g program nationwide.

And in case you're wondering about costs, it's a million dollars, but it is federally funded, which means it won't affect local taxpayers.

Also, immigration reform is expected to be a hot topic in the State House this year. So far three of 32 Senate bills deal with immigration changes. Last session the Senate passed the South Carolina Illegal Immigration Reform Act, but the House never acted on the bill.

http://www.wistv.com/Global/story.asp?S ... 3&nav=0RaP