Thread: VA: Beach police will ask about immigration status in more..

Beach police will ask about immigration status in more arrests
By JON FRANK, The Virginian-Pilot
© May 1, 2007 | Last updated 4:31 PM May. 1

VIRGINIA BEACH -- Police Chief A.M. "Jake" Jacocks announced today that the Police Department is changing its policy on when to ask about someone's immigration status when an arrest is made.

Police have always asked about where someone was born. Now, if the birthplace is a foreign country, police will ask about the person's legal status.

In the past, only those arrested for felony crimes were asked whether they were in the country legally. Now, those arrested for DUI and public drunkenness – both misdemeanors - will be questioned about their immigration status, Jacocks said.

Those are the only two misdemeanor crimes that routinely will be affected by the policy change.

Jacocks had been meeting with citizens groups to discuss the policy since two teenagers were killed on March 30 when their car was struck from behind by an illegal immigrant with prior alcohol-related convictions in Hampton Roads.

The accident brought a firestorm of controversy to Virginia Beach, in particular from national television pundit Bill O'Reilly, who blamed Jacocks and Mayor Meyera E. Oberndorf for the deaths of the teenagers.

O'Reilly said the girls would not have been killed if the illegal immigrant, Alfredo Ramos, had been deported when charged with the earlier crimes.

Ramos is in jail awaiting trial on charges of aggravated involuntary manslaughter.

http://content.hamptonroads.com/story.c ... 204&tref=y

Police have always asked about where someone was born. Now, if the birthplace is a foreign country, police will ask about the person's legal status.

Hmmm........and you expect them to always tell the truth? If they don't have acceptable identification, call ICE to interview them. Better yet, enroll a couple of your police officers in the ICE provided training.

'bout time.

Too bad it took the lives of these two kids to get their policy changed.

Originally Posted by had_enuf

Too bad it took the lives of these two kids to get their policy changed.

My feeling exactly.

'bout time you woke up Jake

Originally Posted by had_enuf

Too bad it took the lives of these two kids to get their policy changed.

How TRUE!!

However, I do believe that we have made a very big impact on this Chief & Mayor!

Too little too late but at least they know that they're cornered.

And you know what's worse?
ALL their horse dung excuses day after day in the press and then....this!
They KNEW THEY WERE WRONG and we knew they were liars

How much money have those two made with the construction & hotel industries while 2 young women were murdered?

Originally Posted by MW

Police have always asked about where someone was born. Now, if the birthplace is a foreign country, police will ask about the person's legal status.

Hmmm........and you expect them to always tell the truth? If they don't have acceptable identification, call ICE to interview them. Better yet, enroll a couple of your police officers in the ICE provided training.

Oh they will ask and probably believe what they tell them? You know MW there just here for the American Dream.
I don't know about you but I never dream about killing Americans while driving drunk

Drunk in Va. Beach? Police Will Ask Your Immigration Status
May 2, 2007 - 5:04am

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (AP) - City police will begin asking those arrested for driving under the influence and public drunkenness if they are in the country legally, the police chief announced Tuesday.

Virginia Beach police always asked where a person was born, but if the birthplace is a foreign country officers will ask about the person's immigration status, Chief A.M. "Jake" Jacocks said.

Officers currently ask only those arrested for felony crimes whether they were in the country legally, but police will begin asking those arrested for DUI and public drunkenness, both misdemeanors. Those are the only misdemeanor arrests that fall under the policy change, Jacocks said.

Jacocks stressed that those who report or are witness to crimes will not be asked their immigration status.

The change comes after two teenagers were killed March 30 when their car was struck by a vehicle driven by an illegal immigrant who had prior alcohol-related convictions.

Alfredo Ramos, a Mexican who told police he had been in the United States illegally for seven years, was charged with aggravated involuntary manslaughter after his car smashed into another at a red light, killing Alison Kunhardt, 17, and Tessa Tranchant, 16.

The firestorm that followed the deaths was fueled when Bill O'Reilly of Fox News Channel's "The O'Reilly Factor" blamed Jacocks and Mayor Meyera E. Oberndorf, saying the teens would not have been killed if Ramos had been deported when he was charged with the earlier crimes.

Jacocks met with citizens groups to discuss the policy after the accident. He said he decided to change the policy after meeting Monday with federal immigration authorities, who assured him they wanted to be called every time an illegal immigrant is arrested.

Kunhardt's father, David Kunhardt, said he was pleased with the policy change, but would like to see even more steps taken to crack down on illegal immigrants.

"It is definitely a positive step," he said.

Hispanic leaders warned the policy change could lead to racial profiling and overcrowded jails.

"They're going to be surprised at the box they've opened," said Alicia Fernandez-Bobulinski, director of Hispanic outreach for the Making a Difference Foundation.

___

Information from: The Virginian-Pilot, http://www.pilotonline.com


(Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)
VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (AP) - City police will begin asking those arrested for driving under the influence and public drunkenness if they are in the country legally, the police chief announced Tuesday.

Virginia Beach police always asked where a person was born, but if the birthplace is a foreign country officers will ask about the person's immigration status, Chief A.M. "Jake" Jacocks said.

Officers currently ask only those arrested for felony crimes whether they were in the country legally, but police will begin asking those arrested for DUI and public drunkenness, both misdemeanors. Those are the only misdemeanor arrests that fall under the policy change, Jacocks said.

Jacocks stressed that those who report or are witness to crimes will not be asked their immigration status.

The change comes after two teenagers were killed March 30 when their car was struck by a vehicle driven by an illegal immigrant who had prior alcohol-related convictions.

