Thread: News on Trial of "Our" Serial Rapist

I emailed Mr. Wireback after I received the above response from him and asked if he had gotten any response from the community and was really pleased to receive this in reply:

I've gotten a lot of e-mail after each article on this guy and today I've started getting phone calls. All positive, so far. I expected to hear some negative stuff from the Hispanic lobby, but haven't so far. I probably will get a few nasty e-mails from that end eventually, but this situation is so bizarre it's hard to think what they could say in this guy's defense.

Below is a section of an article from the Winston-Salem Journal about Virginia Foxx proposing legislation that would make it more difficult for illegals to get government-backed mortgages. THEY ARE HEARING US, ALIPAC!!!

Foxx proposed an amendment to immigration legislation under consideration this week. The proposal came after Foxx learned that a man, who police say is living in the country illegally, bought a home in Winston-Salem with a $123,000 loan guaranteed by the federal government. The man also is accused in several rapes in the Triad.

Gilberto Cruz Hernandez, 24, has been arrested and charged in connection with a string of rapes and sexual assaults in Winston-Salem, High Point and Greensboro. He is being held in the Forsyth County Jail with bond set at $3 million.

Winston-Salem police charged Hernandez on Oct. 28 after DNA evidence linked him to sexual assaults that were reported earlier in the year. A few days after his arrest, he was charged in connection with three sexual assaults that were reported in Greensboro in May 2004 and January and February this year.

Hernandez had been deported to Mexico twice, but he returned to the United States, according to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, and bought a home.

"This is just crazy that the federal government is guaranteeing loans for illegal aliens," Foxx said. "If we are going to ask employers to verify (the status of) employees, it makes sense that we hold the government to the same standard."

http://www.news-record.com

Foxx bill focuses on illegal residents


Article published Dec 17, 2005

By Taft Wireback
Staff Writer

U.S. Rep. Virginia Foxx is puzzled by several aspects of the case involving Gilberto Cruz Hernandez, the Mexican immigrant accused in a series of assaults in the Piedmont Triad.

The one that most stumps her is how a 20-something illegal immigrant could land a $123,000 home loan backed by the same federal government that twice deported him.

It suggests that some federal agencies aren't tenacious enough in verifying the citizenship of people who get government loans or other forms of credit, said the congresswoman from Banner Elk who represents people in parts of Forsyth and Rockingham counties.

"It's just common sense and it's what the general public assumes we're already doing," Foxx said. "The general public would say, 'What do you mean you don't have a process to only make loans to legal citizens?' "

Foxx aims to make sure such checks are done thoroughly with a bill she plans to introduce, requiring all federal agencies to verify citizenship or immigration status of those who get federal loans or other credit.

It would affect not just the Federal Housing Administration that backed Hernandez's loan but the entire bureaucracy, including agencies such as the Small Business Administration and the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Hernandez, 24, was charged in late October with four sexual assaults in Winston-Salem, then later arrested in similar incidents in Greensboro and High Point.

Shortly after his arrests, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security disclosed he was an illegal immigrant who had been deported 1997 and 2002.

Last week, the News & Record reported that Hernandez used an FHA-guaranteed loan to buy a brand-new house in Winston-Salem's North Oaks subdivision in February 2004.

Foxx said reaction to her proposal by other House members has been generally favorable: "They say, 'You mean we aren't already doing that?' "

Foxx is a freshman member of Congress who was a veteran state senator before her election to the U.S. House last year. She's made illegal immigration a special focus, becoming one of three original sponsors of the omnibus illegal immigration reform bill nearing completion in the House this week.

She initially hoped to attach her loan-check proposal to that measure, the Border Protection, Antiterrorism and Illegal Immigration Control Act of 2005. But she said House procedures required scrutiny by the Financial Services Committee, meaning the proposal would only work as a separate bill taken up early next year.

Reaction varied from other congressmen representing the Triad. Foxx's fellow Republican, U.S. Rep. Howard Coble of Greensboro, said he endorses her general premise.

U.S. Rep. Brad Miller, a Democrat whose district includes parts of the Triad, said federal agencies already require immigration checks and Hernandez's loan approval was a fluke.

He is more troubled by what Hernandez is accused of than by his immigration status or ability to buy a house, Miller said.

"I hope that if he is, in fact, convicted, he spends a long time in government housing," Miller said, referring to prison.

Efforts to reach U.S. Rep. Mel Watt for comment were unsuccessful.

The impact of Foxx's proposal apparently would vary by agency. For example, a spokesman for the Small Business Administration said the SBA already checks with immigration authorities on the status of any loan applicant that is not a U.S. citizen. SBA can approve loans to legal permanent residents not yet citizens.

Foxx said she also is puzzled by Hernandez's ability to get legal representation at taxpayer expense from public defenders in the Triad, including the services of an interpreter.

On the surface, it doesn't seem right that the American taxpayer must pay for that, she said. But she said she wants to look into the issue more deeply before suggesting any change.

The availability of public defender services is a two-way street, according to the Mexican consulate office in Raleigh.

A citizen of the United States facing criminal charges in Mexico would have similar access to that nation's network of public defenders, but English speaking interpreters aren't always available, said Karla Ornelas of the consulate's office.

Contact Taft Wireback
at 373-7100 or twireback@

news-record.com

I just noticed that he has written ANOTHER ONE for us about Foxx's proposal!! He is doing a SUPERB JOB.