Thread: NY-DWI suspect in Brewster picked up by immigration agents

By Marcela Rojas • mrojas@LoHud.com • July 13, 2009

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BREWSTER - Immigration agents took Segundo Ordonez-Tanay into custody tonight moments after he pleaded guilty to driving while intoxicated in Village Court.





Ordonez-Tanay, 26, was leaving the courtroom after having entered the plea and ordered to pay a $1,000 fine by Justice Richard O'Rourke, when U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials stopped him and asked to speak with him.



They were in a closed room for a short time before an ICE agent emerged giving Ordonez-Tanay's personal belongings to his brother, including a wallet and chain. ICE officials handcuffed Ordonez-Tanay and drove away with him in a sport-utility vehicle.



The ICE visit was a surprise to members of the Brewster Police Department and Ordonez-Tanay's lawyer, Paul Lima, who called out to his client to "say nothing."



"There's nothing left to say," said Lima following the encounter. "All I was told was there was an ICE hold."



Ordonez-Tanay's brother declined to comment.



Brewster police arrested Ordonez-Tanay on July 3, charging him with DWI and other violations after he was discovered erratically driving through the village. Police say Ordonez-Tanay, who gave a Danbury, Conn., address, is in the country illegally.



The Ecuadorian native was released from the Putnam County jail on July 4 after he posted $2,500 bail using a cash advance from his credit card.



Some community members criticized the Putnam County Sheriff's Office for not contacting ICE to secure a federal immigration detainer warrant on Ordonez-Tanay at the time of his arrest.



Undersheriff Peter Convery said then the department was unable to reach ICE over the weekend because it does not answer its phones on holidays or weekends. But immigration officials later said the department should call a Vermont office that is staffed around the clock.



The incident was particularly unsettling to many in the community because it came less than a month after a mother and daughter were struck and killed by an alleged drunken driver, Zacaria Conses-Garcia, who police say was unlicensed and in the country illegally. Conses-Garcia was indicted on two counts of aggravated vehicular homicide.



Tonight, Brewster police officers said they had no idea ICE would be showing up to court.



"We thought it was over with the $1,000 fine," said Brewster's Officer-in-Charge John Del Gardo. "Then we find that ICE took him into custody. That's it. They have him."



Ed Kowalski, a member of 9/11 Families for a Secure America, an immigration-reform group, was in court tonight, having earlier said he would be surprised if Ordonez-Tanay would make his appearance.



Initially, Kowalski appeared frustrated with the outcome, saying "he's in the country illegally and he's let off with a $1,000 fine."



But after he watched Ordonez-Tanay get carted away, Kowalski said: "At the end of the day, this is what should be happening."



http://www.lohud.com/article/20090713/N ... 5/-1/rss01

Originally Posted by FedUpinFarmersBranch

Initially, Kowalski appeared frustrated with the outcome, saying "he's in the country illegally and he's let off with a $1,000 fine."

But after he watched Ordonez-Tanay get carted away, Kowalski said: "At the end of the day, this is what should be happening."

Got that right!

Ordonez-Tanay, 26, was leaving the courtroom after having entered the plea and ordered to pay a $1,000 fine by Justice Richard O'Rourke, when U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials stopped him and asked to speak with him.

They were in a closed room for a short time before an ICE agent emerged giving Ordonez-Tanay's personal belongings to his brother, including a wallet and chain. ICE officials handcuffed Ordonez-Tanay and drove away with him in a sport-utility vehicle.

What a beautiful sight! Sweet justice after all! This is how it should work! Your illegal, your gone, just like that! No hearings, not formalities, no nothing. Go into a room, show identification, or be prepared to be deported!