Thread: NJ EDITORIAL

EDITORIALS
Protect us better
Friday, September 14, 2007
BY BRIAN McDERMOTT

Elected and appointed public officials at the state, county and local levels take an oath upon entering public office to uphold the laws of the state of New Jersey and the New Jersey Constitution for the advancement of health, safety and welfare of the constituents whom they were elected or appointed to represent.

Events of recent months have given pause to New Jersey residents about their health, safety and welfare. The Fort Dix terror plot involving six radical Muslim men right here in Cherry Hill, un folded in May. The alleged aim of the three Daka brothers was to "kill as many soldiers as possible" with AK 47s. The Daka brothers had entered the U.S. illegally through Mexico in October 2004. The three Daka brothers were is sued about 50 traffic citations between 1997 and 2006 -- more than 20 by Cherry Hill police -- for speeding, driving without a license, failure to appear in court and other charges. Neighbors had also filed complaints with township officials about noise, debris and other quality of life violations. They await trial in federal courts and their defense attorneys have recently asked for an extension.

This event was followed by the arrest of a serial rapist -- Marcelo Mota of Tenby Chase Apartments, in Delran. Mota was arrested in mid-July by Burlington County authorities for aggravated sexual as sault and burglary. Authorities al lege that Mota raped a Moorestown woman in her home in 2005 and tried to assault another woman two days later. Mota was also wanted in connection with two rapes in the Framingham, Mass., area that took place in 2003. Mota is a Brazilian national living illegally here in the U.S. He worked in Delran as a translator for a local tax agency. His fingerprints and DNA were used to connect the dots in the cases.

Last month, four college stu dents were shot gangland style -- three of them died -- all between the ages of 18 and 20. The three students who died were made to kneel against a wall and were then shot in the back of the head point- blank; the fourth survived a wound to the head. Alleged shooter Jose Carranza is a Peru national living here illegally in the U.S. He was no stranger to authorities, indicted twice this year on 31 counts for al leged sexual assault of a child and nine counts stemming from a barroom fight, in which a weapon was used. 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.

While other states have taken steps to combat illegal immigra tion, a recent National Conference of State Legislatures study found that New Jersey was among only nine states that haven't passed im migration laws this year. New Jersey is among the places where local authorities aren't required to check the immigration status of someone who is arrested.

These recent events in New Jersey cry out for reform and change on how police authorities deal with and interact with illegal immi grants. Our state, county and local police need to be trained on immi gration laws to help protect the health, safety and welfare of our residents. Enlightened states, counties and cities have embraced a federal immigration program called Section 287 (g) Delegation of Immigration Authority. This is, in effect, a law-enforcement partnership among federal, state and local police authorities. The U.S. Immi gration and Customs Enforcement Web sites under Section 287 (g) states the following: "Terrorism and criminal activity are most effectively combated through a multi-agency, multi-authority approach that encompasses federal, state and local resources, skills and expertise. State and local law enforcement play a critical role in protecting our homeland security be cause they are often the first responders on the scene when there is an incident or attack against the United States. During the course of daily duties, they will often encounter foreign-born criminals and im migration violators who pose a threat to national security or public safety."

New Jersey politicians need to get serious about the illegal immi grant issue in the Garden State. It's a very serious problem that de serves nothing short of total reform from top to bottom that will protect the health, safety and welfare of the constituents to whom they swore an oath upon entering office.

New Jersey has always had a strong connection to terrorism in the U.S. Let's not forget that 16 of the 19 plane hijackers during the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001 -- during which 2,986 people died on American soil -- in New York City, Washington, D.C., and Shanksville, Pa., had official New Jersey driver's licenses.



Brian McDermott, a former longtime member of Delran Township Council, is vice president of the NIA group, LLC.

http://www.nj.com/opinion/times/editori ... 5#continue

I've just sent a copy of this article to all my N.J. representitives or whatever their supposded to be.

Rape suspect loses court bid to reduce bail

By MELISSA HAYES
Burlington County Times

A judge denied a lawyer's request yesterday to reduce bail for a 28-year-old Brazilian national charged with a series of sexual assaults and attacks in Moorestown and Massachusetts.

Marcelo G. Mota, who was living as an illegal alien in Delran, is charged with aggravated sexual assault and burglary in the Moorestown cases and with being a fugitive from justice in Massachusetts. Mota is being held on $500,000 bail in Burlington County and $500,000 bail in Massachusetts.

Assistant Burlington County Prosecutor Kathleen Mears Grahn said there are detainers from three jurisdictions in two different counties in Massachusetts and a federal detainer from Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Mota's attorney, Stephen Raymond, argued bail is set higher than state guidelines for aggravated assault, which recommend $150,000 to $300,000.

“I would urge the court to follow the bail guidelines,â€