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Buchanan proposes longer sentence for illegals who abduct kids
March 27, 2007

Buchanan proposes longer sentence for illegals who abduct kids
PALMETTO, Fla. (AP) -- Kidnapping victim Clay Moore might soon have a law named after him.

The Clay Moore Child Abduction Prevention Act would create a 30-year mandatory minimum sentence for illegal immigrants who kidnap minors. U.S. citizens convicted of the same offense would continue to face a 20-year sentence.

U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan said Monday that he will introduce the legislation, which was prompted by the February abduction of 13-year-old Moore at a Parrish bus stop. The boy escaped later the same day.

The law would send a message to illegal immigrants that kidnapping, now prevalent in Latin America, is unacceptable in the United States, Buchanan said.

"We cannot let it get started in America," he said. "I want to cut it off now."

Illegal immigration was a key issue in Buchanan's race for Congress last fall.

The man accused of abducting Moore, Vicente Ignacio Beltran-Moreno, was arrested March 7 after agreeing to return from Mexico to turn himself in. Beltran-Moreno had been living in the United States illegally, authorities said.

Cheryl Little, executive director of the Miami-based Florida Immigrant Advocacy Center, said punishments should fit the crime and not one's country of origin.