Inger Eberhart: Illegal alien's crimes were costly
Athens Banner-Herald | Story updated at 7:57 pm on 2/6/2009


Abel Gonzalez-Perez, the 15-year-old awaiting sentencing after pleading guilty to vehicular homicide and other charges in the hit-and-run death of a 19-year-old woman last year in Athens-Clarke County, entered the United States illegally, worked illegally here, drove a vehicle alone, participated in underage drinking, drove while under the influence and hid from the law for a week (Story, "Teen guilty in fatal hit-and-run," Jan. 27).

The crime that began the cascade of other crimes was Gonzalez-Perez entering the United States illegally. This set the stage for a 3-year-old to grow up without his mother.

U.S. Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., has introduced legislation to provide amnesty to illegal aliens currently in the United States. There are more than 20 million illegal aliens within our borders, meaning Reid's bill is not a viable solution. Amnesty rewards illegal behavior and encourages increased illegal immigration.

In 2005, the Government Accountability Office conducted a study of 55,322 illegal aliens. The study found 96 percent had more than one arrest and 58 percent had more than six arrests. Forty-five percent of offenses were drug- or immigration-related, 15 percent were property-related, and 12 percent were for violent offenses such as murder, robbery, assault and sex-related crimes.

The late Barbara Jordan, the Bill Clinton-appointed chairwoman of the Commission on Immigration Reform, stated, "To make sense about the national interest in immigration, it is necessary to make distinctions between those who obey the law and those who violate it. ... Unlawful immigration is unacceptable."

As an African-American conservative, I think the United States must get serious about illegal immigration. How many more victims of illegal aliens must we have before the Obama administration acknowledges we must secure our borders and deport illegal aliens permanently?

Inger Eberhart - Acworth

• Inger Eberhart is on the board of advisors for the Dustin Inman Society, a group opposed to illegal immigration, illegal employment and open borders.

Originally published in the Athens Banner-Herald on Saturday, February 07, 2009

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Reader Comments
+ 1 Rating Posted by: GangstaConservative at Feb. 7, 2009 at 7:30:52 am
He's already made a lot of you really mad. Unfortunately, ACCPD doesn't bother to ask or determine immigration status and instances like this one will continue unabated.

+ 1 Rating Posted by: tumbleweed at Feb. 7, 2009 at 8:10:33 am
Fact is, illegal aliens have more rights under the law than American citizens do. They are able to be granted "in state" tuition in 26 states regardless of where they reside. They need no driver's license or insurance in most states (because the courts simply refuse to hear any traffic cases agains them). They pay little or no taxes and they are the largest demographic group abusing the health and welfare services of 35 states. Where do I segn up to become an official "illegal"?

Posted by: solomongrundy at Feb. 7, 2009 at 8:22:34 am
Inger's statistics are a little skewed. The statistics suggest that nearly one hundred percent of illegal immigrants have committed crimes. But the only way for the government accountability office to know about illegal immigrants is if they have been found out (hence the crime).

Many illegal immigrants live in this country and work and do not break laws.

While many illegal immigrants do put strains on the medical establishment, it is important to remember that many of our groceries and other products and services we buy are a fraction of the cost they otherwise would be if some farmer or employer somewhere couldn't underpay his or her workforce.

+ 1 Rating Posted by: tumbleweed at Feb. 7, 2009 at 8:29:19 am
Who is picking the fruit and harvesting the vegetables in Mexico, Argentina, Venzuela, and a host of other countries that ship beef, fruits, nuts, and vegetables to the US?
Fact is prices on most consumer goods/services would not change at all if every illegal disappeared today.
It is important to remember that most illegals in business do not carry workmans comp insurance and if one of them falls off the ladder while painting the bedroom window, the homeowner becomes liable for the medical bills of the illegal.

