Ohio County Takes 100th Illegal Immigrant

By GABE WELLS Staff Writer

June 10, 2007

WHEELING — Gregorio Hernandez may have earned the distinction, but Jose Hernandez-Priego has a legitimate claim to the milestone. Regardless of which of the two Mexican nationals settled for 99th on the list, the Ohio County Sheriff’s Department arrested its 100th illegal immigrant in a span of only two years when those men were detained Wednesday.

Ohio County Sheriff Tom Burgoyne said the number of illegals detained by his department since May 2005, is proof that one of the nation’s most heated political debates is a serious concern in this area. The sheriff said, after dealing so often with the problem, he has strong opinions regarding how the matter could be better handled. An estimated 12 million illegal immigrants currently live in the United States, and an immigration-reform bill intended to tighten borders, hike penalties for those who hire illegals and give many illegals a pathway to legal status died Thursday.

Burgoyne said, once in custody, illegals are either released and permitted to move on or they are deported. He said those deported most often come back. According to the sheriff, illegals, in most cases, should face more stringent penalties for being in the country illegally, and make-shift prisons specifically for illegals should be set up in border states. Burgoyne said, as it stands, illegals simply are not punished, and “legislation with teethâ€