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  1. #1
    Super Moderator Newmexican's Avatar
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    Judge Grants Illegal Immigrant Work Privileges in Jail Sente

    Judge Grants Illegal Immigrant Work Privileges in Jail Sentence for Drunken-Driving Incident

    10/06/2011

    By Edmund DeMarche

    A Wisconsin sheriff is protesting a recent “slap-on-the wristâ€
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    Administrator Jean's Avatar
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    Who was the judge?
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    Administrator Jean's Avatar
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    More thorough article.
    ~~~

    Sheriff blasts work-release sentence for illegal immigrant

    By Gitte Laasby of the Journal Sentinel

    Updated: Oct. 6, 2011 10:26 p.m. |(181) Comments

    A firestorm erupted Thursday among law enforcement officials, prosecutors and judges after an illegal immigrant was sentenced to 11 months in jail with work-release privileges for causing a crash by driving drunk in the wrong direction on I-43.

    The issue: Who, if anyone, should have told the judge about the immigration status of the defendant?

    The sentence outraged Milwaukee County Sheriff David A. Clarke Jr., who asked his staff to contact the U.S. Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement to urge it to deport the man. He questioned how a judge could sentence an illegal immigrant to a work sentence.

    "Why would we let an illegal immigrant out on work release to look for a job he's not supposed to have? He's in the country illegally," Clarke said in a news release. "As soon as he's released for Huber, he's going to flee. He knows he's facing deportation at the end of his sentence. He's a flight risk."

    But judges say it's illegal under federal law for them to ask whether someone is in the country illegally, so they depend on the parties in a court case to inform them. It's unclear whether anyone told the judge in this case, or who should have told him.

    With more than three times the legal limit of alcohol in his system, Armando Rodriguez-Benitez, 35, drove in the wrong direction in the southbound lanes of I-43 around 4 a.m. July 21 from Becher St. until he was stopped by a sheriff's deputy on the freeway near Capitol Drive, officials said. Rodriguez-Benitez collided with another vehicle at Keefe Ave. He almost collided with several other vehicles.

    He nearly collided head-on with another driver at W. Burleigh, but the driver narrowly escaped injury by swerving left and striking a median wall instead. None of the drivers suffered any injuries, but the cars were severely damaged, sheriff spokeswoman Fran McLaughlin said.

    According to online court records, Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Jeffrey Wagner sentenced Rodriguez-Benitez on Wednesday to 11 months at the county jail with Huber work-release privileges. He faced up to 10 years in prison on the charge of recklessly endangering safety and should have been deported immediately, the sheriff said.

    Wagner referred questions to acting Chief Judge David Hansher, who said judges aren't allowed to ask about immigration status because it could affect the sentencing.

    "It's illegal for a circuit judge to ask a defendant whether they're here legally or illegally," Hansher said. "There was no way for Judge Wagner to know, and it's illegal to ask."

    Judges said one of the parties to a court case typically informs the judge of the defendant's immigration status. At times, ICE agents will show up at the court proceeding to detain a defendant. It did not appear that ICE staff were at any of Rodriguez-Benitez' hearings.

    Chief Deputy District Attorney Kent Lovern couldn't say immediately Thursday whether the prosecutor had mentioned the illegal status to the judge. He said that law enforcement agencies such as the sheriff's office and ICE generally would coordinate a hold.

    "Sometimes we find out about it, but it's not something that's imperative to us because we're looking for the appropriate disposition on the case," Lovern said.

    McLaughlin, the sheriff's spokeswoman, said generally the district attorney's office would relay the information about a defendant's status to the judge. She said that the bailiff also has access to a database that shows whether a hold has been placed on a defendant, and that questions about immigration holds usually would be asked at intake court, which occurs early in case proceedings.

    Clarke said in an interview that the sheriff's office sends a daily list to immigration agents of everyone arrested by his office. That gives ICE the option of putting a 48-hour hold on the person and detain him or her until federal officials determine whether the person is in the country illegally. The hold can be extended if necessary.

    ICE put a hold on Rodriguez-Benitez the day after the incident, on July 22, because the agency believes he's eligible for deportation, said Gail Montenegro, a spokeswoman for the agency, who did not elaborate on the case.

    "In most immigration cases, unless an alien has signed a privacy waiver, ICE will not discuss specifics except to confirm a detainer, arrest, voluntary departure, or removal of an alien," she said in an email. "By issuing a detainer, ICE requests that a law enforcement agency notify ICE before releasing an alien and maintain custody of the subject for a period not to exceed 48 hours to allow ICE to assume custody."

    Clarke said that after his office notified ICE Thursday morning about the work-release sentence and urged it to begin the deportation process, ICE put another hold on Rodriguez-Benitez.

    "If the judge didn't find this incident serious enough to send him to prison for an extended period of time, then an 11-month bed-and-breakfast stay at the county jail is a waste of taxpayer resources," Clarke stated in the news release. "The deportation process should start today, not 11 months from now. The county property taxpayers should not have to pay to house him. If all we are going to do is give him a slap on the wrist, then let's just start the deportation process."

    Rodriguez-Benitez also was ticketed for several serious violations, which were dismissed in a plea deal, including driving the wrong way on the highway, reckless driving, driving without insurance and driving without a license.

    The judge stayed a prison sentence of 4½ years, confinement of 30 months and extended supervision for two years.

    In an interview, Clarke maintained the sentence was too light and suggested that Wagner still could modify his ruling if he didn't know at the time of sentencing that the defendant was in the country illegally.

    "Is he willing to remove the Huber?" Clarke asked. "Now that he knows, what's he willing to do? Leave it as is or modify it?"

    McLaughlin said the sheriff's office has had three cases this year of wrong-way drivers who are in the country illegally, the most prominent of which was on New Year's Day. In that case, the defendant was convicted of homicide.

    www.jsonline.com
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    Super Moderator Newmexican's Avatar
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    Christine Neuman-Ortiz, from Voces de la Frontera, an immigration rights group, told a local radio station that the sheriff is stereotyping immigrants.
    Only the ones that get drunk and drive the wrong way!
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    Administrator Jean's Avatar
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    Illegal Alien Free To Work During Drunk-Driving Sentence

    Last Updated: Fri, 10/07/2011 - 2:12pm

    In a truly astounding case, an illegal immigrant convicted of driving drunk in Wisconsin will have work privileges while he serves an 11-month sentence because the judge never considered the man’s immigration status.

    That means the illegal alien will be free to go to work while he uses the county jail as a “bed and breakfastâ€
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