Thread: In HB 1804's first month, no Tulsa arrests

In HB 1804's first month, no Tulsa arrests
by: NICOLE MARSHALL & CURTIS KILLMAN World Staff Writers
12/9/2007 12:00 AM



The number of local immigration detentions has fallen since September, law enforcers say.

Tulsa law enforcement leaders say it has been business as usual in the month since a new immigration law took effect.

No arrests for violations of the law, known as House Bill 1804, have been made in the city, they said last week.

The law, passed in the Legislature's last session, makes it a felony to knowingly transport illegal aliens, requires proof of citizenship to receive certain government benefits and creates barriers to hiring illegal immigrants. After July 1, it will require contractors to check the immigration status of workers.

Chief Deputy Tim Albin of the Tulsa County Sheriff's Office and Tulsa Police Chief Ron Palmer said one of their main goals has been to dispel rumors and educate people about law officers' role in enforcing the law.

Palmer said, "We are continuing to work with the Hispanic community to get this information out and let them know that even though some people believe we are making wholesale 1804 arrests, the TPD has made no 1804 arrests in the 30-day period following the enactment of the law."

Surge in June, then decline: Albin said the number of people held in the Tulsa Jail on immigration issues jumped in June for several reasons, including increased cooperation between jail workers and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents.

Those immigration detainers -- orders to hold a prisoner -- have nothing to do with the state law.

A Tulsa World analysis of jail records shows that the number of immigration detentions has decreased each month since September.

In November, the month HB 1804 took effect, 105 people were booked into the jail on immigration detainers.

The number of people jailed on such detainers was 133 in October and 143 in September. In August, 110 immigration detainees were booked into the jail.

Albin said "all the moons lined up, so to speak" at the beginnning of June.

The Sheriff's Office entered into a partnership with ICE that allows deputies to access ICE records directly. Deputies can also place and release detainers on inmates who are in violation of immigration laws.

Political leaders were also weighing in on the issue in June.

After the City Council approved a resolution on the matter, Mayor Kathy Taylor issued a policy clarification that month stating that police will conduct immigration checks on all people who are arrested on complaints of felonies and full-custody misdemeanors.

U.S. Rep. John Sullivan, R-Okla., called for the policy clarification.

About that time, several high-profile cases exposed holes in the system when undocumented immigrants were booked into the jail and released on bond.

"We decided we have got to figure out how to address this, and many agencies came together to do just that," Albin said.

But the reason for the decrease in holds during the last few months is not as obvious, he said.

Those numbers could fluctuate because of law enforcement task forces targeting certain types of crimes, he said. Also, jail populations are cyclical, so numbers may change based on "many things that are happening outside the jail," he said.

Albin also noted that many people who are being held now for federal immigration officials have been in the jail before, released on bond and arrested again on warrants.

Reasons for arrests: In all, 5 percent of all people booked into the Tulsa Jail in November had complaints that included ICE detainers.

Driving-related issues snared most of those held for ICE.

Failure to have a driver's license was the chief arrest complaint among the detainees, with 84 people booked last month on that offense.

Having no proof of vehicle liability insurance ranked second, with 55 people booked on that complaint.

Nearly one in four of those held for ICE in November -- 23 -- were booked on complaints that included driving under the influence.

A handful of those with immigration holds were also facing more serious charges.

Seven face various sexual assault charges.

"We are trying to arm people with facts so that they can make good decisions," Palmer said.

"If you are driving drunk, if you are driving without a driver's license . . . or even committing the smallest traffic violations, if you can't produce valid ID to satisfy the court of who you are to ensure your appearance in court, the likelihood is that you will be detained," he said.

"At that point, if there is still a question about the ID, the likelihood of you being checked with ICE is really pretty good based upon what the Sheriff's Department is doing with their agreement with ICE agents."

Crime victims protected: One misconception is that illegal immigrants who are victims of crime will automatically be deported if they notify authorities. That's not true, Albin said.

He cited as an example a case that led Tulsa deputies to arrest two illegal immigrants, Pedro and Rosalio Morin, last month on complaints alleging that they sexually assaulted a female relative, who is 11.

The girl -- who told detectives that she had been molested since she was 7 -- and her family are also in this country illegally, he said.

Charges have not yet been approved against the Morin brothers, who remain in custody. If charges are approved, county detectives and ICE agents can start considering what they can do to help the girl and her family obtain legal status while the case progresses through the courts.

