Illegal faces deportation
By Stephen Largen • slargen@monroe.gannett.com • February 10, 2009

A 25-year-old illegal immigrant who was arrested by police for soliciting a prostitute will face the charge locally and then be deported to Mexico, according to the U.S. Department of Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Monroe police arrested Gaspar Dionicio Quiroz, who reportedly lives at the Budget Inn in Monroe, following a Saturday traffic stop for reportedly driving left of center on North 21st Street.


After an officer reportedly found crack cocaine in Quiroz's car and placed him under arrest, Quiroz reportedly told the officer he arranged to pay $100 to his passenger in exchange for sex.

Quiroz reportedly told police he has no Social Security number, no green card and no visa. Quiroz was booked at Ouachita Correctional Center. Bond is $500.

An immigration and customs detainer was also placed on Quiroz. Spokesman Temple Black said Quiroz will face the local charge and then be taken into custody by the agency and taken back to Mexico.

Local law enforcement agencies report a good working relationship with the federal. Chief deputy Jay Russell with the Ouachita Parish Sheriff's office said the OPSO will drop charges on illegal immigrants if immigration and customs wants to immediately deport them. Russell said the sheriff's office deals with such cases infrequently.

Capt. Hank Smith with Metro Narcotics said the department works well with the agency, but "we really don't have very much of an issue with it," he said.

Cpl. Matthew Downhour with the West Monroe Police Department said the department has been charging more illegal immigrants during the past two years. Most work as day laborers or do contract jobs, he said. Downhour points to a little-known state law as a useful tool for law enforcement agencies.

State law 14:100.13 allows law enforcement agencies to charge immigrant students or nonresident immigrants who operate a motor vehicle in the state without documentation proving they are lawfully present in the U.S. to be charged with a felony offense.

"It's definitely something that helps," he said.

Typically, criminally charged illegal immigrants are taken to the Oakdale Detention Center in central Louisiana to go before an immigration court judge, who decides whether they will be deported or not.

Local agencies call local immigration representatives to inform them when arrests are made, but illegal immigrants can occasionally post bond on misdemeanor charges and be released before immigration officials are aware of their status when the agency is dealing with a heavy caseload.

According to a 2007 report by the Federation for American Immigration Reform estimates there were 25,000 illegal immigrants in Louisiana, while a 2005 Pew Hispanic Center estimate put that number at 35,000.

http://www.thenewsstar.com/article/2009 ... 00316/1002