From the midweek Morning Jolt:
How Many Deported Violent Criminals Re-Enter the U.S. Each Year?
Now can we move past “is Donald Trump xenophobic” and get to a real discussion about deported criminals coming back into the country, sanctuary cities, border security, and our lax policies on illegal immigrants?
Because it’s not just San Francisco…
[Francisco] Sanchez, an undocumented immigrant, has been deported several times to his native Mexico and Immigration and Customs Enforcement blamed the San Francisco police for not honoring an immigration detainer earlier in the year.
Sanchez has five previous convictions for re-entry after deportation, according to court records. He was on probation in Texas at the time of the shooting and served federal time for sneaking back into the country.
In an exclusive jailhouse interview, a KGO-TV reporter asked the alleged gunman, “Did you keep coming back to San Francisco because you knew that they wouldn’t actively look for you to deport you?”
Sanchez responded, “Yes.”
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement had said in a statement that Sanchez was turned over to the San Francisco Police Department this past March on an outstanding drug warrant, and that the department requested that police notify Immigration and Customs Enforcement prior to his release so ICE officers could make arrangements to take custody.
…it’s Laredo, Texas…
Court records show murder suspect Juan Francisco De Luna Vasquez –was convicted twice of entering the country illegally.
Vasquez was arrested Thursday after police found the body of his wife in the 800 block of Lane Street.
He was caught by police after he fled the scene.
Police say he also had a prior record with charges of assault and terroristic threats against his wife in 2006.
They say Thursday’s suspected homicide is the third violent encounter reported between the couple.
… it’s in Washington state…
Family members suspect jealousy may have led to the gruesome slayings of an Othello teen and her 3-year-old son found shot and severely burned in a remote part of Franklin County.
Maria G. Cruiz-Calvillo, 18, and Luis F. Lopez-Cruz were identified Monday as the bodies found last week inside a vehicle that was set on fire in a ravine near the intersection of Scootney and Ridge roads.
Luis likely was still alive when the car went up in flames, according to Dan Blasdel, Franklin County coroner.
Luis would have turned four years old on Thursday.
Prudencio Juan Fragos-Ramirez, 25, of Connell, reportedly had recently started dating Cruiz-Calvillo and is suspected of killing the pair.
Fragos-Ramirez was arrested hours into the investigation at his home less than a mile from where the bodies were found. He appeared Monday in Franklin County Superior Court, where Judge Carrie Runge set bail at $1 million.
Runge ordered Fragos-Ramirez, who has previous convictions for DUI and driving while suspended, held for up to 72 hours while prosecutors determine what charges to file. Prosecutors say Fragos-Ramirez was deported in 2014 and got back into the country illegally.
…Oklahoma…
The man accused of causing an accident that killed KFOR Sports Director Bob Barry, Jr. has a history with U.S. Immigrations and Customs, KOCO confirmed on Wednesday.
An ICE spokesman said Gustavo Castillo Gutierrez, 26, from Mexico, has been voluntarily returned to Mexico three times, twice in 2010 and once in 2013.
Police said Gutierrez made an illegal U-turn, which caused the accident that killed Bob Barry, Jr.
Gutierrez faces several charges, including causing an accident while driving a vehicle without a a valid driver’s license.
…it’s Mesa, Arizona…
29-year-old Apolinar Altamirano walked into a Mesa QuikTrip, dumped a jar of change on the counter and demanded a pack of cigarettes.
When [21-year-old] Grant [Ronnebeck] said he’d need to count the money first, police say Altamirano pulled a gun. When Grant handed him the cigarettes, police say Altamirano pulled the trigger anyway. Then the gunman stepped over Grant’s body to grab two packs of cigarettes and left.
Just another day, awaiting deportation in the USA.
Altamirano had been arrested in August 2012 after a home invasion in which a woman said she was kidnapped and sexually assaulted by Altamirano and two others – associates of her boyfriend, who was in jail on drug charges.
The Maricopa County Attorney’s Office allowed Altamirano to plead guilty to a low-level burglary charge. He was sentenced to two years’ probation and in January 2013 was turned over to Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Four days later, ICE released him on a $10,000 bond, to await his deportation hearing.
… and it’s happening repeatedly in Arizona:
A woman with two children was driving a 2002 Oldsmobile Bravado west on Papago near the intersection of Amarillo Valley Road around 2 p.m. Saturday when it collided with an eastbound 2003 Ford Explorer driven by Manuel Perez-Vasquez.
Perez-Vasquez reportedly fled the scene with at least one passenger from the Explorer but later returned.
Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu said Perez-Vasquez had been deported to Mexico six times since May 5, 2012.
A 5-year-old boy in the Oldsmobile received a significant laceration to the head, according to PCSO. He was transported to a hospital by air ambulance, and an injured 2-year-old girl was transported by ambulance.
Detectives from the PCSO Vehicular Crimes Unit determined Perez-Vasquez traveled left of center, causing the collision. Perez-Vasquez allegedly showed signs of drug impairment and was placed under arrest on suspicion of driving while impaired by drugs and leaving the scene of an injury collision, a felony. He allegedly confessed to smoking marijuana before the collision.
Besides the obvious political leanings, the national media likes personality stories and binary issues – i.e., “Edward Snowden, hero or traitor?” Thus, the immigration discussion in the 2016 race has been so far is “Is Donald Trump racist? Will his statements hurt the Republicans?” and so on. This helps them avoid an actual look at tougher questions, such as, “how many violent criminals come across our border?” ”Do federal and local authorities communicate effectively on life-and-death issues?” “What’s the point of a deportation policy if they keep coming back?” “Have sanctuary cities created a safe haven for violent criminals, and if so, doesn’t that mean those policies have to stop?”