Gangs and Sanctuary

GOP Presidential candidate Tom Tancredo slammed the whole notion of sanctuary cities and pointed to the Newark triple execution as proof-in-fact.

Federal officials said on Monday that a second man among the suspects in the schoolyard slayings of three young friends was in the United States illegally, and a conservative presidential candidate flew into town to denounce the city’s leaders as complicit in the murders because they had declared Newark a “sanctuary” for immigrants.

“If the suspects are found guilty, Newark and its political leadership share a degree of responsibility,” Representative Tom Tancredo, Republican of Colorado, said on the steps of the gold-domed City Hall, surrounded by a dozen supporters and slightly more protesters who rallied against him. “I encourage the family of the victims to pursue a lawsuit against the city.”

Mr. Tancredo, whose bid for the Republican nomination is based largely on an aggressive stance against illegal immigration, is among the many conservatives nationwide who seized on the killings after it was reported that one of the suspects, Jose Lachira Carranza, 28, was an illegal immigrant from Peru.

Before the killings, Mr. Carranza had been arrested three times on felony charges but had been released on bail, in part because the authorities never checked his immigration status. Doing so would likely have triggered a federal “detainer” that would have kept Mr. Carranza in custody to await deportation proceedings.

On Monday, the federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency placed a similar detainer on Melvin Jovel, 18, who on Sunday was the sixth person to be arrested in the case. Immigration officials said Mr. Jovel, who was from Honduras, also was in the country illegally.

A third man, Rodolfo Godinez, 24, a legal resident who immigrated from Nicaragua, and three teenagers also face murder and robbery charges for the shooting deaths of Iofemi Hightower, 20; Dashon Harvey, 20; and Terrance Aeriel, 18, on Aug. 4 behind the Mount Vernon School. Mr. Aeriel’s sister Natasha, 19, was also shot, but survived.

Well, it would appear that Godinez somehow attained legal residency, even though earlier reports indicated that he had been subject to deportation and no one was able to track down his whereabouts despite having been involved in various criminal activities over the years.

The sad fact is that the people who pursued the sanctuary city policy on grounds that they were doing so out of compassion for illegal aliens have only managed to provide fertile ground for illegal aliens to pursue criminal activities, including violent crimes such as the triple execution slaying. Gangs, including MS-13 have exploited sanctuary city policies and have set up shop in many urban areas, including Newark.

It was only yesterday that Mayor Cory Booker (D) acknowledged that there are indeed gang overtones to the triple execution, although they continue to downplay the gang aspect. Today, we learn more about the arrests of Godinez and his half brother, Alexander Alfaro, 16, who was arrested Saturday in Virginia after a FBI informant noted that he was meeting up with MS-13 gang members. Two other members had web pages that touted MS-13 and Newark residents have said that they believed that some of the suspects were indeed gang members.

Meanwhile, other New Jersey localities are struggling to deal with the problem and some are urging their elected officials not to assist the federal government in enforcing immigration laws. One such locality is the town of Bogota:

"Our local police should not have the added duty of helping the federal government enforce the U.S. Immigration and Nationality Act," said mayoral candidate Andrew T. Fede, a lawyer. "And we are concerned that some believe that the program could be abused as a profiling tool against Hispanic-Americans."

Lonegan, who is not seeking reelection, is one of the state's most vocal proponents of strict immigration enforcement. He said last month that he was considering applying for the program. He said illegal immigration was not a significant problem in Bogota but that he felt 287G would serve as a deterrent to undocumented people who might otherwise settle in Bogota.

Councilwoman Anne Marie Mitchell, who is running for reelection on the same slate as Fede, was on the list of candidates who released the statement opposing 287G. She could not be reached for comment.

At least one New Jersey mayor, Morristown's Donald Cresitello, has applied to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security for admission into 287G. He says he is still awaiting a decision.

The federal program has gained attention nationwide as local officials are making moves to address illegal immigration, citing the failure of national political leaders to reform the flawed immigration system.

UPDATE:
Jovel was in court to plead not guilty to the charges stemming from the triple homicide. However, the interesting part comes from what is now being considered an undetermined immigration status. No one seems to know whether Jovel was a legal resident or not.

Jovel, who is from Honduras, told the judge he does not have a Social Security number or a green card, but his immigration status remains unclear, prosecutors said. A U.S. passport was found among his belongings when he was arrested Sunday night, but officials are still trying to determine whether the passport is valid, Assistant Essex County Prosecutor Thomas A. McTigue said. Federal authorities have placed a detainer on Jovel because his status is uncertain, McTigue said.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials participated in Jovel's arrest, and a spokesman for the agency said it becomes involved "when they suspect a person is in the county illegally."

So, it is quite possible that he had forged documents, which add to his legal troubles but no one is quite sure whether he is here legally? This once again highlights the problems with enforcing immigration laws and the failure to control borders. We simply don't know who has entered the country and whether individuals have overstayed their visas, especially when localities do not inform ICE of arrests. In this case, because it is a high profile situation, ICE was involved and a detainer was placed on Jovel. This is what needed to have been done with Carranza and Godinez when each were arrested previously - so as to determine their immigration status and prevent flight if bond was issued on earlier crimes. Failures to contact ICE meant that the illegal aliens were able to stay on the streets and commit still more crimes.

UPDATE:
Mitt Romney has also blasted the notion of sanctuary cities, in a new ad campaign. I guess he felt this was a way to go after Rudy and score points with the law and order types who have been on the case of those municipalities that have sought to become havens for illegal aliens.

"Immigration laws don't work if they're ignored," the ad's announcer states. "That's the problem with cities like Newark, San Francisco and New York City that adopt sanctuary policies. Sanctuary cities become magnets that encourage illegal immigration and undermine secure borders."

"Legal immigration is great," Romney, a former governor of Massachusetts, himself says in the ad. "But illegal immigration, that we've got to end. And amnesty is not the way to do it."

UPDATE:
Michelle Malkin weighs in on the arrest and indeterminate status of Jovel.