'Factor Follow-Up': Some Justice in Virginia Beach
Tuesday , November 20, 2007


This is a rush transcript from "The O'Reilly Factor," November 19, 2007. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated

Watch "The O'Reilly Factor" weeknights at 8 p.m. and 11 p.m. ET and listen to the "Radio Factor!"

LAURA INGRAHAM, GUEST HOST: In the "Factor Follow-Up" segment tonight, some justice in Virginia Beach. "The Factor" has reported extensively on the case of Alfredo Ramos, an illegal immigrant with an extensive criminal record, who was convicted of killing two teenage girls while driving drunk last March.

Today, Mr. Ramos was sentenced. He's going to spend 24 years in prison. Then, he'll immediately be deported. And if he's ever caught back in the United States, it's back to prison for him for 16 years.

Joining us now from Virginia Beach with reaction, Ray Trachant whose 16-year-old daughter Tessa was one of Mr. Ramos' victims.

Mr. Trachant, I know this has got to be bittersweet for you today, but your reaction?

RAY TRACHANT, FATHER OF TESSA TRANCHANT: Oh, it's bittersweet. I want to make it clear that Judge Chadrick from Virginia Beach did give Ramos 40 years and suspended 16, which means that he'll serve 24 in the penitentiary. And he will be deported. And if he steps one foot inside of America, then they'll enact that other 16-year sentence. That is incredible compared to some of the sentences that these judges in Virginia have been giving the illegals here.

INGRAHAM: Were you surprised after this horrific, horrific loss that your family suffered, were you surprised to see how many times this happens in the course of a week in the United States, where...

TRACHANT: It's just...

INGRAHAM: It's just — to me once I saw the estimates — and we don't have any firm numbers on this, but by some estimates, it could be about a dozen people a day killed by illegal aliens on the roads.

TRACHANT: It's a war. You know, if you look at the Web ites and you look at the victims. And you know, I'm an advocate obviously of — of cleaning up illegal criminals. I can't fix the 14 million illegal immigrants that are here in America. And I know we'll fix the borders. I don't have the solutions.

But the criminal illegals are the ones that are just causing me problems — my family problems, and keeping me up at night. And I would have to say that if it were a Pelosi or a Clinton or a Bush or an attorney general whose daughter was brutally killed immediately by an illegal, then I think there'd be a congressional task force out there...

INGRAHAM: You bet.

TRACHANT: ...that would want to get to the bottom of this.

INGRAHAM: I often say that if there were the day laborer centers built in Santa Monica or a tony section of Connecticut or maybe Georgetown in Washington, you would have a lot of people thinking differently about illegal immigration as well.

And by some estimates, Mr. Tranchant, there are 80,000 to 100,000 criminal aliens living in the United States. Again, a staggering figure. And 20 percent of our prison population is currently criminal aliens. I mean, as a father who has lost a daughter, I mean, what do you say to lawmakers who are listening tonight?

TRACHANT: Well, good point. You know, I got together about a month ago with three [members of the] House of Representatives, Congressmen Drake, Kantor, and Forbes from Chesapeake. And they got together to form an illegal task force. And we got 15 police chiefs. And we got several city managers together. And you know, just to strategize what leadership we need to fix this problem.

Well, we were met the next day in the paper by Democrats saying that well, you never asked us. And basically, what Frank Bosio from I believe Culpepper said, is as long as this is a partisan problem, then we'll never solve it. So what I'm looking for is leadership! Someone in Congress, someone from the executive branch or even the judicial branch...

INGRAHAM: Do you see anyone, Mr. Tranchant...

TRACHANT: No.

INGRAHAM: ...out there on the horizon today? I mean, Tom Tancredo obviously. Duncan Hunter.

TRACHANT: Right.

INGRAHAM: Both of them, this is an issue front and center. Fred Thompson, others.

TRACHANT: Well, but the three Republicans that I met with are...

INGRAHAM: Yes.

TRACHANT: ...like I said, Drake, Kantor, and Forbes. They certainly want to fix the problem. But I just believe that if — and you know, a friend of mine said, you know, the reason they don't want to get involved, this is the Latino vote. I don't think Latinos want illegal immigrants here killing people.

INGRAHAM: I don't think they do either. I think that, Mr. Tranchant, I think that's one of the biggest lies being told, by the way...

TRACHANT: Exactly.

INGRAHAM: ...that Hispanics are united behind giving incentives to illegal immigrants.

TRACHANT: They do not.

INGRAHAM: Most Hispanic people who came here legally, the Latino population, they work hard.

TRACHANT: They do.

INGRAHAM: They're for family values. And they're not lawbreakers. OK? They don't believe in this stuff. And the Democrats are I think selling — not just Democrats, a lot of Republican elites —are selling this idea to the American people.

TRACHANT: Right.

INGRAHAM: I think people have had it. And let me tell you something...

TRACHANT: Yes.

INGRAHAM: ...I do this issue on my radio show a lot.

TRACHANT: Absolutely.

INGRAHAM: And the country and our hearts break for you and the families of so many others out there who've lost loved ones at the hands of criminal aliens.

TRACHANT: Yes...

INGRAHAM: I mean, I don't know how you get through the days with the loss that you have suffered. And you know, how are you doing personally? I mean, I just — honestly, I can't imagine. I mean, I want to cry when I hear about this story.

TRACHANT: Well, I — I have to go to work every day and do my job. You know, Tessa's mother and Allie's mother and father, they're stricken. The family is just killing. They're all just — and they'll eventually recover.

But you know, the leaders who don't want to do anything, and they want to waffle, for example, you know, just [the] city council, seven months later in Virginia Beach, finally made a statement. They're waffling.

The attorney general in Virginia is a known Republican. And he went out to the police force and said hey...

INGRAHAM: Yes.

TRACHANT: ...you can lock these guys up. But the governor said nothing. And he wants to talk about global warming, because it's not a popular issue...

INGRAHAM: Well...

TRACHANT: ...for them to talk about. And I'm telling you that if people would talk about it and get task forces together...

INGRAHAM: Well, we're listening.

TRACHANT: ...we'd get something done.

INGRAHAM: Yes, we're listening. And we're with you. And I know Bill put a lot of pressure on Virginia Beach.

TRACHANT: Right. He did.

INGRAHAM: On the Sanctuary City issue. And they were really angry at what he did. He turned out to be right. The American people are overwhelmingly with what you believe here and with what common sense thinking Americans do across the country.

TRACHANT: Thank you.

INGRAHAM: And our hearts really go out to you, Mr. Trachant. And thank you very much for joining us.

TRACHANT: You bet you.

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