Thread: VA: Pr. William sues feds over illegal-immigrant records

Pr. William sues feds over illegal-immigrant records

The Examiner
Washington D.C. Edition
March 4, 2011
By Ben Giles

The Prince William Board of County Supervisors sued the Department of Homeland Security for documents on the agency's handling of an illegal immigrant who was released by federal officials and later charged with drunken driving in a car crash that killed a nun.

County officials argue that Homeland Security is unlawfully withholding its records that the Board of Supervisors has requested about Carlos Martinelly-Montano, who Prince William County police turned over to Immigration and Customs Enforcement almost two years ago, according to a complaint filed in U.S. District Court on Tuesday.

ICE released Martinelly-Montano back into the community while he awaited his deportation hearing. He was charged in August 2010 with drunk driving in a fatal crash that killed one nun and left two others injured. He had two previous drunk-driving convictions.

At the time, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano ordered an investigation into the case in to discover why Martinelly- Montano was never deported.

The Board of Supervisors filed a Freedom of Information Act request in November 2010 for copies of the investigation report and any other documents concerning the departments contact with him.

DHS has continually failed to hand over the documents or indicate that the records are exempt from the request, according to county officials, and the board grew frustrated after trying for months to cooperate with DHS.

Board Chairman Corey Stewart called the lawsuit the last resort, and said the board was led to believe the agency would turn over the records, only to be told at the last minute that the documents were unavailable to the public.

Stewart said he felt they are purposely being "stonewalled" by the federal government, and it makes you suspicious about why it is they're so desperate to keep these documents secret. There must be something tremendously embarrassing to DHS that they clearly don't want to reveal what they are doing to the public or Prince William County, he said.

DHS officials did not respond for comment.

Prince William County police have turned over more than 3,000 criminal illegal immigrants to ICE through the 287(g) program, which allows local law enforcement to enforce some federal immigration laws, since county officials adopted the policy in 2007.

Not only is it an issue for the Board of Supervisors, but for our own police department, Stewart said. Theyre also frustrated that they cant get this information. We want to know, for police reasons, why it is and how it is that they are releasing clearly dangerous illegal aliens back into the streets and not deporting them.

The board also has asked Congress to thoroughly investigate Homeland Security's handling of all its immigration records.

Stewart has so far met with officials from the U.S. House Judiciary and Oversight and Government Reform committees, and said he was told they are agreeing to conduct an in-depth investigation.

http://www6.lexisnexis.com/publisher/En ... 36&start=1

Janet Napolitano and Eric Holder will get right on this.

Probably arrest all the white, Christian, TERRORIST veterans and returning soldiers from Iraq and Afghanistan by this time next week.

The overwhelming evidence is that the GOV is L-Y-I-N-G to America about the depth, breadth, and height of just how much this country has been damaged by the invasion from Mexico.

disgusting that the DHS has not and probably will not turn over any papers. even after losing this lawsuit

The DHS and ICE are directly responsible for the Nun's death and they are well aware of it, hence the desire to hide all documentation on the Illegal Alien and how his case was handled.
By releasing him back into the community, rather than hold for deportation which should be done with ALL Illegal Aliens when that fact is uncovered, they put many lives at risk.

ICE responds to criticism following nun's death

http://www.alipac.us/ftopicp-1193350.html