Thread: Tancredo questions illegals' 'sweetheart deals'

Tancredo questions illegals' 'sweetheart deals'

'How many times have ICE staff assisted in the obstruction of deportation laws?'

Posted: October 10, 2009
1:00 am Eastern

© 2009 WorldNetDaily


Cory Voorhis

A five-term congressman whose outspoken advocacy for secure national borders made him a target during his tenure in the U.S. House is charging that the government agency that is supposed to enforce the nation's immigration laws has been working to subvert them.

In a new column in WND today, former Rep. Tom Tancredo, R-Colo., cites what he calls the "persecution" of Immigrations and Customs Enforcement Agency Cory Voorhis, who was put on trial – and acquitted of charges – for revealing that Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter, while a prosecutor, cut dozens, probably hundreds, of "sweetheart deals" for illegal immigrants.

"Voorhis went public in September 2006 with the facts about the plea bargaining practices of former Denver District Attorney Bill Ritter, who happened to also be a candidate for governor of Colorado," Tancredo wrote.

"During Ritter's tenure as Denver DA, 241 illegal aliens were given sweetheart deals for the explicit purpose of helping them minimize the risk of deportation. Some of them went on to commit other, more serious crimes, and when one of those cases was made public with Voorhis' help, he was targeted for criminal investigation at the behest of the Ritter for Governor campaign," Tancredo said.

Instead of being honored for revealing the prosecutor's manipulations of the system, Voorhis was accused of violating federal law and then "after a federal court jury acquitted him of all charges" he was removed from his job, Tancredo documents.

The controversy that Voorhis revealed involved Walter Noel Ramo, aka Carlos Estrada-Medina, an illegal alien that Ritter, while district attorney, allowed to plead to minor charges involving "agricultural trespass," even though Ramo had been arrested on heroin trafficking charges.

Instead of being deported or indicted on drug charges, Ramo was released in Colorado and went to California, where he was accused of committing sexual assault on a minor.

Tancredo wrote agency managers apparently were so embarrassed they decided to have Voorhis fired, but ended up stepping over the line themselves.

"It has now been revealed that agency managers gave false testimony against Voorhis at his trial, yet no one at the top levels of the Department of Homeland Security had the courage to put a stop to the vendetta," Tancredo wrote.

According to a report in the Denver Post, a report from the agency confirmed Tony Rouco "willfully gave false testimony under oath" in the case involving Voorhis.

He was Voorhis' supervisor and the report said Ruoco testified he didn't know Voorhis had released the records in question.

But the newspaper said the ICE Office of Professional Responsibility issued an April 2009 report that concluded Rouco did know, and also confirmed he made false statements to the FBI.

The newspaper said it appears Rouco never was disciplined over his behavior on the job.

Voorhis officially lost his job last winter and his demand for reinstatement is on appeal before the Merit Systems Protection Board.

"What is going on here? Why does ICE persist in trying to destroy a man whose only controversial action was to bring to public light information on certain criminal aliens that already was available to any enterprising reporter?" Tancredo asked.

Answering himself, he said the information is the point.

"If enterprising reporters started digging into the records of the plea bargaining practices of prosecutors in sanctuary cities like Denver and San Francisco, who knows what mischief might ensue? In the agency's view, Voorhis must be punished for throwing a huge public spotlight on these practices," Tancredo said.

The agency, he suggested, couldn't bear questions about how many cases were handled with "sweetheart deals" and how many times ICE officials have blocked criminal deportation.

"Such questions are asked by citizens who know that police officers have been killed, children molested, and stores robbed by illegal aliens who escaped deportation after serving jail time," he said.

Tancredo also cited the "sequel" – the nomination to the U.S. Attorney's office in Colorado of Stephanie Villafuerte, who was on Ritter's campaign team and initially was involved in asking about Voorhis' access of database information.

The Denver Post, after reporting on the Voorhis situation, asked in an editorial, "When did it become too much to ask that law enforcement officers actually follow the law?"

"Federal prosecutors have declined to try Rouco," the newspaper said. "Perhaps even more odd, ICE has kept him on the job and it appears he hasn't even been disciplined.

"We hope ICE will continue to investigate and justice will be served. Otherwise, we're left to wonder: How is it possible that an ICE supervisor can alter his story, contradict key statements he made under oath and continue serving a role of such responsibility?"

http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=112446

Dirty gov't gets dirtier.