There is a path to permanent status for crime victims, Albin said, but many factors must be considered and each case is viewed individually.

Palmer said police have also been explaining to Hispanic residents that police will not target them because of their race.

They have encouraged people who believe they were targeted because of racial bias to file complaints, and they have assured them that their immigration status will not be checked if they do so.

Such complaints "have not been appreciatively higher" since the law took effect, Palmer said.

The department has handed out hundreds of cards to Hispanic residents explaining the difference between a ticketed arrest and an in-custody arrest, he said.

"We think we are making some progress in regard to the fear factor," Palmer said.

"There are still people concerned out there, but there are still people out there who are in fact driving without a license and driving without insurance, and that fact can't be denied."
http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article. ... hThen28067

The libidiots and IA huggers keep pounding the drum:


Still searching for solution to illegal immigration
By MIKE JONES Associate Editor
12/9/2007
Last Modified: 12/9/2007 1:42 AM

Immigration has reached a level five times greater than a decade earlier. Most of the new arrivals are poor laborers who crowd into the tenements of large cities. Crime and welfare costs soar. Expenditures for poor relief rises threefold. The arrest rate of immigrants and their share of relief funds are several times their percentage of the population.

Since immigrants are preponderantly young adults, the number of foreign-born voters grows faster than their proportion of the population. In one city, immigrant voters increased by 195 percent while the native-born vote rose only 14 percent.

Any of that sound vaguely familiar? You can find such statements on about any Internet blog dedicated to ridding the United States of illegal immigrants.

In fact, the first two paragraphs are paraphrased from James McPherson's historical book, "Battle Cry of Freedom." The immigrants he was writing about were mostly the Irish and some Germans. The era was pre-Civil War.

At that time and other times in our history, concern bordering on hysteria over immigrants -- legal and illegal -- has played important roles in politics and economics.

McPherson's book detailed events of more than 150 years ago -- during the time of the Know-Nothings. Sadly, they are not much different than the movement afoot now.

Oklahoma has its own tribute to the Know-Nothings, House Bill 1804. State Rep. Randy Terrill, R-Moore, and Sen. Jim Williamson, R-Tulsa, co-authored one of the most onerous anti-immigration bills in the country. They had some help. A Legislature afraid to anger a vocal crowd passed the bill and Gov. Brad Henry signed it.

It still faces court challenges, but with the mood of the country it is likely to not only stand but continue to spread to other states.

Things are no better on the national front. The presidential debates -- Democrat and Republican alike -- have become a finger-pointing affair with each candidate trying to brand the other an illegal-immigrant harborer. They're using the hackneyed terms so prevalent in this political climate: open borders, sanctuary city, amnesty, etc.

Are there some problems with illegal immigration? Certainly. There are 12 million, maybe more, illegals in the United States. They have put pressure on state services. They also make up about 6 percent of the work force. But, despite what some alarmists claim, it is not the end of the world.

In fact, over the past 10 or more years as immigration, legal and illegal, has grown the U.S. economy has been doing quite well.

Unemployment remains low at about 4.7 percent nationally. The employment picture is even better in Tulsa where unemployment is at or below 4 percent. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the median family income is around $44,000 per year. The country has experienced steady job growth for the last 10 years.

For those who fear that the Hispanics are trying to take over the country and return it to Mexico here are some interesting facts: The Pew Hispanic Center surveyed 14,000 Hispanics living in the United States and found that while "fewer than one in four (23 percent) reports being able to speak English very well, 88 percent of their U.S.-born adult children speak English very well." Among later generations of Hispanic adults, the survey found, the figure rises to 94 percent.

Further, the survey found that although most Hispanic "immigrants maintain some kind of connection to their native country by sending remittances, traveling back or telephoning relatives only one in 10 do all three. A much larger minority is involved in none of these activities and can be considered to have a low level of engagement with the country of origin."

The more time they spend in the U.S., the less attachment they have to their native country, the survey said.

That's assimilation. It is what has been going on with immigrants in this country since it was founded. It's what the Irish did and the Germans did and the Jews did and the English did and on and on.

Again, there is a problem with illegal immigration in the United States. There needs to be a solution -- a fair and reasonable solution.

HB 1804 and heavy-handed laws that punish not only illegal and legal immigrants but small businesses also are not the answer. In fact, it remains a federal problem not a state issue.

