Thread: A Tale of Two Jurisdictions

A Tale of Two Jurisdictions
By Greg L | 26 March 2008 | Illegal Aliens, Virginia Politics, Prince William County

Although it’s not clear from the DC Examiner article precisely how Prince William County Police managed to get their hands on an illegal alien MS-13 member and attempted murderer who had absconded from Maryland, what is clear is that criminal illegal aliens have a much more difficult time evading the law in Prince William County than in other nearby jurisdictions. In Montgomery County, Maryland police do not regularly check the immigration status of criminal suspects, which lead admitted MS-13 member Milton Calderon-Melendez to be released on bail following charges of assault and disappear. A few weeks later Calderon-Melendez stabbed his roommate in the chest while a friend beat him with a baseball bat, and at some point afterwards Milton Calderon-Melendez wound up in Prince William County. Perhaps as part of the county’s participation in the Section 287(g) Program following yet another arrest, or the implementation of the Rule of Law Resolution, Calderon-Melendez was caught in Prince William County, finally identified as the illegal alien that he is, and held by authorities instead of being released.

While the policies and procedures in place in Prince William County continue to demonstrate real and positive results, other nearby jurisdictions in Virginia continue to provide opportunities for criminal illegal aliens to evade the law and are potentially putting their citizens at risk. Fairfax and Arlington Counties will not question a criminal suspect about their immigration status unless the individual is suspected of a felony, or the individual happens to get the attention of the Northern Virginia Gang Task Force. Had Calderon-Melendez committed his first assault in Fairfax County for example, it would have likely been considered a misdemeanor charge and the immigration status check would have depended on the gang task force noticing this case. The immigration status of this defendant would never have been checked, and even if it had it certainly would not have been checked with the same degree of skill as the ICE-trained officers in Prince William County are capable of.

So before Virginians outside of Prince William County (and the handful of other jurisdictions that participate in the Section 287(g) Program) get all excited that they’re safer than the residents of Montgomery County, Maryland, they should realize that feeling of security is largely an illusion. Yes, in Virginia we will be denying illegal aliens bail starting this summer, but unless we can actually identify who among our criminal suspects are actually illegal aliens, it’s a somewhat pointless exercise. The Section 287(g) Program provides officers the training and resources needed to make these determinations. Without that training or access to ICE resources, an illegal alien criminal suspect who is a marginally proficient liar can evade being identified as the illegal alien that he or she is.

The editorial board of the Washington Times looks awfully prescient today in their editorial, and probably weren’t aware of this crime vignette since it wasn’t covered in today’s edition. While the welcome mat for illegal aliens isn’t quite gone throughout Virginia, it sure is a heck of a lot less evident in Virginia than it is in Maryland.

Gov. Martin O’Malley, the Maryland General Assembly and politicians in Montgomery and Prince George’s Counties appear to be laying the groundwork for a population exchange with Virginia and other neighboring states. The trading works this way: Maryland overtaxes tax small- and medium-sized computer businesses, but lays out the welcome mat for illegal aliens; meanwhile, Virginia yanks the welcome mat for illegals, but is prepared to welcome businesses from Maryland. Sound far-fetched? It really isn’t.

Ike Legget is probably darned embarrassed these days as the real effects of the policies he promotes are on full display. He should be. Gerry Connolly and Walter Tejada should beware that it’s only a matter of time before this demonstration of cause and effect comes to haunt them also. Voters who begin to really see a difference in public safety and fiscal wellness demonstrated between those jurisdictions which welcome illegal aliens and those who take action to hold illegal aliens accountable for their violations of the law are going to start clamoring for more responsible policies in regards to the unlawful presence of illegal aliens. “Leadersâ€

Police say illegal immigrant stabbed man while on bail
Freeman Klopott, The Examiner
2008-03-26 07:00:00.0


WASHINGTON -
A Montgomery County-based MS-13 gang member and illegal immigrant who allegedly stabbed a man almost to death after being released on bond following an earlier attack is now in custody in Prince William County, where his immigration status may complicate his extradition.

Milton Calderon-Melendez, 25, of El Salvador, is awaiting extradition from Prince William to Montgomery to face charges of assault and conspiracy to commit second-degree murder. Meanwhile, as Prince William’s policy dictates, Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials have already been informed of his illegal presence in the U.S.

On the night of July 18, two Montgomery County police on surveillance duty near the intersection of Lost Knife Road and Odenthall Avenue in Gaithersburg said they observed Calderon-Melendez punch Kiana Snowden, 15, in the face. He was promptly arrested and later admitted to being a member of the violent MS-13 street gang. Calderon-Melendez was then released on $2,500 bail until his trial on Aug. 17, which he never appeared for.

On Aug. 20, he and Jose Gagoberto Flores Cardova allegedly assaulted Cardova’s roommate, known only as Salguero in court documents, in their 8200 Iron Clad Court apartment in Gaithersburg.

According to police, Cardova beat Salguero in the head with a baseball bat and Calderon-Melendez stabbed him in the sternum with a knife. Police found the bloody bat and a broken knife in the house after the two had already fled.

Had Calderon-Melendez originally been arrested in Prince William, his immigration status would have been checked and he would’ve stayed in jail, Prince William County police said. But it’s not Montgomery County policy to check the immigration status of those arrested, Seth Zucker, spokesman for Montgomery County State’s Attorney John McCarthy, said.

When bail is set in Montgomery County by bail commissioners, the state’s attorney makes no argument and it is only in cases in which a suspect can’t post bail right away or bail is waived by the commissioners that the state’s attorney argues on the potential for suspect to flee, Zucker said.

Calderon-Melendez was released the day of his arrest in July, and after the August attack, he laid low until finally arrested by a Prince William County gang unit on Friday.

www.examiner.com