Thread: AL - Council: 'Why was this guy not in jail?'

Wednesday, April 22, 2009 By STEVE DOYLETimes Staff Writer steve.doyle@htimes.com
Police asked to attend meeting to discuss suspect

While Huntsville police sort out the identity of the man charged in the traffic deaths of two young Huntsvillians, City Council members also have questions.

Council President Mark Russell has asked police department leaders to attend Thursday's council meeting to talk about the 25-year-old suspect, Felix Dominguez Ortega. According to police, Ortega was wanted on an outstanding warrant for driving under the influence when he caused Friday night's deadly crash at the busy Airport Road-Whitesburg Drive intersection.

"My questions mainly center around why was this guy not in jail?" Russell said Tuesday. "It seems to me that he should not be out driving our streets."

The council meets at 6 p.m. Thursday at Huntsville City Hall, 308 Fountain Circle.

Councilman Bill Kling said he also wonders how Ortega remained free considering the warrant and questions about whether he is in the U.S. legally. Police have not called Ortega an illegal immigrant but say he was carrying a fake identification card at the time of the wreck.

"The problem as I see it is not the Huntsville Police Department - it's Congress," Kling said Tuesday. "They will not give cities the authority to deal with this problem" of illegal immigration.

At 8:53 p.m. Friday, Huntsville police received a call about a possible drunken driver in a white pickup truck hitting a parked vehicle at an apartment complex near Patton Road. Three minutes later, a patrol officer spotted the truck heading toward Memorial Parkway on Johnson Road. Huntsville Police Sgt. Mark Roberts said the driver fled when he saw the patrol car's lights, even though the officer was not in hot pursuit.

Moments later, the truck plowed into a Toyota Supra at the Airport-Whitesburg intersection. The Supra burst into flames, killing sweethearts Leigh Anna Jimmerson and Tad Joseph Mattle.

Jimmerson, 16, was a popular Grissom High School sophomore. Mattle, 19, graduated from Grissom last spring and had just been awarded a full academic scholarship to the University of Alabama in Huntsville.

After being released from Huntsville Hospital, Ortega was charged with two counts of murder, driving without a license, possession of a forged instrument and a seat belt violation.

Roberts said police are struggling to figure out Ortega's past because he has used at least three aliases - Adan Herrera, Reynaldo Martinez and Juan Sanchez.

"We found all these aliases when we started going through the computer," he said. "We're not sure who he is."

Ortega's citizenship status is "kind of a moot point" now that he is locked up on murder charges and unlikely to make bail, Roberts said. He is in the metro jail on bonds totaling $2 million.

"Our investigation is really going from the wreck on," Roberts said.




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"The problem as I see it is not the Huntsville Police Department - it's Congress," Kling said Tuesday. "They will not give cities the authority to deal with this problem" of illegal immigration.

To some extent this may be true. Correct me if I'm wrong, but hasn't DHS suspended the training of police officers for 287(g)?

And two more innocent American children are dead!

County and city leaders battle illegal immigration issue

April 23, 2009 03:28 PM

April 23, 2009 04:52 PM
County and city leaders battle illegal immigration issue

By Elizabeth Gentle - bio | email
Posted by Dana Franks - email

HUNTSVILLE, AL (WAFF) - Since Friday's deadly accident that may have involved an illegal immigrant, the topic has once again become a talker. Many want to know what, if anything, can be done to stop it.

Illegal imigration is a problem, especially for law enforcement. There aren't enough trained officers to deal with a growing Hispanic population. That's why city and county leaders are fighting for change.

Felix Ortega was charged with murder in the deaths of two teens who died in a fiery car crash Friday night on Airport Road. Nearly a week later, Huntsville Police still have not addressed his citizenship status.

City leaders are frustrated over the lack of manpower to handle the growing immigration issue.

"Our immigration enforcement comes through two ICE employees. They are Immigration and Customs Enforcement," said Huntsville Mayor Tommy Battle.

Battle is headed to Washington next week to ask for more officers. Madison County leaders are even considering turning one floor of the new jail into a detaining area to hold illegal immigrants until they can be deported.

Taxpayers told WAFF 48 News that illegal immigration is out of control.

