That our immigration crisis continues to snowball out of control is obvious – the porous, virtually non-existent border, an overwhelmed INS bureaucracy that has simply broken down, hospital closings which affect the health and safety of American citizens, burgeoning prisons, overcrowded schools and declining academic achievement, an avalanche of tax dollars still proving to be insufficient to reverse the horror – these are only some of the indicators. And while our elected officials debate the merits of the Terri Schiavo case for days and bring the business of the state and nation to a halt - a dubious use of Congressional time at best - they seemingly can’t find enough time to even discuss, let alone enact into law, any legislation to help reverse this ever-growing disaster.
Informed citizens have noted that for quite some time INS guidelines virtually prohibit the detention of illegals who are discovered in the heartland. The agency is simply overwhelmed and admits it lacks the resources to pick them up and deport them to their nation of origin. It’s now far worse. A spate of headlines within the last week reveal the alarming extent of this national disaster. On June 6th the Virginia State Police backed off a plan that would have allowed some officers to make immigration arrests, a prospect that had been fiercely opposed by immigrant rights advocates. The mere mention that a few officers would work in tandem with national immigration officials to enforce the nation’s laws in the hope it would enhance national security set off protests and hand-wringing among open border advocates.
On June 4th the San Diego Union Tribune revealed the amazing fact that 20 Brazilians who had just been whisked across the Rio Grande immediately searched out U.S. Border Patrol agents. They were briefly detained before one of the agent’s actually drove them to the bus terminal where they were able to purchase tickets to continue their illegal journey into the heart of America. “We used to chase them; now they’re chasing us,” Border Patrol Agent Gus Balderas said as he frisked the Brazilians and collected their passports late last month. They were given notices to appear in court The formal term for the court summons is a “notice to appear.” Border Patrol agents have another name for it. They call it a “notice to disappear.”
Of the 8,908 notices to appear that one immigration court in Texas issued last year to non-Mexicans, 8,767 failed to show up for their hearings, according to statistics compiled by the Justice Department’s Executive Office of Immigration Review. That is a no-show rate of 98 percent! Arrests of non-Mexicans along the U.S.-Mexico border totaled 14,935 in 1995, 28,598 in 2000 and 65,814 last year. In the first eight months of this federal fiscal year, which began Oct. 1, more than 85,000 have been apprehended. Nearly all are no-shows at their court hearings, but comprehensive federal figures are not available. Nor does Congress seem to care!
It comes as no surprise that those who eagerly break our nation’s immigration laws are not often concerned about breaking other state or national laws. Statistics reveal illegals account for over 80% of those being held in jail for felonies in Los Angeles. Recent murders of several policemen and the immediate flight of illegal fugitives back to Mexico reveal that the criminals know that Mexico will refuse to extradite them back to the United States to stand trial for a capital crime. This has led many to believe that one of the police officers who was wounded, was then deliberately executed so that the murderer might never have to stand trial in America.
That these alleged murderers had been repeatedly deported and returned here hardly raises an eyebrow. What is surprising is the apparent lack of interest in even deporting convicted criminals anymore. A June 8th article in the Associated Press revealed that even when illegals are convicted of heinous crimes they still may not be deported. It appears a Mexican national, Hector Fausto, has been convicted in North Carolina to having had an affair with an 11-year-old girl, of getting her pregnant and then taking her to his family’s home in Mexico where she was kept as a virtual slave for several years. When he returned to the states, she and her two children were able to escape and return to North Carolina with the help of a second man who fathered her second child. Upon her return, Hector was arrested and charged with statutory rape. He was also charged with escaping from jail after his arrest. At a recent trial, he stated in his defense that he was unaware that having sex with an 11 year old was wrong. Hector was recently convicted of the charges and will spend from 12 to 15 years in prison. The article concluded, “He will be credited for the two years and two months he spent in jail while awaiting trial, but could be deported once he finishes his sentence because he is not a U.S. citizen.” Could be deported? What does it actually take to be deported anymore? Obviously not rape, slavery, kidnapping, child abandonment or jail break. How long will it take for our elected officials to come to the realization that the system is broken?
The writer has been a social studies educator for 33 years, a former elementary school principal, and a resident of Florida for over 30 years. He may be reached at JSBovee@aol.com.
Word Count – 877
Jack Bovee Lehigh Acres, FL
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