Immigrant's Dozen Deportations Raises System Questions

Friday, Oct 12, 2007 - 06:21 PM Updated: 07:34 PM

By Carolyn Costello
NBC17 Weekend Anchor, Reporter
WNCN-TV


RALEIGH, N.C. – Illegal immigrant Jose Alvarado-Ivanez has been deported 12 times.

Still, he keeps coming back to the Triangle and breaking the law.

Federal agents say Alvardo-Ivanez may finally be going to prison.

His case raises several questions about immigration, crime and deportation. It’s an example of what some call a broken immigrations system.

Discuss This Story

Alvardo-Ivanez is one of thousands of undocumented immigrants who are arrested, accused of serious crimes and sent back to Mexico.

Deporting criminal immigrants is something some lawmakers want to see happen more often.

U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Dole, for example, wants to give local police the power to start the deportation process.

"If they can be deputized to really start the process, where a court has ordered that someone leave the country because of all the things thy have been convicted of, that's gonna make a difference,â€