Thread: TN - Sumner officials eyeing illegal immigration problem

http://www.tennessean.com/apps/pbcs.dll ... 0770128016



How to respect the law... stick out your tounge for your mug shot.

Monday, 01/29/07

Sumner officials eyeing illegal immigration problem

By Brandon Puttbrese
The News Examiner


Sumner County Sheriff’s Deputy Matt Holst was barely able maneuver his patrol car away from a Dodge Ram that had found its way into oncoming traffic on Nashville Pike late last Saturday night.

In a report, Holst said he quickly braked and took evasive measures to prevent a head on collision with the westbound truck being driven at high speeds.

Due to the "extremely dangerous and reckless driving,” Holst turned his vehicle around and pulled the driver over.

The driver, Mario Luna Gutierres, reportedly had no driver license, no social security number, no home address and smelled like alcohol.

“Gutierres is an illegal alien with no identification and does not speak English,” Holst wrote in his report.

The deputy charged Gutierres for DUI and took him to jail, but his story is only one of many, say Sumner officials, who are looking to find a better way to track illegal immigration in Sumner County.

Election promises

During their respective bids for election, now Sumner County Sheriff Bob Barker and County Executive Hank Thompson pledged to voters they would look at local illegal immigration.

Sheriff Barker, Thompson and federal immigration officials will meet next month to discuss what local and federal law enforcement agencies can do to help each other.

“There’s a real push to integrate federal and local databases, which would allow us to better track illegal aliens,” Barker said, adding, currently, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) cares for the national database that tracks illegal immigrants.

“I think what we’re looking for is a local designee to handle the immigration issue.”

Defining the problem

Part of the difficulty in addressing local immigration is quantifying the problem, Sheriff Barker says.

Much of what local law enforcement officials know about the problem is anecdotal; they know there are illegal immigrants in the county, but there is no way to know how few or many.

“Hopefully this process will be able to identify the exact problem,” Barker said, “by establishing a mechanism to analyze the issue locally.”

Without figures, Gallatin Police Chief John Tisdale explains local illegal immigration as a “two-sided” problem.

“On one hand, you have a group of people who are here illegally and are being victimized. They aren’t reporting crimes because they are scared to call the police. And that isn’t right. If you’re a victim, you deserve justice, too,” Tisdale said. “On the other side, you’ve got a group who are causing problems and breaking crimes.”

Tisdale favors an immigration system that encourages foreigners to come to America legally “through the proper channels.”

The department has offered classes with Spanish-speaking instructors to help acclimate immigrants, who may not understand all the laws or customs in America.

“Part of the issue is a communication problem,” said Tisdale, who said the classes help work though that and establish some trust.

“We have a segment of society here illegally and scared of authority. They’re reluctant to let us know they’re here,” Tisdale said. “So it’s hard to get a true hold on what’s going on in the community.”

Some businesses want fairness

County Executive Thompson says illegal immigration is also a problem hitting the local business community.

Some local homebuilders — hiring illegal immigrants — are taking business from “by the book” homebuilders that aren’t cutting costs with cheap labor.

“A lot of builders and construction people are coming to me — the ones who don’t mind doing what it takes to be legal,” Thompson said. “They want everyone on the same playing field.”

Thompson says the federal government has “fumbled” with the immigration issue long enough, and it’s time to see what can be done locally.

“There’s a lot of things that we can enforce in the county,” said Thompson, who eyeing codes and law enforcement to address the issue.

“We’re not going to look the other way in Sumner County. We want to see what we can do,” Thompson said. “We want a level playing field for builders in Sumner County.”

Like all states TN is having problems with illegals. Does Mexican laws allow people to drive drunk and without drivers licenses? It appears that illegals are completely disregarding any American law. It is not that they are here to get jobs they just want to disobey laws. Their own countries would not allow them to act like they do here. Sorry that illegals feel like victims but they should be in their own country not in America breaking our laws.

Originally Posted by Beckyal

Like all states TN is having problems with illegals. Does Mexican laws allow people to drive drunk and without drivers licenses? It appears that illegals are completely disregarding any American law. It is not that they are here to get jobs they just want to disobey laws. Their own countries would not allow them to act like they do here. Sorry that illegals feel like victims but they should be in their own country not in America breaking our laws.

Mexico is a lawless country, that is why they do not respect our laws, I don't believe they have drunk driving laws in Mexico!!!And besides they come here and can not read our signs about drinking and driving, but I guess its ok because their only comming here to work and do the jobs Americans won't do!!!!!