Thread: tennesse having problems with gangs!

THP Wants Immigration Database Access

March 14, 2007 08:56 PM EST
Tonight the Tennessee Highway Patrol is following in the footsteps of the Davidson County Sheriff's Department.

They want to gain access to the same federal database to investigate undocumented immigrants who are perpetrators of other crimes. Wednesday, the THP got approval from some state senators on the plan.

"There has been a constitutional debate about whether it's appropriate for state law enforcement officials to detain and question, let alone arrest," Senator Mike Norris (R - Collierville) said.

That debate decreased as the THP and Homeland Security began working out how they could access the same federal database as the Davidson County Sheriff's Department. It lets officers identify, process, and detain criminal undocumented immigrants.

"Sometimes it may take days to get an ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) agent to us because they don't have the staff," Tennessee Highway Patrol Colonel Mike Walker said.

The plan is to train two troopers in each of their eight districts on how to run the federal database.

A person who is pulled over for a traffic infringement would not be deported, but an undocumented immigrant who is found to have committed a felony could be deported.

"We are not going to profile. We are not going out to search for people. That's not our mission," Walker said.

The THP's mission is to make the highways safe. While undocumented immigrants continue to cross the border and into Tennessee, Colonel Walker insisted detaining them will never become THP's top priority.

It will be several months before the THP learns if they'll be able to access the federal database program.

Davidson County Deputies will be ready to enforce the federal immigration laws in May.
http://www.newschannel5.com/Global/stor ... 28974MS-13 Gang Makes Move Into Tennessee

March 7, 2007 11:19 PM EST







MS-13 Gang Makes Move Into Tennessee
The FBI considers MS-13 (from Mara Salvatrucha) to be the most violent gang in the United States, and they've made a stronghold right here in Middle Tennessee.

The gang has marked its territory all the way from war torn El Salvador to the heart of LA. It has crisscrossed the country and has now found a home on the streets of Nashville.

"They will look for high growth areas where they can blend into the communities and take advantage of good hard-working people," Steve Richardson with the Federal Bureau of Investigation said.

The gang has few members, but commits a lot of violent crime --everything from murders to kidnappings to drug trafficking.

Within the last eight weeks, authorities announced 13 indictments against MS-13 gang members for murders across Nashville and other violent crimes in the area.

"The gang members that we're seeing today have been exposed to violence from very, very young age. They've grown up around it," Richardson said.

Police gang units, the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) are working to infiltrate gang networks from the top down, and trying to squash not only MS-13 but the handfuls of other gangs known to commit crimes in middle Tennessee.

"Maybe the dress...accents...people are different, but really they all boil down to the same motives," James Cavanaugh with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms said. "It'd be nice if we could be city for music not city for gangs."

Authorities have seen younger and younger kids join gangs. So, the ATF has launched different campaigns aimed at kids like a coloring book to reach youth before they join gangs.http://www.newschannel5.com/Global/story.asp?S=6195660

There has been a constitutional debate about whether it's appropriate for state law enforcement officials to detain and question, let alone arrest,

Can someone explain why Illegals and Criminals/non-Citizens have "Constitutional Rights"?

I have been wondering the same thing, ThomasMoore.