Courier Post - Opinion

Don't offer illegal immigrants bail
http://www.courierpostonline.com/apps/p ... 50336/1046


An illegal immigrant accused in Newark's school-yard shootings should first face the judicial system, not deportation.

It is unfathomable that a judge would release from custody an illegal immigrant charged with assault and child rape, someone who could easily disappear before his case is resolved. Yet, that is why 28-year-old Jose Carranza, an illegal immigrant from Peru, was on the streets when he allegedly participated in the execution-style murder of three college-bound students and serious wounding of a fourth young person on a Newark playground.

Carranza's $150,000 bail in the rape case was revoked after he was charged in the school-yard shootings in Newark.

Although it is unclear why someone such as Carranza received bail in the first place, turning him over to federal immigration authorities for possible deportation won't serve anyone's interest.

A proposal by Newark Councilman Ron C. Rice to require city police to notify federal immigration authorities each time an illegal immigrant is charged with a crime likely won't make the public any safer.

An illegal immigrant who is suspected of committing a crime, but deported before being tried, could escape being rightfully labeled as a convicted criminal in this country or in his or her own native land. The person could continue to be a risk to others without authorities knowing it. And even if caught returning to this country illegally, there would be no record the person was possibly involved in serious crimes.

We urge Newark council members to build on what prosecutors are now doing: notifying federal immigration authorities once an illegal immigrant is convicted. Rice and other Newark officials should urge their state representatives to introduce a bill that would require county prosecutors to notify federal immigration authorities of adjudicated illegal immigrants, whether or not their cases end in a conviction. And illegal immigrants charged, as Carranza also was, with murder and rape, should not be released on bail. Even if these immigrants are not found guilty of a crime, they should be held until federal immigration authorities can assume custody of them. These suspects should also be held accountable for illegal entry into this country.

Published: August 15. 2007 3:10AM