Alfredo Ramos, a Mexican who told police he had been in the United States illegally for seven years, was charged with aggravated involuntary manslaughter after his car smashed into another at a red light, killing Alison Kunhardt, 17, and Tessa Tranchant, 16.

The firestorm that followed the deaths was fueled when Bill O'Reilly of Fox News Channel's "The O'Reilly Factor" blamed Jacocks and Mayor Meyera E. Oberndorf, saying the teens would not have been killed if Ramos had been deported when he was charged with the earlier crimes.

Jacocks met with citizens groups to discuss the policy after the accident. He said he decided to change the policy after meeting Monday with federal immigration authorities, who assured him they wanted to be called every time an illegal immigrant is arrested.

Kunhardt's father, David Kunhardt, said he was pleased with the policy change, but would like to see even more steps taken to crack down on illegal immigrants.

"It is definitely a positive step," he said.

Hispanic leaders warned the policy change could lead to racial profiling and overcrowded jails.

"They're going to be surprised at the box they've opened," said Alicia Fernandez-Bobulinski, director of Hispanic outreach for the Making a Difference Foundation.

___
http://www.wtopnews.com/index.php?nid=600&sid=1130475#

Beach police will ask about immigration status in more arrests
By JON FRANK AND GILLIAN GAYNAIR, The Virginian-Pilot
© May 2, 2007
Last updated: 6:45 PM


Police Chief A.M. "Jake" Jacocks announces the policy change Tuesday. David B. Hollingsworth / The Virginian Pilot

VIRGINIA BEACH - City police will begin asking all people from another country about their immigration status if they are arrested, even on misdemeanor charges, and taken before a magistrate.

The change, announced at a news conference Tuesday by Chief of Police Jake Jacocks Jr., represents an about-face for Beach police and comes after public outrage over a car crash March 30 that killed two Beach teenagers.

Alfredo Ramos, charged with aggravated involuntary manslaughter in the deaths, admitted he is in the country illegally and that he had been drinking before the crash. Ramos had previous alcohol-related convictions, all misdemeanors. T he city's policy had prohibited police from asking foreigners their immigration status except in felony cases.

Jacocks said he arrived at the decision to change the two-year-old policy after meeting this week with federal immigration authorities. The policy change "is effective right now," he said.

The announcement was greeted with dismay by Hispanic leaders.

"It's not a happy day at all for Virginia Beach," said Alicia Fernandez-Bobulinski, director of Hispanic outreach for the Making a Difference Foundation.

She said Jacocks gave no indication during discussions last month that he would alter the policy.

The new policy could lead to racial profiling, she said, and she wondered whether local jails have enough space to detain people suspected of overstaying their visas or unlawfully entering the country.

"They're going to be surprised at the box they've opened," she said.

Jacocks said police still will be forbidden from asking about the immigration status of anyone released on a misdemeanor summons, such as a traffic ticket, or those who report - or are witnesses to - crimes, the chief said.

Police already ask about country of origin when they make an arrest, Jacocks said, so the new policy will not mean a major increase in work load for street cops.

"It will require filling in one more block and asking a few questions of those rare instances where someone is not a U.S. citizen," Jacocks said.

Federal authorities will be notified about anyone who identifies himself or herself as illegal, Jacocks said. Federal authorities take the defendant into custody after the case has gone through the courts.

Jacocks said the new policy represents a major shift but is not likely to satisfy those who want the most aggressive action taken against illegal immigrants.

"It is not what people on the far extreme of this debate want law enforcement to do," Jacocks said, "but it is what we are going to be doing in Virginia Beach."

Since the March 30 car wreck, Jacocks has met with numerous civic groups to discuss the immigration policy. He said citizens appear to be split on whether a change was necessary.

Jacocks said the new policy would have been in place two years ago but that there was a miscommunication with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

He said he was told in 2005 that federal authorities did not want to be called when an illegal immigrant was arrested on a misdemeanor charge. When he met with ICE on Monday, he said, he learned that officials wanted to be called every time an illegal immigrant is arrested.

"If we knew they were going to come anytime anybody was physically arrested," Jacocks said, "we would have been asking anytime anyone was physically arrested."

ICE officials disagreed.

Ernestine Fobbs, a spokeswoman for ICE in Washington, said Tuesday that ICE always has wanted to know when police arrest illegal immigrants and take them into custody.

"This has been the policy the whole time," regardless of the type of crime, Fobbs said. "This is what we've communicated to law enforcement throughout the country."

The new policy might have prevented Ramos from being free March 30, when he was accused of driving drunk and ramming the rear of a car at a stoplight.

The crash killed the car's occupants - Alison Kunhardt, 17, and Tessa Tranchant, 16.

Ramos already had multiple alcohol-related convictions, including a public drunkenness charge at the Beach and a DUI in Chesapeake.

Alison 's father, David Kunhardt, said Tuesday that he was pleased with the policy change.

"It is definitely a positive step," Kunhardt said, adding that he hopes for other changes.

Kunhardt said he would like for authorities to check Social Security numbers of illegal immigrants more frequently.

The Ramos case brought unwanted national attention to Virginia Beach, primarily through Fox TV personality Bill O'Reilly's show.

O'Reilly blamed the teens' deaths, in part, on Jacocks and Mayor Meyera Oberndorf, both of whom O'Reilly said were protecting illegal immigrants living in Virginia Beach.

O'Reilly insulted the chief and the mayor.

On Tuesday, Jacocks called O'Reilly "short on manners, large on mouth." He said O'Reilly's "inability to do anything constructive for anyone has relegated him to sitting on his duff and spewing insults and half-truths on a tabloid TV show."

http://content.hamptonroads.com/story.c ... ran=192123