Thread: Deportation failure in ’90 leads to death

Deportation failure in ’90 leads to death

July 15, 2007

A 12-year-old Tacoma girl, kidnapped while enjoying the all-American activity of watching fireworks on the Fourth of July, apparently was killed by a Thai immigrant who should have been deported but wasn’t.

The little girl also was the daughter of an immigrant family living in the United States legally.

The man arrested for her murder was convicted of first-degree incest in 1990 and has been violating a mandatory order to register as a sex offender, authorities said.

And some people - from President Bush to Colorado Sen. Ken Salazar - still wonder why most Americans want immigration laws strictly enforced.

Terapon Dang Adhahn, 42, now is being held on immigration charges - after apparently killing 12-year-old Zina Linnik. Had he been deported after his conviction 17 years ago, Zina would still be alive.

He finally was arrested Monday after becoming a suspect in the Independence Day abduction, and information he provided led police to Zina’s body Thursday night - while police were conducting a community meeting regarding the search for the missing girl.

The accusation that an immigrant - who long ago should have been deported - kidnapped and killed the Tacoma girl is not an isolated incident.

News stories regularly report that immigrants who should have been deported are involved in violent crimes in the United States, but remain here because authorities aren’t enforcing deportation laws. Several such cases have been reported in Colorado in the past two years, including cases of murder.

Over and over, illegal immigrants stopped by police for traffic violations, or arrested for assault or burglary, are allowed to go free. Many go on to commit more serious crimes, but remain here in detention or on probation.

It appears that Adhahn, the suspect in the Tacoma killing, spent only 60 months in sexual-deviancy counseling after raping a 16-year-old relative in 1990, then pleading guilty to a lesser charge of first-degree incest.

He could have been arrested any time for failing to register as a sex offender, still living in Pierce County, Wash., where he was convicted and where he still lived.

It’s unfair to classify all illegal immigrants as undesirable lawbreakers, but it isn’t unfair to demand that immigration laws be enforced - including the immediate deportation of illegals who are arrested for criminal activity. Every day, illegal immigrants are arrested in the United States for driving without licenses or insurance, but federal authorities refuse to detain them.

Thousands of illegal immigrants are spending time in American prisons, yet they are not deported when released on parole or probation.

Some cities and states -- including Denver and Colorado - have gained reputations as "sanctuaries" for such illegal immigrants. Denver police are operating under an open policy that prohibits them from detaining illegal immigrants stopped for traffic violations or other offenses.

And many Colorado jurisdictions report that even when they do arrest illegal immigrants and call federal authorities, no one shows up to begin immigration detention and deportation.

Members of Zina’s family, who immigrated when she was only 2 years old, now have become victims of those policies. The family came here from the Ukraine and, by all accounts, assimilated into American society, living their own version of the American dream.

It was while Zina and her family were celebrating the Fourth of July that a man driving a gray van grabbed Zina from an alley and sped away. Because witnesses provided a partial license-plate number, police were able to track the vehicle to Adhahn.

Independence Day will never be the same in Tacoma.

http://www.chieftain.com/editorial/1184479404/5

Send this to the Waukegan Council!!!!

Summary of this sad story in a snapshot:

Members of Zina’s family, who immigrated when she was only 2 years old, now have become victims of those policies. The family came here from the Ukraine and, by all accounts, assimilated into American society, living their own version of the American dream.

It was while Zina and her family were celebrating the Fourth of July that a man driving a gray van grabbed Zina from an alley and sped away.

It's so tragic that an innocent 12 yr old girl has to die because someone, somewhere, thought it too troublesome to enforce a law a few years back...

This whole story made me sick........my heart goes out to this family. I mean they can tell me what brand of toliet paper I buy but the government can't handle a convicted illegal immigrant and see he's deported.