SF Reservist arrested in AZ

[magician]

Fascinating.

Anyone see our rabid vigilante on Fox news? Just curious how he came across.

I find it....oddly typical that this case has dropped off the national media radar. For a moment there, it appeared that the sergeant would end up the sacrificial test case. So much the better, for the liberals, that he was "on medications" and could be catagorized as a damaged "war vet."

Now....the whole thing seems to be forgotten. I have not seen any follow up on this case on any websites, no articles in the vaunted "newspaper of record," nothing even in the Washington Times, which can usually be relied upon to cover issues with appeal to conservatives. Keep in mind that I have not searched....I gauge a story's profile by the frequency with which I encounter it in my daily surfing.

On a personal level, I am glad that the sergeant has apparently dodged a legal bullet. Had I been in his shoes, I cannot say that I would have acted differently. No one fucks with my dog out in the bush, especially a bunch of rough-looking characters who materialize out of nowhere with unknowable intentions. It is situations like this....that lead me to conclude that guys like me belong bunkered down in isolated areas, away from the madness, lest we end up surrounded, misunderstood and embattled like Randy Weaver. I bear no man ill will, but I am neither a victim nor the second coming of Jesus Christ. I will not turn the proverbial other cheek. I will bust a cap on your ass.

I think that the powers-that-be would vastly prefer that the issues of illegal immigration and security fade from the collective consciousness. Too much scrutiny will simply highlight the profits and exploitation which are the root of the problem. I myself am no fan of big government....but I see no solution to this dilemma but proactive, responsible regulation and enforcement. This will not be popular...as it raises costs for those who create the market for migrant labor in the first place. It is idealistic to redirect the focus on poverty in Mexico....it will take generations for that country to develop to a point where migrants can simply stay home and work in their own economy, in factories that we export from the American mainland.

No, we need to get serious about matters of border security, immigration reform, guest worker programs, and the entire corpus of regulations and law need to be overhauled and made sensible. It is ridiculous that a van full of illegals can be stopped for a routine traffic violation in Virginia, and then released on the condition that they report to immigration on Monday. Of course they are not going to report.

It will take nothing more than five "Beltway snipers" in various cities, all randomly killing miscellaneous victims on a loosely coordinated schedule, who are ultimately demonstrated to have infiltrated the country through our porous borders......for this matter to come into harsh relief.

The outcry will be great.

You will find me behind multiple layers of security, a gun within arm's reach, watching the whole thing on satelilte tv.

[magician]

Commentary > The Monitor's View
from the April 26, 2005 edition

Police Who Nab Illegal Aliens
The Monitor's View
Tracking down criminals often requires teamwork at many levels of law enforcement. This month, for instance, a joint federal, state, and local task force caught 10,000 fugitives in a coordinated nationwide effort.
Impressive as it was, the question must be asked: Why not use the same scale of teamwork against the largest group of outlaws in the United States - the 10.3 million illegal aliens estimated to be in the country?


As it is, the federal government deploys only some 2,000 immigration agents to nab that tide of humanity - after they've managed to slip past the Border Patrol.

Yet ask any of the 650,000 state and local police in the US if they could easily find illegal immigrants in their jurisdiction, and the answer would probably be "no problem."

Finding illegal immigrants is primarily a federal role. But since Congress isn't adding a whole lot more immigration agents, the jurisdictional divide shouldn't stop police from being far better utilized in this security task.

And police who engage in immigration enforcement shouldn't have to run into division-of-labor walls.

No such wall existed in one of the highest profile immigration cases yet, that of Wal-Mart being fined $11 million this year after its cleaning contractors were caught employing hundreds of illegal immigrants. The tip-off for this crime came from the Pennsylvania police.

States and localities have a strong incentive to worry about illegal immigrants - nearly 5 percent of them have criminal records. The burden of providing education, healthcare, and prison cells for illegal immigrants falls heavily on state and local governments. And these aliens push down wages for legal migrants and Americans, and often don't pay income taxes.

