Thread: Disagreement over ICE notification on driver accused in trip

Disagreement over ICE notification on driver accused in triple fatal







After Aurora police arrested Francis Hernandez in April, the Arapahoe County Sheriff’s office alerted U.S. immigration officials that he could be an illegal immigrant, an Aurora police spokesman said today.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokesman Carl Rusnok has said that Hernandez, who is believed to be in the country illegally, was brought to ICE’s attention only after causing an accident that claimed three lives last week.

“We learned about the sheriff’s comments late yesterday. We’re currently researching the situation,â€

$10,000 BOND!

It is now believed that Hernandez, who was arrested 16 different times before the accident, is a Guatemalan who entered the country illegally in 1991.

SHOCK CENTRAL!

Police say they're referring plenty of suspects to federal agency
April Washington
Tuesday, September 9, 2008

The driver accused of causing an accident that killed three people last week in Aurora has been arrested 16 times in the metro area on various charges, including speeding and driving without a license. Federal officials said Monday that they believe Francis Hernandez, 23, was born in Guatemala and is in the country illegally.

The Rocky Mountain News spoke with Aurora police spokesman Bob Friel on Monday.

Why was he still on the streets?

Time and time again, law enforcement has put Hernandez behind bars, but it's not up to the police to hand down sentencing. Ultimately, sentencing is handed down by a judge.

We have different arms of government responsible for different things. Let's not put all of government into one basket.

We've heard U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement isn't especially receptive to local law enforcement's referring suspects to them.

Aurora made more than 2,500 referrals to ICE last year, which is what Senate Bill 90 requires of local law enforcement. We're doing everything in our powers and resources to meet conditions of SB 90. It's up to ICE to deport illegal immigrants out of the country, not local law enforcement.

Is the Hernandez case unusual?

No. Just last month, our officers stopped a van carrying 14 people along Interstate 70 and Airport Road after suspecting a human smuggling operation.

They learned everyone in the van was born outside the country. When we contacted ICE to detain those folks, they said they would not respond to the scene.

We had no other choice but to release them because we didn't have the authority to detain them for immigration violations.

The driver was arrested on 13 counts of smuggling humans and for assaulting a police officer, but the other 13 people walked into the sunset.

What is your impression of Senate Bill 90, the so-called anti-sanctuary law?

Senate Bill 90 requires local law enforcement to notify ICE. The bottom line is we did over 2,500 times last year.

What are Aurora's criteria for referring someone to ICE as a suspected illegal immigrant?

Our written policy says if you have someone in custody and you have probable cause to believe he or she is foreign-born, then notification is made to Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2 ... -suspects/