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Illegal immigrants: The truth
By Maggie Finneran
Guest Columnist


Saturday, August 06, 2005 - The Daily Bulletin has managed to spark the attention of many with this series of articles on immigration. I've noticed a lot of angry backlash from citizens who think the newspaper is attempting to appeal to the bleeding hearts and stoke some compassion for our ";border brothers."

I am going to hold out judgment, with the hope that your reporters will continue in the quest to seek the real impact these people have on our society, our economy and our future.

As a law enforcement officer, statistically, more than 50 percent of all cases I investigate involve illegals as either suspects or victims. Unfortunately this is not distinguishable on reported statistics because we can't discriminate among those we help.

Most of these cases are child sex crimes and identity theft. Many convicted sex offenders are illegals that were not deported after conviction, or who have sneaked back across the border. And most of my rape and child sex cases are perpetrated by illegals.

Identity theft and financial crimes have become a nightmare to investigate. Real estate fraud is king with the housing market and interest rates what they are. Everyone involved stands to get rich, from the real estate agent/broker, notary, buyer and seller. It's far more lucrative than peddling methamphetamine. Why run the risk of arrest when you can waltz away with $100,000 in proceeds on a sale, all in someone else's name?

In the last six months, in every single high-dollar fraud case I investigated, the suspect was an illegal alien. And if that doesn't sting, you should see the Hummers, Navigators and Escalades these people are driving. And who ends up responsible for the loss? Surely not someone who doesn't have a peso to his name anyway.

You're kidding yourself if you think the illegal problem can be found at freeway off-ramps and Home Depots and on street corners selling fruits ... those are the few ";unfortunates" that didn't have a juice card. Even the coyotes getting them here are illegal! And at a going rate of three grand per ";pollo," they too live the life of Riley.

And don't think the big chunk of the income they make goes into supporting and feeding a family, here or in Mexico ... not unless you consider Budweiser and methamphetamine sustenance.

Do the American, tax-paying citizens a favor by investigating and reporting the truth. Let them know how many man-hours are invested in illegals by law enforcement, fire, medical facilities, schools, etc. Forget the losses getting moneygrammed into Michoaca and Oaxaca ... the big losses are right here.

So the next time a citizen has to wait six hours for a cop to take a burglary report on his house, he'll be understanding when he knows the officers are tied up finding and arresting Tio Juan, who just raped his 5-year-old niece.