Thread: Immigration: Arrest on school grounds worries staff

Immigration: Arrest on school grounds worries staff


By JOHN SENA | The New Mexican
March 29, 2007


Man deported after ICE says allegations of sexual abuse unfounded

Immigration officials arrested a Mexican national under investigation for sexual abuse as he tried to pick up his daughter at Chaparral Elementary School on Tuesday, a state police spokesman said.

Officials from Immigration Customs and Enforcement decided the sexual-abuse allegations against the man were unfounded, but they returned the man to his native Mexico because he was in the U.S. illegally, ICE spokeswoman Leticia Zamarripa said.

The entire episode, most of which took place while children were leaving school and could see officials arresting the man, has school officials upset. Superintendent Leslie Carpenter said staff and students did not know what was happening.

"We're very concerned about this kind of thing going on during the school day and on our school campuses," Carpenter said. "Certainly, there must be some other places where these kinds of arrests can be made."

Zamarripa said agents arrested the man at the school because that's where they first located him.

Meanwhile, state police continue to investigate the abuse allegations. "Just because somebody leaves town doesn't mean we're going to stop investigating," Peter Olsen, state police spokesman, said Wednesday.

ICE agents began investigating the man, whose daughter attended the school, after they received an anonymous letter accusing him of sexually abusing a child, Olsen said.

"The immigration status of the suspect was unknown," Olsen said, "so (ICE officials) asked state police to come with in case" the man was a legal resident.

After questioning the suspect, immigration officials gave the man the choice of being taken to El Paso for a deportation hearing or returning to Mexico, Zamarripa said. He chose Mexico, she said.

Zamarripa said she couldn't comment on the allegations against the man or how agents obtained their information.

The incident comes about one month after immigration officials conducted a sweep of illegal immigrants that resulted in 30 arrests and panicked Santa Fe's immigrant community. Meanwhile, the girl is still attending classes in the district, a schools spokesman said.

Contact John Sena at 995-3812 or jsena@sfnewmexican.com.

http://www.santafenewmexican.com/news/59360.html#

Are they worried about arresting students for drugs? Prostitution on shcool grounds? NO? then why is this bothersome?

I agree. Once again, this special class sentiment is being thrown at us!

Unbelievable. If he had a handgun, would they be concerned?

This is about MONEY.

The school is concerned that illegal children will go home and tell their parents that they are making illegal arrests at school. The parents will panic and not send their children to school. The school will lose money.

Shouldn't they be happy that a possible child molester was removed from their campus?

Its about the money.

The incident comes about one month after immigration officials conducted a sweep of illegal immigrants that resulted in 30 arrests and panicked Santa Fe's immigrant community.

Panic in Santa Fe? This is amusing. New Mexico has long thought of itself as relatively immune from immigration arrests when actually there is such a large population of illegals there. Most of the politicos deny enforcement but always have their hands on the steady stream of Fed money that feeds this state.

"Arrest on school grounds worries staff"

maybe the staff is illegal?