Thread: Newark suspects fell through immigration cracks

Newark suspects fell through immigration cracks

Immigration officials weren't aware Jose Carranza was in U.S. illegally

Another suspect in Newark slayings was legal resident, despite arrests

In New Jersey, locals aren't required to check immigration status of suspects

http://edition.cnn.com/2007/US/law/08/1 ... otings.ap/

Some legislators are working to make the checks mandatory
TRENTON, New Jersey (AP) -- Jose Carranza, an illegal immigrant from Peru, was indicted twice this year: 31 counts surrounding the alleged sexual assault of a child, and nine stemming from a bar fight.

But federal immigration officials hadn't heard of him until Thursday, when he was charged in the execution-style shooting deaths of three Newark college students.

Carranza had been free on $5,000 bail when the shootings occurred, but immigration officials say he may never have returned to the streets had local authorities contacted them after his first felony arrest in October 2006.

"We certainly would have been inclined to place him in a removal proceeding, how ever we came across him," said Marc Raimondi, spokesman for United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement. "Given that he is alleged to have committed a very serious offense against a child, that would have put him at the top of our list."

New Jersey is among the places where local authorities aren't required to check the immigration status of someone arrested, and some critics want that changed.

"If New Jersey is not prepared to cooperate with federal officials in enforcing the law of the land, then our state is no longer governed by laws," said state Assemblyman Richard Merkt. Last year the Republican proposed a bill that would require jail officials to remand illegal immigrants to federal authorities, but the legislation never advanced.

Last week Carranza, 28, was charged in the August 4 shootings of four people, ages 18 to 20, who were gunned down while visiting in a school yard near their homes. The three who died were knelt against a wall and shot at close range; a fourth survived a gunshot wound to the head.

Two juveniles also were arrested, and authorities have a warrant for a fourth suspect, Rodolfo Godinez, 24. Raimondi said Godinez is a lawful permanent resident, a status obtained in 2001 despite several arrests.

Carranza was indicted in April on assault and weapons charges from the barroom fight, then was indicted in July on sexual assault charges. Bail was set at $50,000 for the first case and $150,000 on the other, but Carranza had to post only $5,000 using a bail bondsman, according to court records. Watch a victim's father vent his anger »

At the request of state Senate President Richard Codey, New Jersey Attorney General Anne Milgram agreed to review Carranza's and Godinez's cases to see if mistakes were made.

"Someone clearly dropped the ball here, and now three good kids are gone and another is seriously wounded," said Codey, a Democrat from Essex County.

The prosecutor supervising the sex assault case, Mark S. Ali, said the office probably believed Carranza had legal status based on an application the suspect made for a court-appointed attorney.

On Monday, a judge revoked Carranza's bail at the request of prosecutors.

Paul Loriquet, a spokesman for the Essex County Prosecutor's Office, said the office generally refers illegal immigrants to federal authorities only after a defendant is sentenced.

While other states have taken steps to combat illegal immigration, a recent National Conference of State Legislatures study found that New Jersey was among just nine states that haven't passed immigration laws this year.

In Suffolk County, New York, officials check every person that comes into the county jail and reports them if they are suspected to be illegal immigrants, said Sheriff Vincent DeMarco. He said the department turned over 450 illegal immigrants last year and estimated they could turn over more than 700 this year.

"There's not too much local government can do to stem the tide of illegal immigration, but when people are in this country illegally and then commit a crime, we definitely have a responsibility to turn these people in," DeMarco said.

But others contend requiring authorities to check whether suspects are in the country legally would distract law enforcement.

"The most effective form of law enforcement is investigating the crime that's being investigated," said Shai Goldstein, New Jersey Immigration Policy Network's executive director. "Anything that diverts attention from that is ineffective."

Goldstein said such policies can make it difficult to solve crimes.

"If we focus on status, maybe people who are witnesses to crimes won't come forward," he said. "We already have the problem in some urban areas, where witnesses won't come forward, and many of them are second-, third-, fourth-generation Americans."

