Thread: N.C.: 49 caught in immigration sweep

http://www.charlotte.com/mld/charlotte/16446729.htm

11:55 am | 49 caught in immigration sweep
STEVE LYTTLE
slyttle@charlotteobserver.com
Federal agents say they have arrested 49 immigration violators during a three-day operation in the Charlotte area that ended today.

The arrests were part of Operation Secure Streets, an ongoing effort by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Primary targets in this week's operation were people with prior convictions for driving under the influence of alcohol, ICE officials said.

Of the 49 people arrested, 20 were taken into custody because of DUI charges. The others were either fugitives or foreign-born nationsl with other criminal convictions considered by ICE to be a violation of immigration laws.

Those violations ranged from indecency with a child, to assault and battery and domestic violence.

"Many of those arrested selfishly and recklessly got behind the wheel of a vehicle while intoxicated, putting their lives and the lives of the public at risk," Felicia Skinner, acting field office director for the Atlanta-based Office of Detention and Removal, said in a news release.

"By finding and removing these criminals," she added, "we are able to greatly enhance public safety, while restoring integrity to our nation's immigration system."

Those arrested are from Colombia, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Mexico.

All of those arrested are in ICE custody, awaiting action on their cases.

YEA 49 more taken off the streets and hopefully soon out of
this country. good ridance to bad rubbish

Originally Posted by jean

All of those arrested are in ICE custody, awaiting action on their cases.

I wonder what action will be taken?

How about if we tatoo their foreheads with a big red letter "I" before we send em back? That will make it easier to spot them when they RETURN.

Makes me proud that my state is stepping up finally, now if my city would Gooooo Charlotte

JadedBaztard wrote:

How about if we tatoo their foreheads with a big red letter "I" before we send em back? That will make it easier to spot them when they RETURN.

Excellent idea, I assume the tatoo will be red to represent the American blood spilled due to our federal governments lack of will to secure the border!

While we're at it, perhaps we could convince our anti-illegal immigrant friends in the U.S. Congress to pass a bill requiring a tatoo be placed on the foreheads of the illegal immigrant advocates and supporters in the congress. Actually, I think we should request two letters be stamped on their heads - those letters are "P.I." No, the "P.I." doesn't stand for politically inefficient , it stand for pandering idiot!

Ahhhhh, I can just see it now, an extension of I.C.E.,........the Tattoo Illegal Criminals squad (T.I.C.) made up of elite teams of american tatoo artists.

3 days to round up 49 invaders? I can do that with a trip to Home Depot
or outside the Uhaul center any time.

http://www.wcnc.com/news/topstories/sto ... 542de.html

Sting targets illegal immigrants with DUI history 5:46 PM

05:54 PM EST on Friday, January 12, 2007

By ANNA CROWLEY / 6NEWS
E-mail Anna: ACrowley@WCNC.COM

U.S. Homeland Security wrapped up a three-day immigration sting in Charlotte on Friday, targeting accused and convicted drunk drivers who were in the country illegally.

Scott and Tina Gardner were in a car accident involved drunk driver and illegal immigrant Ramiro Gallegos. Scott Gardner was killed while Tina Gardner remains in a permanent vegetative state.

Homeland Security officials said that fifty people are under arrest as a result of Operation Secure Streets and were being held at the Mecklenburg County Jail. Officials also said that at least 20 of those detained will be deported.

In a video obtained by WCNC of the sting from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), agents can be seen driving around Charlotte, knocking on doors, chasing down leads, examining documents and making arrests, and booking illegal immigrants. The faces of the men arrested were blurred out by Homeland Security officials.

Emily Moose, the mother of Scott Gardner, a Gastonia man killed after his family was hit head on by drunk driver Ramiro Gallegos, still has trouble coping with her son’s loss. Gallegos was in the country illegally.

"Our loss is one you can't really put into words," said Moose.

Moose’s son died and her daughter in law, Tina Gardner, suffered severe head injuries. She is now in a permanent vegetative state. The crash orphaned the couple’s two children, and their maternal grandparents are raising them.

“My questions the whole time, for hours and days and months now have been 'how could this happen?' How could this happen in this country?” said Moose.

While Moose said that while she is pleased that Homeland Security is taking a step in the right direction, the action doesn’t go far enough. After all, Gallegos had been deported twice before the crash took place. Gallegos had also been caught driving drunk before in the United States.

"I mean for goodness sakes, we are x-raying tubes of toothpaste at the airport, but we are allowing unknowns, people that we have no clue of what they are to walk right into this country and move next door?" Moose said.

Moose believes immigration should go after the companies offering illegal immigrants jobs. She said that without the draw of work, immigrants would not come into the country illegally.

The Latin American Coalition met the news about the sting with great concerns, in particular for the families left behind. The Coalition has continuously asked that the community focus on all drunk drivers, not just those who are in the country illegally.

My heart still breaks each time I think of the Gardner family.

THIS TRAGEDY WAS AVOIDABLE. SEAL TIGHT THE BORDERS AND PUT ILLEGAL EMPLOYERS BEHIND BARS WHERE THEY BELONG!