Man sentenced in fed court on immigration offenses

Cesar Hernandez-Escalante, 29, of Tapachula, Chiapas, Mexico, was sentenced Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Benton to 15 months’ imprisonment.

Hernandez-Escalante had pleaded guilty Sept. 2, 2009, to the charges of illegal reentry into the United States after having been removed and transporting an illegal alien for financial gain.

He was also ordered to pay $200 in special assessments and will face removal from the United States after serving his sentence.

Hernandez-Escalante had previously been removed from the United States pursuant to law on June 11, 2009, through Harlingen, Texas. His most recent violations took place on June 21, 2009, in Effingham County, Ill. He was caught on Interstate 70 by a deputy from the Effingham Sheriff’s Department who stopped the vehicle he was driving for having too many passengers.

A subsequent Investigation by agents from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, determined that the eight passengers in his vehicle were illegal aliens being transported by Hernandez-Escalante for financial gain.

This case was investigated by the Effingham County Sheriff’s Department and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael C. Carr. This guy was deported,and was back In 10 days!!!!! Remember this...... Napolitano pronounces U.S. border more secure now


WASHINGTON (AP) — The Obama administration has met many of the border security benchmarks Congress set in 2007 as a prerequisite to immigration reform and now it's time to change the law, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said Friday.
Napolitano, designated by President Barack Obama to lead the administration's immigration reform efforts, said many members of Congress had said they could support immigration reform, but only after border security improved, Napolitano said.

"Fast forward to today, and many of the benchmarks these members of Congress set in 2007 have been met," she said in a speech to the Center for American Progress, a liberal think tank.

She cited construction of 600 miles of border fence and the hiring of more than 20,000 Border Patrol agents. Illegal immigration has also fallen sharply because of better enforcement and the economy.

"I've been dealing hands-on with immigration issues since 1993, so trust me: I know a major shift when I see one, and what I have seen makes reform far more attainable this time around," Napolitano said.

Congress passed tough immigration enforcement legislation in 2006 that called for building 700 miles of border fences and barriers. Immigration critics have said the fence has not been built with double layers as the law required and is not all fencing.

"How can they claim that enforcement is 'done' when there are more than 400 open miles of border with Mexico, hundreds of thousands of criminal and fugitive aliens and millions of illegal immigrants taking American jobs?" said Rep. Lamar Smith of Texas, the top Republican on the House Judiciary Committee, which oversees immigration and border issues.

Napolitano said the immigration and border security improvements are not enough. "The laws themselves need to be reformed," she said.

Obama has repeatedly said immigration reform is a priority, although it has been pushed further down the list as he has taken on the economy and health care reform.

Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., has said he would introduce legislation by early next year. New Jersey Sen. Bob Menendez, who heads the Senate Democrats' campaign arm, has said immigration reform must be done by March or it won't be taken up until after the 2010 elections.

Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
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