There are level-headed men and women in the Legislature who are beginning to speak up, such as Sen. Harry Coates, R-Seminole. They are starting to see the results of the draconian HB 1804 and its obvious unfairness.

It remains, however, election season, so don't expect many politicians at the state or federal level to offer anything close to what needs to be done.

In the meantime, Terrill and his Know-Nothings will continue to beat the drum of intolerance and mean-spiritedness. Maybe Terrill is simply playing good politics and expects to ride this wave of hysteria into a bigger state office.

The fear of anything different is not a new phenomenon. McPherson's book is proof of that.

It's almost ironic that Oklahoma, a state with deep ties to immigrants, illegal and legal, a state with deep roots of Irish and German as well as many other ethnic groups would be a leading state in punishing its new immigrants.

Yes, there is a problem. The borders need to be secured. Those here illegally need to be accounted for.

This issue, however, is not the most pressing problem facing this country. It will work out. It has before.

By MIKE JONES Associate Editor
Mike Jones 581-8332
mike.jones@tulsaworld.com

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Add your comment

(5) readers have commented on this story so far. Tell us what you think below!


1. 12/9/2007 6:15:43 AM, John,
The fact of the matter is that people are in our country and do not feel they need to abide by the laws. Terrilll and Williamson should be applauded. Can you explain how you can call it an anti-immigration bill? I don’t see anything in the bill that would prohibit anyone from immigrating.


2. 12/9/2007 6:35:23 AM, The Oracle, Tulsa
The legal Hispanic community resents the illegal Hispanic community.One of most effective,legal,universal methods that should be used in the State of Oklahoma is the traffic checkpoints.These universal,NON-DRACONIAN traffic checkpoints will identify the lawreakers who drive without legal drivers liscenses,and those without insurance verification,and those with oustanding warrants.These NON-DRACONIAN traffic checkpoints will identify those lawbreakers who drive autos with no tags or no current tags,and will identify those who choose to drive on our streets and highways and ignore our laws.By the way the punishment for these offenses are universal and NON DRACONIAN.


3. 12/9/2007 7:05:05 AM, TRUTH, OK
Liberals like Mike Jones want the ranks of voters to grow more dependency on government. Classic liberals. The more people who see America as the Land of Entitlement (instead of the Land of Opportunity) the more likely liberal politicians will stay in office. That's why you see so much pandering to criminal invaders. It's that simple for the media liberals. For the greedy employers is all about the profit. They vote their pocketbook over the country their children and grandchildren will inherit.


4. 12/9/2007 7:50:16 AM, Dave, Blue Rapids
Before The Hart-Celler Act of 1965 (Thank you Senator Kennedy)and the 1986 Amnesty Act ( Thank you Senator Kennedy) most Americans wanted population control in the US.Now we allow in around 2,000,000 legal immigrants a year plus their extended families,(Mother,Father,Sister ,Brother and their children.)That adds millions more.Then you have the 12-20 million illegal Aliens that Congress wants to give Amnesty to.If that's granted,then you have their extended families,which will add millions more.Then you have the 500,000 that still cross our southern border illegally each year.The US current population is 301,000,000,not to long ago we exported our surplus food,now we import half,In the near future 36 states will have a water shortage,Some studies show the US population at 450,000,000 by the year 2050.Has anyone ask their Congressman and Senators what quality of life our Children and Grand Children will have? Social Security,in 1996 the Social Security Administration signed an agreement with Mexico that will give Social Security payments to some of the 12-20 million illegal aliens once they are granted amnesty, total cost over 50 billion dollars a year.This type information is at both the FAIR and the Heritage Foundation Web sites.Add the 45 billion dollars each year that the American tax payer donates for illegal aliens free medical care,food stamps,rent assistance,translators at schools and we have a ticking time bomb.Amnesty for 12-20 million illegal aliens and endless immigration is not the answer.I encourage everyone to write their Congressman and Senators and ask them what the total cost to the American tax payer will be if they grant amnesty to those 12-20 million illegal aliens,after all you and I and our children will foot the bill for their decision


5. 12/9/2007 8:24:34 AM, XonOFF, Tulsa
Boy, is this paper behind. Have you heard, 1804 solved the biggest part of the problem?
http://www.tulsaworld.com/opinion/artic ... spanc14883