ICE answers immigration questions
Stories of interest
Double murder in Hannibal

Police release more details about double murder


Police reveal more about Hannibal murder suspect



Many voice concerns after Hannibal murders

Friday, March 06, 2009 at 5:24 p.m.


Last weekend's Hannibal murders have left many family and friends with unanswered questions.

The suspect, 32-year-old Manuel Cazares accused of killing 27-year-old Amanda Thomas of Hannibal and her high school friend 25-year-old Patrick Epley of Monroe City is an illegal immigrant. Many of you have asked the question, how can an illegal immigrant slip through the cracks?

We talked to Hannibal Police Department earlier this week. The department told us that Cazares had all the identification to prove he was in the country legally. There was no reason to think that he was here illegally. Police say further questioning about a person's legal status when valid identification has been provided could result in civil penalties. That's where federal entities such as Immigrations and Customs Enforcement or ICE come into play.

"ICE has a very active criminal alien program. We work in partnership with local law enforcement agencies, they don't have to do anything special to participate other than refer the people that they arrest who they suspect might be in the country illegally or deportable," said ICE spokesman Cark Rusnok.

The ICE spokesman told us most local law enforcement agencies don't have immigration law enforcement authority, but there's a way to get it. There's a program that gives local police authorization if properly trained.

You can report suspicious activity by calling (866) DHS-2-ICE

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