Posted by: cyou299 at Feb. 7, 2009 at 9:02:28 am
1- they are 'undocumented aliens', not illegal aliens. Illegal defines a crime has been committed and they are eligible for legal aid- the are not. This falls under civil law.
2-Few (I can't think of any), undocumented aliens own their own company. As employees, they wouldn't carry unemployment or worker comp- their employer would. A client would be totally foolish to hire someone who doesn't carry comp and liability insurance- shame on those who hire these types of contractors to save some bucks and then cry if 'something' goes wrong.
3-picking vegetables? Try looking at the work force building the palatial new buildings at UGA! Building the new sub-divisions. Working the road crews. A guy can buy a 'real' green card for $75 or so.
4- some employers hire them because they can underpay them- however, I would gather MOST hire them because you get twice the work for the same pay. Big difference!

There is a real problem. Exacerbated by those who grandstand and righteously moralize and flat get in the way of finding real solutions.

+ 1 Rating Posted by: atypicalcarl at Feb. 7, 2009 at 9:14:56 am
Chris, moralizing is all any private citizen can do. Public opinion is a powerful thing.

The only immediate solution is government oversight, and aggressive prosecution of those who flaunt the labor laws for personal gain. Nobody wants to foot the bill or hinder the business sector (already in a precarious state) so the problem is here to stay.

+ 1 Rating Posted by: nancy30683 at Feb. 7, 2009 at 9:37:08 am
"solomongrundy": "Many illegal immigrants live in this country and work and do not break laws" What is it about the definition of "illegal" that you do not understand? If they are here illegally, they have broken the law.

Posted by: cyou299 at Feb. 7, 2009 at 9:46:32 am
1-They would not be here, if they did not have work.
2-Hiring undocumented workers is illegal.
3-The surest way to end prostitution, is to go after the johns. The surest way to end 'illegals' is to go after the employers.
4-SINCE that is not happening, one can reasonably assume that there is no political will to deal with this situation.
Conclusion, politicians get a lot of mileage out of talking about it, and little payback for doing something about it.
Again, look who is building UGA, the subdivisions, the shopping plazas, the roads, working the factories, the services- all this rhetoric is designed to keep this underclass as an underclass, not to deal with the problem.

Posted by: atypicalcarl at Feb. 7, 2009 at 10:27:59 am
I don't think it's a class warfare tactic, Chris. Unskilled labor will always be on the bottom of the social scale. The poor tend to be politically apathetic and ignorant.

The hiring of illegal labor is an undeniable drain on social services, and results in lower tax revenues. Poor living and working conditions allow minor health problems to become serious, increasing the cost of medical care for those able to pay. However, the same thing could be said of practically all poorly-educated and unskilled labor.

One important difference is age: the reason the original story has seen so much debate.

Fake ID's allow minors to take jobs originally filled by adults, increasing unemployment and thwarting the truancy laws designed to keep kids out of the workforce. According to a 2001 NCES study, the HS dropout rate for foreign-born Hispanics in the US was over 44%.


+ 1 Rating Posted by: billythekid01 at Feb. 7, 2009 at 10:37:24 am
cyou is right about one thing: if there were no jobs, the illegals wouldn't be here. Go after those who hire them, but be willing to pay more for what we buy. Real solution...end a lot of the benefits to those who live off government assistance, and they will take the jobs back from the illegals. You have a group of people in this country who will not work...period. They used to do the jobs the immigrants do now.

cyou: undocumented vs. illegal? ***** vs. prostitute? They're illegal because they broke the law to get here. I'm sorry, but calling them "undocumented" is like putting the proverbial lipstick on a pig.

Posted by: fctcpac at Feb. 7, 2009 at 10:39:47 am
was he really 3 when he was illegally brought here abandoned by his mother? dang...whoever was his "guardian" should be investigated by dfcs...but if you're illegal (i.e. broke every singe possible immigration law we have), do you even bother with establishing legal guardianship (i.e. take responsibility for a child's welfare)? guess once you break a whole set of immigration laws, it becomes easier to just blow off all laws which stand in your way of getting what you want...

Posted by: jeepercreeper at Feb. 7, 2009 at 11:01:12 am
i say we all pack up and take over thier country like cockroaches

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