Illegal aliens would stand trial under Frelinghuysen bill
By Peggy Wright • Daily Record • March 31, 2009


In the wake of the unexpected deportation of a Honduran national accused of molesting a child in Morris County, U.S. Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen introduced a bill Tuesday that would allow a governor or other state designee to request a stay of the removal of an illegal alien until his felony charges are resolved.


Frelinghuysen also on Tuesday introduced a resolution that directs the federal Department of Homeland Security and its Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement to develop an efficient communication system that would let state and local law enforcement officials and prosecutors know when suspects charged in their jurisdictions with indictable crimes are in the final stages of the deportation process.

Saying in a statement that he was reacting to "an outrageous miscarriage of justice," Frelinghuysen also noted his solution isn't perfect but "attempts to strike a balance between our national desire to deport illegal aliens as quickly as possible and the ability of victims of serious crimes to have their rights protected."

The bill would allow a state governor or other designated official to request the Department of Homeland Security stay the removal of an alien charged with a crime.
Frelinghuysen's bill and resolution were introduced as the Morris County Prosecutor's Office and state Office of the Public Defender prepare to argue either April 27 or April 28 before the state Supreme Court on the appropriateness of state court judges increasing bails for illegal alien defendants who have immigration detainers filed against them.

Frelinghuysen spokesman Steve Wilson said the proposed legislation would be forwarded to the House Judiciary and Homeland Security committees for review.
The genesis of the controversy is the September deportation of alleged child molester Carlos Ulloa-Murillo. The illegal alien from Honduras was able to post $75,000 bail at the Morris County jail in August. He was immediately picked up by ICE agents, went through a speedy deportation hearing, and was removed from this country in September, all before a trial or resolution of his charges occurred.

The county prosecutor's office didn't learn of Ulloa-Murillo's removal until December.
To avoid a repeat of the removal of an illegal alien before trial, the prosecutor's office -- joined by the state Association of County Prosecutors -- wants the Supreme Court's blessing to use ICE detainers as a reason to increase or request high bails on illegal aliens charged with serious crimes.

While the Supreme Court's ruling will have statewide impact, the case it will hear in late April focuses on another accused molester, Manuel Fajardo-Santos, an illegal immigrant from Honduras who is charged with sexually abusing a 9-year-old girl in Wharton. He posted $75,000 bail on Jan. 8 and was picked up by ICE at the county jail Jan. 12. Before deportation proceedings could go far, prosecutors persuaded a Superior Court judge in Morristown to increase bail to $300,000.

Fajardo-Santos was then removed from federal custody and returned on the higher bail to the county jail. The appellate division in late January reversed the bail increase at the request of defense lawyer Michael Fletcher, saying the filing of an ICE detainer should have been known to prosecutors and was not a reason warranting a bail increase.

The state Supreme Court agreed in February to hear the case. Fajardo-Santos, meanwhile, remains in the county jail, with his bail frozen for now at $300,000.

Peggy Wright can be reached at pwright@gannett.com.

http://www.dailyrecord.com/article/2009 ... 1/90331052