Thread: Easley, SC: Police Not Required To Check Immigration Status

WYFF4.com
Police Not Required To Check Immigration Status
Woman Pushes For Procedure Change After Wreck

POSTED: 4:36 pm EDT April 18, 2008

EASLEY, S.C. -- An Upstate woman is calling for change after she got into a wreck with an illegal immigrant.

Tracy Autry said that she thinks police could have prevented the wreck if they had checked up on the legal status while making arrests.

Autry, who is the mother of three, said she is still haunted by the wreck that happened on March 28.

She said she is lucky her children weren't with her.

"It was definitely very fortunate that my children were not with me because it could have hurt them pretty bad," Autry said.

Investigators said that Enrique Reyes Quintero was intoxicated when he hit Autry's white Suburban. Police said they found an open bottle of Wild Turkey in Quintero's car.

Autry said, "I also found out at the same time that he was unlicensed and illegal."

WYFF has learned that Quintero was previously charged with drunk driving in February 2007. Easley police said that they did not check on Quintero's legal status because it isn't something local law officers do.

Autry said, "It needs to be a mandatory thing for them to do the checks to see if they are illegal."

Major Tim Tollison said, "At this time, the Easley Police Department is not set up to do that. We have attended work sessions and are exploring ideas."

Autry said, in general, she is not concerned about illegal immigrants.

"But when they're causing trouble time after time, they definitely need to be sent back," she said.

http://www.wyff4.com/news/15926070/detail.html

How damn sad, you know since local law enforcment won't enforce the laws maybe we should demand the federal goverment put officers in every town that are qualified, other wise local law enforcement is going to have to up hold their oath of office and protect its citizens who pay their wages....or get out!!

She needs to ask Major Tim Tollison for all the damages she's suffered at the hand of this drunk illegal.

There should be a dedicated proactive state Immigration Police Force in every state that has enough of an illegal alien population for economy of scale. Municipal police would then have a reactive function in which the arrestees would have their info run against immigration records.

I do not know how any judge can dispense justice without knowing the legal status of the accused.