Thread: Higher bail asked on illegal aliens

Saturday, February 07, 2009 BY JIM LOCKWOODStar-Ledger Staff
The Morris County Prosecutor's Office sought bail increases on eight illegal aliens who have been charged with crimes and then had deportation detainers placed on them by the federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency.

The goal of the prosecutor's office is to keep such defendants in the Morris County jail -- or be required to post a very high bail as an incentive of returning to court -- instead of posting a relatively low bail, and being turned over to ICE custody and deported.

Advertisement





That's what happened in December when an illegal alien, Carlos Ulloa-Murillo, who is charged with a sexual assault, posted bail and then was picked up by ICE on its detainer. While in ICE custody, he consented to deportation, before the sexual assault case was resolved, and was sent back to his native Honduras.

Last month, a similar situation arose involving another illegal alien from Honduras, Manuel Fajardo-Santos. To avoid the same outcome as Ulloa-Murillo, the prosecutor's office sought and secured a significant bail increase for Fajardo-Santos, although it was overturned last week by the state Appellate Division.

Now, the prosecutor's office is looking to increase bails on all illegal-immigrant defenders with ICE detainers.

The root of the problem is a jurisdictional one, Morris County Prosecutor Robert Bianchi said, because the fact someone is charged criminally in a state court apparently has no relevance or bearing in a federal deportation hearing.

"This is the outcome of maybe a more aggressive approach by ICE to deport," Bianchi told Superior Court Judge John Dangler. "It has statewide significance."

But several defense attorneys cited the appellate reversal of Fajardo-Santos' bail increase. That ruling found there was nothing new in the case to warrant a fourfold bail hike. A state court also has no say in what happens in a federal proceeding, and bail modification motions, from either the prosecution or defense, are only supposed to be allowed when there is a new circumstance in a case, the defense attorneys said.

Public defender Michael Fletcher noted earlier yesterday in an unrelated case a prosecutor opposed a defense bail motion because nothing new had occurred in that case.

"If it's good enough for the goose, it's good enough the gander," Fletcher said.

Bianchi, who is preparing an appeal of the appellate division reversal to the state Supreme Court, contended the Ulloa-Murillo deportation is a new, "novel" circumstance that warrants higher bails.

Dangler decided to hear the prosecutor's bail motions on the following defendants: Johnny Estuardo-Gonzalez and Aurelio Vail, both of Guatemala; Hector Zamora-Guzman of Chile, Carlos Gomez-Flores, Eric Rangel and Ricardo Alcantar-Martinez, all of Mexico; Santos Reyes of Honduras; and Victor Monge of Costa Rica.

"Am I supposed to turn my back and say, 'Let them go off to deportation and whatever happens, happens?'" the judge said.

In most of these cases, Dangler either agreed to raise the bails, or converted them to cash-only, and also ordered bail-source hearings to first be held if bails are posted.



Jim Lockwood may be reached at jlockwood@starledger.com or (973) 539-7119.

http://www.nj.com/news/ledger/jersey/in ... xml&coll=1

Higher bail because they are a flight risk and more likely to jump bail.

Dixie