"I think it's bad. I think if they are going to be here they need to become citizens," said Heather Balentine.

"Immigration officials aren't doing their job. They are plain not doing it. Ignoring it," said Matt Matson.

City and county leaders aren't turning a deaf ear. Since Friday's crash, they are fighting even harder to have changes made. But leaders said it's tough to enforce laws that aren't on the books.

"If we had laws with respect to illegal aliens that would do what needs to be done and it's possible to do that, we need the laws there most of the teens who had their lives in front of them would be alive today," said Madison County Commissioner Mo Brooks.

Huntsville police officials said Ortega is known by at least three other aliases. WAFF 48 News ran a check of those names and found previous criminal charges.
http://www.waff.com/global/story.asp?s=10239487

Immigration enforcement in Huntsville: A brief explanation of the process
Posted by nndoyle April 23, 2009 19:34PM

According to federal law, only U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement agents have the legal authority to deport an illegal immigrant. The ICE Office of Detention and Removal has this to say about deportation:

Aliens can be removed for reasons of health, criminal status, economic well-being, national security risks and other reasons of public concern that are specifically defined in the Act. ... Generally, the Immigration and Nationality Act grants aliens the right to a removal proceeding before an immigration judge to decide both inadmissibility and deportability.
Immigration judges, employed by the Department of Justice, Executive Office for Immigration Review weigh evidence presented by both the alien and ICE, assesses the facts and renders a decision that can be appealed to the Board of Immigration Appeals.


Local law enforcement agencies can pursue 287 (g) status, which allows them to initiate the deportation process if they have a suspect who's been arrested in connection with a crime. Officers cannot legally detain someone based solely on their immigration status, said Huntsville Police Deputy Chief Mark Hudson.

But here's what they can do:

If an officer arrests someone for a crime and knows or suspects he or she is an illegal immigrant, the officer can pass along this information to the investigator assigned to that criminal case and to the detention officers at the Madison County metro jail.


The jail or the investigator can then contact the local ICE office, which currently houses two agents who serve the entire North Alabama district. ICE can place a hold on the suspect, barring his or her release from jail until the agents can make a determination on immigration status and whether they want to pursue deportation. Madison County metro jail officers cannot hold someone on suspicions of violating immigration laws unless ICE has specifically asked them to do so.



It is the ICE agent's call to deport. If the crime is serious or the agent believes the person presents a threat to the public's safety, the agent can obtain a detention order for deportation. Currently, illegal immigrants arrested in North Alabama who are awaiting removal from the United States are held in a 300-bed facility in Gadsden.



The illegal immigrant has the right to a hearing before deportation. If a judge sides with ICE, the person is removed from the country. ICE agents have to coordinate with foreign government officials to obtain travel documents and transportation.


The city of Huntsville discussed participating in the 287 (g) program in 2007, but at the time it wasn't possible. Former Public Safety Director (now city administrator) Rex Reynolds said the city had asked to participate in the 4 1/2-week training session but had to "back off" because the jail wasn't complete.

"It would not have been operationally feasible to start a project that would take up federal bed space," he told The Times in November 2007.

Now that the jail is near completion, Huntsville Mayor Tommy Battle has suggested that the Madison County Sheriff's Department lease a floor of that facility to ICE, giving the federal agency another 30 beds to use as a holding facility. The bed space could help the city move forward with 287 (g). However, if the jail chooses to lease a floor to ICE, it must maintain the standards outlined in the ICE operations manual.

Battle has asked U.S. Rep. Parker Griffith, D-Huntsville, to push for more ICE agents here, alleviating the need for 287 (g) certification. The two ICE agents are currently housed in the Huntsville Police Department's Strategic Counterdrug Team.

http://blog.al.com

"I think it's bad. I think if they are going to be here they need to become citizens," said Heather Balentine.

Sorry Heather but that's not going to stop them from breaking laws.

They post bail or bond and get out before they can check their immigration status and/or get an immigration Hold placed on them. They jump bail and leave town.

If DC wants to reform something and speed something up, then here it is. Speed up the processing time, so they can't bail out before being placed on DHS Hold.

Dixie