Thread: S.C.: York Co. to deport illegals arrested for other offense

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

Not really on topic - just a thought

IIRIRA required that aliens convicted of aggravated felonies must be detained while awaiting removal, resulting in the detention of far more aliens than before the Act took effect. In Demore v. Kim, 538 U.S. 510 (2003), the Court ruled that the mandatory detention provision of IIRIRA was constitutional.

A related use of the term "aggravated felony" comes in the context of the definition of the crime of illegal reentry into the United States following deportation, 8 U.S.C. § 1326, and the corresponding sentencing enhancement provided by the Federal Sentencing Guidelines. It is a crime for an alien to enter or be found in the United States after that alien has been deported. The maximum sentence for this crime is 2 years; however, if that deportation follows a conviction for an aggravated felony, the maximum sentence increases to 20 years. Furthermore, the guideline that corresponds to this crime typically doubles or triples the sentence the alien would otherwise have received if the deportation follows conviction for an aggravated felony. In Almendarez-Torres v. United States, 523 U.S. 224 (199, the Supreme Court held that this increased maximum sentence did not violation the Sixth Amendment.