Milford Tragedy | Globe Editorial

Suspect should have been deported

September 12, 2011

THE NATION’S convoluted policies on illegal immigration hit home in Milford this week where more than 200 townspeople protested the death of 23-year-old motorcyclist Matthew Denice. He died last month after being struck by a pickup truck allegedly driven by Nicolas Guaman, an illegal immigrant from Ecuador. Guaman has been charged with vehicular homicide while under the influence of alcohol.

Tweet Be the first to Tweet this!ShareThis Ecuadorean officials attended the town hall demonstration to express their sympathies to the Denice family. But the true target audience for this outpouring of pain should be the US Congress and the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency.

“I just want to say as a community we welcome immigration. Those who come here correctly, go through the process with the proper documents, we welcome,’’ said Michael Denice, the victim’s brother. “My question to you is, those who are here illegally, what is your solution to that? Once someone is here illegally, they have to do illegal things to stay in our community, whether it is working for cash under the table or driving without a license, whether it be collecting state services under false information. What is your solution to those illegal immigrants who are here today?’’

These heartfelt questions are on many lips across the country. ICE officials aren’t exactly ducking them. They readily admit that the immigration agency can’t cope with an estimated 13 million illegals. What ICE owes people in Milford and everywhere else is an accelerated focus on dangerous illegal immigrants like Guaman, who was arrested in 2008 on charges of breaking and entering and assaulting public safety workers. But instead of forming effective partnerships with local police departments to ferret out illegals with criminal records, ICE has been heavy-handed and bureaucratic to the point that some police openly oppose ICE’s Secure Communities initiative.

There is no comprehensive answer to Michael Denice’s question because there is no comprehensive US policy on illegal immigration. That’s the fault of Congress. But there is one question that no grieving family member should ever need to ask: Why wasn’t that criminal deported?

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