Virginia allows limited police role

Virginia passed a law last year that allows police (after they're trained in immigration law) to ask for proof of an individual's legal presence in the US - but only if they suspect the person has committed a crime other than illegal entry into the US. They still cannot detain someone just for that, at least not for more than 72 hours. Police encounter further frustrations working on immigration cases: Federal authorities don't always return their phone calls and a shortage of federal detention cells means many illegal immigrants often wind up back on the streets.

Other reasons police don't act

State and local governments also have their own roadblocks to cooperation. Officers are often stretched thin, and not adequately trained to deal with the nuances of federal immigration law. And they worry they may be charged with racial profiling if they detain suspected illegal aliens.

Some cities, notably Los Angeles, constrain police with "sanctuary" provisions that inhibit officers from even asking about a person's immigration status. And police often say they'd rather befriend illegal migrants in order to glean tips on criminals.

Those concerns are legitimate, but not insurmountable. What's needed are adjustments by federal officers and state and local forces, and probably, more dollars.

The House of Representatives passed a bill this year, called the Real ID Act of 2005, that among other things, would enhance federal cooperation with state and local police to enforce immigration laws. And a bill expected to be reintroduced in Congress soon would establish a standardized way for officers to communicate with immigration authorities.

Learning about visa law

Police need training in complicated immigration issues - awareness, for instance, that overstaying a visa is a civil, not a criminal, violation. And cities and states can eliminate their sanctuary policies, as Arizona looks set to do. On the federal side, agents must be properly set up to handle state and local immigration calls.

Public frustration at government's difficulty in enforcing existing immigration law was expressed recently in the highly questionable action of the Arizona Minutemen - a group of citizens who recently took it upon themselves to help nab illegal migrants along the Arizona-Mexico border.

Adding police officers to immigration enforcement would enhance public safety. There may be a line in the sand over who does what, but a lot more reaching can be done across that line to better ensure the rule of law.

[sf11b_p]

I wonder how "sanctuary cities" feel they aren't aiding and abetting as well as harboring. Makes me wonder too how they avoid civil lawsuits in cases that involve illegal immigrants commiting robbery, rape, murder, trafficking or gang activities. They could claim they didn't know the individual involved was liable to commit a crime but one, the individual was already commiting a crime by being in the country illegally and two, the cities are making it known to all they are "sanctuaries" and will harbor illegals/criminals.

They should lose Federal funds just as was threatened against states that didn't comply with speed limits.

No pork for you, four years!

[magician]

hmmm....sounds like a precedent waiting to happen.

[12B4S]

Originally Posted by magician

hmmm....sounds like a precedent waiting to happen.

All Above well said. By the way, a couple days ago seven libs here in AZ were spewing thier wah wah poor migrant (ILLEGAL alien) crap. Well 6 libs and one republican, who may just as well change his party affiliation. Anyway, they are now trying to take Haab's case federal. They are soooooooooooo frickin pissed, better than that they are FRUSTRATED. The libs wanted to get the Minutemen sooooooooooo bad and didn't. Haab's case is thier next target. They lost what they believe to be Round 1. So now, they will waste everybody's time and money, trying to hang the guy. Hell, it's thier nature. They, having nothing constructive to offer. The deal with these pukes is this, they figure after the dropped charges on Haab, that all of us down here are going to run around pulling guns on Mexicans. These guys are lead by some sort of State representative named ben miranda (guess where he is from). If he had his way, the entire country of Mexico could empty into the U.S. and we'd pay for whatever they wanted/needed. #@!$#@ I'll stop now.

[Detonics]

Originally Posted by The Reaper

"I was afraid that the immigrants were armed, had heard about terrorists illegally entering the US in the same manner, was in fear for my life, and felt that I had to put them on the ground until competent authorities arrived for both their and my safety."

I think that it is a good thing. It is slowing the flow, causing the US government to perform one of their few Constitutionally mandated responsibilities, is causing people to think about what is happening, and what might happen, and is forcing politicians to show their true colors.

TR

Well said, Reaper!
An interesting website for those of you that follow this topic: EscapingJustice.Com