Thread: About half a million illegals in NC. Gheen Report (3)

5/14/2005

NC General Assembly members, staff, and members of the media:

How many illegal aliens are in North Carolina? Probably close to half a million!

In truth, nobody can accurately answer that question but we do have some idea.

North Carolina has between 300-600 thousand illegal aliens and our population of illegals is growing faster than almost any other state in America. The safest way to call it?

"North Carolina has close to half a million illegal aliens"

Estimating illegal aliens is an inexact science due to the nature of this crime. Governmental agencies and researchers have great difficulty in such assessments because our systems are not designed to detect illegal aliens. K-12 schools do not inquire about a student’s immigration status. Neither do our police departments or hospitals. Combine this with the fact that illegals try to go undetected and engage in document fraud and identity theft, and it is clearly impossible to provide lawmakers with exact numbers.

Here is what we do know.

According to the US Census and the Pew Hispanic Center (which uses Census data for their estimates) NC has one of the fastest growing populations of illegal aliens in America.

The Pew Hispanic Center estimate of 300,000 illegal aliens in NC is derived from the US Census estimate of close to 200,000 illegal aliens in NC as of Jan. 2000. By applying the average rate of increase between 1990-2000 of approximately 20,000 new illegals taking up residence per year we arrive at the 300,000 estimate for 2005.

There are some serious flaws in this estimate and 300,000 should be considered as the minimum range of NC's illegal alien population.

1. The US Census estimates and the Pew Hispanic Center estimates are in the lowest range of national estimates.

TIME Magazine has estimated that there are 15 million illegal aliens in America.

Barron's has released a study by the Wall Street investment firm Bear Stearns
that places the national illegal population at 20 million.

There are other studies and the US Census estimates continue to occupy the low end of the spectrum.

If we use the range of national estimates of 10-20 million illegals in the US to NC's estimates, we can estimate with some degree of confidence that NC has 300-600 thousand illegal aliens.

2. Another important factor that pushes the estimates higher than 300,000 is that illegal immigration rates increased in the late 90's and continued to escalate in the first half of this decade. Reports from the US Border Patrol and from Time Magazine illustrate this.

In the mid 90's the accepted estimate was half a million illegal aliens entered the US to stay each year. By 2001 that estimate was approximately 1 million per year. TIME Magazine's recent and history making article "Who left the door open?" has upgraded that estimate to 3 million per year!

3. Another important factor that pushes the estimates up further is NC driver licenses. North Carolina remains as one of the few (10) remaining states that does not require "Legal Presence" to receive a driver license. A license is essential to illegal aliens since it is needed to work a job that law prohibits them from having. It is also needed to rent houses and apartments and to open bank accounts etc. NC continues to dispense thousands of licenses to illegal aliens and the Florida Department of Licenses us informs us that buses full of illegal aliens are chartered to NC and back just to get an NC license.

We have close to half a million illegal aliens in NC and that number is growing rapidly. Can you imagine what will happen when we advertise in-state tuition rates for the children of illegal aliens?

William Gheen
President, Americans for Legal Immigration PAC (ALIPAC)
www.alipac.us
(866) 329-3999

Agency can't explain records lapse
Immigration didn't have illegal immigrant's DWI arrests in database
JIM MORRILL
Staff Writer

Nearly 1,000 undocumented immigrants have been arrested in North Carolina since October, most with criminal records, a federal immigration spokeswoman said Friday.

But Sue Brown couldn't say why officials had no record of multiple drunken-driving arrests by an illegal immigrant charged with DWI in the weekend death of a Gaston County man.

"We prioritize and get the people who are going to be killing us and maiming us and injuring our children," said Brown, a spokeswoman for the Department of Homeland Security's Immigration and Customs Enforcement branch, or ICE.

"That's what we do. We go after those people first."

The agency has come under fire since Scott Gardner of Mount Holly was killed when his car was hit in Brunswick County by a truck driven by Ramiro Gallegos, 25. It was the fourth time in three years that Gallegos, from Mexico, was charged with driving while impaired.

U.S. Rep. Sue Myrick, a Charlotte Republican, has asked Homeland Security officials to explain what she describes as their failure to enforce immigration laws. U.S. Rep. Mike McIntyre, a Lumberton Democrat, plans to raise similar concerns next week.

"This is not a partisan issue," said McIntyre, whose district includes Brunswick County. "This is an issue that affects every American citizen and family, and the Department of Homeland Security needs to hear that loud and clear.

"...What's happened to the Gardner family should not go unanswered."

Brown said her agency typically learns of criminal charges against illegal immigrants from its own investigators and local law enforcement. Gallegos' previous arrests apparently never came to the attention of ICE.

"We will be looking to find out exactly why that happened, why he wasn't in our database," she said. "But we don't want to point fingers. ... We are going to be working as hard as we possibly can with (Myrick), with our law enforcement partners to make sure this never happens again."

The stiffest DWI sentence Gallegos received was 30 days in jail -- after his third charge.

The state has an estimated 300,000 illegal immigrants. This week officials targeted Gallegos for deportation, whether he's convicted or not.

Details of his previous arrests -- including any efforts to contact immigration -- were not available Friday from the Brunswick County Sheriff's Department or the N.C. Highway Patrol.

Highway Patrol Sgt. Carlton Albritton, a supervisor over Brunswick County, said officers rarely know a suspect's legal status. He said they run names through a database to see if the suspect is wanted by immigration or other authorities.

Brown said ICE focuses on illegal immigrants accused of serious felonies such as murder, rape and sexual abuse. Drunken driving is a misdemeanor.

More than half the 953 people arrested by immigration agents had criminal records, she said. The number includes 14 Charlotte fugitives, most of whom had convictions ranging from theft and forgery, to larceny and weapons charges. All had been ordered deported but fled.

Some police agencies say they don't bother to call immigration when illegal immigrants are charged.

"That is a common theme," said Marshall Fitz, an associate director of the American Immigration Lawyers Association. Either police stop calling because immigration officers rarely show up or they say they are concentrating on more serious crimes, he said.

Brown said immigration authorities know there are cracks in the system.

"We're not perfect," she said. "(But) we have very good cooperation with our partners."

Update on Tina Gardner and Suspect

Illegal immigrant Ramiro Gallegos remained in the Brunswick County Jail Friday in connection with a crash that killed Scott Gardner of Mount Holly. Gardner's wife, Tina, remained in critical condition. The couple's children suffered minor injuries.


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Jim Morrill: (704) 358-5059; jmorrill@charlotteobserver.com.

Thank you for posting this Belger. I will add it to our homepage and place it in the news section of our forums.

W