Thread: Illegal immigrants make up 11% of Irving's arrest total

Posted on Thu, Oct. 11,
Illegal immigrants make up 11% of Irving's arrest total
By PATRICK McGEE
pmcgee@star-telegram.com
Star-Telegram Staff Writer
http://www.star-telegram.com/dallas_new ... 64118.html

Eleven percent of people arrested in Irving in the past 13 months were illegal immigrants, and the overwhelming majority of them were arrested on misdemeanor charges, according to Irving police data.

The city's Criminal Alien Program, which identifies illegal immigrants who have been arrested and hands them over to federal authorities, has turned Irving into the latest hot spot in the nation's immigration debate.

Police and city officials say they are not targeting Hispanics or immigrants but are working with federal officials to identify illegal immigrants who end up in Irving's jail.

"Nobody is deported for misdemeanors. People are deported only because they are in the country illegally. Period," Mayor Herbert Gears said, adding that the program will continue.

Carlos Quintanilla, who has organized a protest march for Saturday afternoon, said the number of misdemeanor arrests shows that the program is targeting minor offenders, not hardened criminals.

"That's not what the city has been pushing. They've been saying, 'Oh, we need to get these criminals,'" Quintanilla said. "That's not happening. The numbers are not reflecting that. They scared society into thinking that immigrants are criminals."

Of the 14,298 people arrested in Irving during the first 13 months of the program, 1,638, or 11 percent, were turned over to Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Ninety percent of them were from Mexico and Central America.

It is not known what percentage of Irving's population are illegal immigrants, but they make up about 6 percent of Texas' population, according to the Department of Homeland Security.

About 42 percent of Irving's population is Hispanic, according to the U.S. Census.

No comparing

Of the 3,901 offenses that landed suspected illegal immigrants in the Irving Jail, more than 80 percent were misdemeanors.

The arrest data tell only part of the story, however. The offenses they were accused of cannot be compared with those of other people because, Irving police said, they do not have a breakdown of those figures.

Forty-five percent of the offenses involved misdemeanor warrants. Nearly 10 percent were public intoxication, and 9.2 percent were other misdemeanors, such as theft, criminal mischief and trespassing.

Serious crimes were a small portion of the offenses. Four were homicides, 25 were sexual assaults, 23 were aggravated assaults and six were robberies.

Gears said the number of people being turned over to immigration officials has fallen from 300 to 150 a month, possibly because illegal immigrants are being more careful to avoid arrest.

Police spokesman David Tull said that misdemeanor arrests and referring suspected illegal immigrants to immigration officials are basic policing methods that cannot be tossed out.

"Where do you draw the line at saying we're not going to enforce certain laws?" Tull said. "If it's on the books, there's a reason for it being a law."

Protest march

Opponents of Irving's Criminal Alien Program will march from the corner of Rock Island Road and Main Street to Irving City Hall at 3 p.m. Saturday. The Criminal Alien Program refers suspected illegal immigrants to federal immigration authorities; more than 1,600 people have been turned over.

That does not sound like racial profiling to me. They just don't want the police to stop Hispanic's at all, ever, for any reason. Well to darn bad!!!


-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ACTION ALERTS! Please take action
(VIDEO)
William's interview with Rick Sanchez (Fantastic, lets promote it)!!!
http://www.alipac.us/modules.php?name=F ... ic&t=86152
"State Legistatures for Legal Immigration" PETITION
http://www.alipac.us/modules.php?name=F ... ic&t=84944
Welcome to "AIIPAC"
http://www.alipac.us/modules.php?name=F ... ic&t=83274

Moving to news forum.