Originally Posted by zeezil

Newark suspects fell through immigration cracks

Immigration officials weren't aware Jose Carranza was in U.S. illegally

Another suspect in Newark slayings was legal resident, despite arrests

In New Jersey, locals aren't required to check immigration status of suspects

http://edition.cnn.com/2007/US/law/08/1 ... otings.ap/

Some legislators are working to make the checks mandatory
TRENTON, New Jersey (AP) -- Jose Carranza, an illegal immigrant from Peru, was indicted twice this year: 31 counts surrounding the alleged sexual assault of a child, and nine stemming from a bar fight.

But federal immigration officials hadn't heard of him until Thursday, when he was charged in the execution-style shooting deaths of three Newark college students.

Carranza had been free on $5,000 bail when the shootings occurred, but immigration officials say he may never have returned to the streets had local authorities contacted them after his first felony arrest in October 2006.

"We certainly would have been inclined to place him in a removal proceeding, how ever we came across him," said Marc Raimondi, spokesman for United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement. "Given that he is alleged to have committed a very serious offense against a child, that would have put him at the top of our list."

New Jersey is among the places where local authorities aren't required to check the immigration status of someone arrested, and some critics want that changed.

"If New Jersey is not prepared to cooperate with federal officials in enforcing the law of the land, then our state is no longer governed by laws," said state Assemblyman Richard Merkt. Last year the Republican proposed a bill that would require jail officials to remand illegal immigrants to federal authorities, but the legislation never advanced.

Last week Carranza, 28, was charged in the August 4 shootings of four people, ages 18 to 20, who were gunned down while visiting in a school yard near their homes. The three who died were knelt against a wall and shot at close range; a fourth survived a gunshot wound to the head.

Two juveniles also were arrested, and authorities have a warrant for a fourth suspect, Rodolfo Godinez, 24. Raimondi said Godinez is a lawful permanent resident, a status obtained in 2001 despite several arrests.

Carranza was indicted in April on assault and weapons charges from the barroom fight, then was indicted in July on sexual assault charges. Bail was set at $50,000 for the first case and $150,000 on the other, but Carranza had to post only $5,000 using a bail bondsman, according to court records. Watch a victim's father vent his anger »

At the request of state Senate President Richard Codey, New Jersey Attorney General Anne Milgram agreed to review Carranza's and Godinez's cases to see if mistakes were made.

"Someone clearly dropped the ball here, and now three good kids are gone and another is seriously wounded," said Codey, a Democrat from Essex County.

The prosecutor supervising the sex assault case, Mark S. Ali, said the office probably believed Carranza had legal status based on an application the suspect made for a court-appointed attorney.

On Monday, a judge revoked Carranza's bail at the request of prosecutors.

Paul Loriquet, a spokesman for the Essex County Prosecutor's Office, said the office generally refers illegal immigrants to federal authorities only after a defendant is sentenced.

While other states have taken steps to combat illegal immigration, a recent National Conference of State Legislatures study found that New Jersey was among just nine states that haven't passed immigration laws this year.

In Suffolk County, New York, officials check every person that comes into the county jail and reports them if they are suspected to be illegal immigrants, said Sheriff Vincent DeMarco. He said the department turned over 450 illegal immigrants last year and estimated they could turn over more than 700 this year.

"There's not too much local government can do to stem the tide of illegal immigration, but when people are in this country illegally and then commit a crime, we definitely have a responsibility to turn these people in," DeMarco said.

But others contend requiring authorities to check whether suspects are in the country legally would distract law enforcement.

"The most effective form of law enforcement is investigating the crime that's being investigated," said Shai Goldstein, New Jersey Immigration Policy Network's executive director. "Anything that diverts attention from that is ineffective."

Goldstein said such policies can make it difficult to solve crimes.

"If we focus on status, maybe people who are witnesses to crimes won't come forward," he said. "We already have the problem in some urban areas, where witnesses won't come forward, and many of them are second-, third-, fourth-generation Americans."

I'm really confused. If someone is here illegally is that not
in itself a CRIME? Why won't people just do their jobs.
This person should be fired for stupidity.