Report: Notification of suspected illegals increase, federal action decreases

04:56 PM EST on Tuesday, December 4, 2007

Reported by: Patrick Terpstra
Virginia Beach Police and Sheriff’s Office are reporting suspected illegal immigrants to the federal government more than ever after the deaths of two Va. Beach teens.

In March, while driving drunk, illegal immigrant Alfredo Ramos crashed his car into another vehicle on Va. Beach Boulevard, killing Alison Kunhardt and Tessa Tranchant.

Despite prior arrests in Chesapeake and Va. Beach, the law failed to realize Ramos was in the country illegally until the teens’ deaths.

Police vowed to report more suspected illegal immigrants to ICE, Immigrations and Customs Enforcement.

Numbers released from the Sheriff’s Department show a steady increase in jail booking agents calling ICE and reporting suspected illegals.

However, though ICE issued detainers for nearly every suspected illegal immigrant in the two months after the crash, the numbers dropped off dramatically. In October, ICE put detainers on only 26% of suspected illegals.

“That’s the federal government at work, or not at work as some people might suspect,â€