Illegal Immigrants Caught And Released In Ohio Valley
May 10, 2011

The issue of illegal immigrants being taken into custody and then released back into the community is a problem that has been apparent in Ohio County, W.Va. for years.

Most recently, six people were taken into custody after a disturbance outside of a home on Gamble Ave. in Wheeling in April.

"Once officers were able to get all the individuals rounded up, they ran checks on them and found that they were in this country illegally," said Police Chief Robert Matheny.

Police notified the U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement, also known as ICE.

Ice detained some of the people, but others were let go. A spokesman released this statement to NEWS9:
"Two individuals are in ICE custody. Since the police did not charge the four remaining individuals with a crime, ICE did not issue detainers"
NEWS9 obtained ICE's Civil Enforcement Priorities policy. It stated that it only had resources to remove 400,000 illegals a year, less than 4% of the estimated illegal immigrant population.

The policy also went on to state that the group then prioritizes who to deport.

NEWS9 took the illegal immigration issue to Congressman David Mckinley. (Republican- W.Va. 1st Congressional District)
"When we have such a high rate of unemployment, it's just wrong for us to continue to allow this because obviously they are here for some reason. I dont know what they're doing. I don't whose jobs they're taking, but they're taking some American's job and I wanna stop that," said Mckinley.

NEWS9 also learned from ICE that one of the illegal immigrants detained during the incident in April was deported before in 2007.

Congressman Mckinley told NEWS9 he is determined to protect his constituents and make sure the laws are upheld.

"I am committed to trying to make a difference on immigration and underscoring that these individuals should be taken into custody and not released back into the population," said Mckinley.

http://www.wtov9.com/news/27833535/detail.html