Thread: Federal officials tout deportation of 9 illegals

http://washingtontimes.com/metro/200601 ... -2902r.htm

By Gary Emerling
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
January 13, 2006


Nine illegal aliens detained last year after a traffic stop in Spotsylvania County, Va., were deported over a span of nine months in what federal officials said is an example of the immigration system working properly.

"We are committed to working to enforce the immigration laws of the United States," said Ernestine Fobbs, a spokeswoman for U.S.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). "The arrest and removal of these individuals is a testament that the process works."

Virginia State Police found the aliens April 12, riding in a van on Interstate 95, south of Fredericksburg, where a trooper stopped the vehicle for a traffic violation.

Police said they found 14 persons in the van, including a 10-month-old who was not properly secured. Twelve were illegal aliens.

Officials said they released one infant, who is a U.S. citizen. The infant's mother and another woman were released with notices to appear in court. They are still awaiting a hearing.

"We know where they are," Ms. Fobbs said.

Ms. Fobbs said the nine deported aliens -- who came primarily from El Salvador, Guatemala and Mexico -- were removed from April through December. At least two had been deported and re-entered the U.S. before the April 12 incident, Ms. Fobbs said.

One alien also is in the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service for a prior conviction, Ms. Fobbs said.

The driver of the van -- Juvenal Martinez-Marin of Labelle, Fla. -- was arrested and convicted in federal court of transporting illegal aliens.

Martinez-Marin pleaded not guilty to the charge, but a jury convicted him after co-defendant Cayetano Gomez-Morales testified against him.
Martinez-Marin was sentenced to 14 months in prison.

Ms. Fobbs said Martinez-Marin is a legal permanent resident of the United States but could be deported to his native Mexico after he serves his sentence.

Gomez-Morales, an illegal from Mexico, was deported last month.

The Spotsylvania County arrests were made a few days after federal authorities released 11 illegals who were found in a van by Fairfax County police during a traffic stop in Annandale.

In that case, ICE officials ordered the 11 Mexican nationals, three of whom are children, to show up for further immigration processing at the ICE agency in Northern Virginia.

None of the aliens showed up for the proceedings. Officials later located one. Police charged the driver with traffic violations and child endangerment in the case.

None of the aliens showed up for the proceedings

Do they ever show up? When are they gonna learn that as soon as they turn the illegals loose, they just move to another area? When immigration came into the plant where I worked several years ago and took our whole shipping department in for being illegal immigrants, we thought that was the end of those guys. We thought they were on their way back across the border........NOT.......We were surprised to see all 12 of them back at work the next morning and from what little English they spoke, they told us that they had 2 weeks to get their paperwork in order to become legal temporary workers in the US. That was on a Wednesday. They worked on Thursday, showed up Friday morning wanting their paychecks, with their vehicles loaded down with everything they owned. One of the young Mexican guys who looked about 15 years old but had a NC drivers license that said he was 21(yeah, right ), told me that he and the others were not going to show up in court, they were heading up north somewhere to find other jobs. I believe this is the common way they handle it when they are busted, just to pick up and move on. Gee......I wonder which state is paying to support the children of these illegals now?????