crime

Albany Police Department made its largest methamphetamine bust of the year so far on Wednesday, arresting three suspects and seizing three-fourths of a pound of the drug, falsified identification cards and a few thousand dollars in cash, said Sgt. Jerry Drum.

“From all appearances, they are experienced drug dealers,” Drum said.

Five children also were taken into custody by the state.

The police department’s newly formed Street Crimes Unit received information of possible drug dealing happening at the Sheffield Apartments, 725 Davidson St. S.E. The arrests came there at about 2:30 p.m. on Wednesday.

Florencia Isabel Mendoza-Jimenez, 37, her husband Aurelio Ramirez-Quiroz, 26, and her brother Isidro Silva-Ferreti, 30, were each charged in Linn County Circuit Court on Thursday afternoon with delivery and possession of methamphetamine and delivery of methamphetamine within 1,000 feet of a school.

Mendoza-Jimenez and Ramirez-Quiroz also were charged with five counts each of first-degree child neglect. Ramirez-Quiroz and Silva-Ferreti were each charged with first-degree possession of a forged document, as each had a falsified Social Security card, according to court documents.

Judge Carol Bispham set security in all three cases at $500,000, noting that the charged offenses posed a risk to the public, that the defendants did not have strong ties to the area, and that they faced prison time if convicted, thereby creating a flight risk.

She added that there were federal immigration holds on all three suspects. Even if they posted bail, they could be removed from the United States and thereby fail to appear for court.

Drum said that the suspects are Mexican.

He added that a typical user amount of methamphetamine is about a half-gram, which typically sells for about $50. There are roughly 340 grams in three-quarters of a pound, so the street value of the methamphetamine seized Wednesday, if broken down, would be well more than $30,000. Read more about APD arrests three in meth bust

WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal agents in a sweep targeting the most dangerous criminal immigrants arrested 15 people who have been allowed to remain in the U.S. under President Barack Obama's executive action intended to protect children who came to the U.S. years ago with their parents, The Associated Press has learned.

Fourteen of the 15 had been convicted of a crime...

One of the eligibility requirements for the program is that immigrants not have a criminal history...

...eligibility is reserved for ambitious, young immigrants enrolled in school or who graduated and who would benefit American society...

Under the program, known as Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, more than 675,000 young immigrants since August 2012 have been granted a work permit and reprieve from deportation.

"With few fraud detection measures and effective background checks in place, it's no surprise that ICE arrested over a dozen DACA recipients last week, most of whom had already been convicted of a crime," said House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte. "I and other members of the House Judiciary Committee have expressed concern about this for years."...

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, said the case "sheds light on what appears to be a haphazard and risky vetting process by an administration that is very interested in finding creative and possibly unconstitutional ways for people to stay in the country."...

"This was a targeted enforcement operation, aimed specifically at enhancing public safety," Saldana said. "It exemplifies our core mission, by taking dangerous criminals off the streets and removing them from the country we are addressing a very significant security and public safety vulnerability."

ICE agents arrested 2,059 convicted immigrants, including more than 1,000 people who had multiple convictions. More than 98 percent of those arrested in the week long operation were a top priority, Saldana said.

In November, Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson announced new deportation priorities as part of Obama's planned expansion of programs to shield millions of immigrants from deportation.

The top priority includes immigrants suspected of being terrorists, gang members, convicted felons and those caught crossing the border illegally. The second priority includes immigrants convicted of three or more misdemeanors or a single serious misdemeanor, such as drunken driving or domestic violence.

Homeland Security Department documents say participation in the program can be revoked at any time. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, which approves applications, reported to the House Judiciary Committee last year the government stripped that protection from 113 people as of August. The revocations included one case of gang membership, one aggravated assault, 11 driving-under-the-influence cases and 11 errors by USCIS, according to the committee.

Obama's planned expansion of the protection programs has been put on hold by a federal judge in Texas presiding over a lawsuit filed by 26 states to stop the effort. In February Judge Andrew Hanen temporarily blocked the expansion plans, which included granting protections and work permits to parents of U.S. citizens and legal permanent residents. On Thursday the U.S. government asked an appeals court to lift the temporary hold on the expansion Read more about 15 immigrants protected from deportation arrested in sweep

RIO GRANDE VALLEY - The Border Patrol is reporting a severe spike in sex offenders sneaking into the U.S.

According to the feds, illegal immigrant sex offenders have been caught in every corner of the Rio Grande Valley.

Border Patrol agents are running into more sex offenders this year than last year.

Within the last five months, 144 apprehended.

During the same time last year, 93 sex offenders were caught trying to fly under the radar.

In December, a woman from El Salvador was picked up, who was convicted of child sex assault back in 2009. It reportedly happened in Dallas County.

Later that month, three Mexican nationals were caught near Harlingen.

In February, seven sex offenders were rounded up near McAllen, Harlingen, Falfurrias and Kingsville.

Less than a week later, another two Mexican nationals were caught. Two days ago, two Guatemalan men were arrested.

The sex offenders go to great lengths to avoid capture. Agents said they often travel through South Texas brush and try to blend in with large groups of illegal immigrants.

Border Patrol agents are using sophisticated software that search criminal databases worldwide. They have strengthened their biometric technology, which scans fingerprints, scans retinas, and has facial recognition.

Agents cannot say why more sex offenders are attempting to cross. They often try to travel to the U.S. to avoid legal repercussions for the crimes they committed in their home countries.

The Border Patrol is also tracking an uptick in rescues. They are seeing a spike in both search and rescues on the Rio Grande and deaths. Read more about Border Patrol: Increase in Sex Offenders Crossing the Border

Mexico’s warring drug cartels helped orchestrate the massive influx of unaccompanied alien children that streamed through the Rio Grande Valley last summer, according to a leaked report from the Texas Department of Public Safety.

...the children did not enter the country entirely “unaccompanied.” How, when, and where the alien children crossed into the United States appears to have been determined by transnational criminal organizations who exercise control over much of the southern border, according to the leaked report first obtained by the Houston Chronicle.

... the cartels were making strategic decisions at the border in response to the actions of former Governor Rick Perry. When Perry deployed the National Guard to the border in the middle of the crisis in late-July of 2014, the cartels immediately responded....

The Obama administration immediately began taking credit for this development the very next month. U.S. Customs and Border Protection commissioner Gil Kerlikowske celebrated the news of fewer unaccompanied alien children crossing the southern border as directly attributable to President Obama...

But the leaked report demonstrates that it was Perry who played the biggest role in stemming the tide of illegal immigrant children flowing into the U.S., not the Obama administration. In response to Perry’s efforts to secure the border, the cartels stepped up their surveillance and scouting activities to uncover vulnerabilities in the system....

Despite the elaborate gang activities detailed in the report, the Obama administration continues to describe the southern border as becoming more secure each and every day. Soon after the massive influx tapered off last year, Kerlikowske said, “Our border has been and remains more secure than it has been in decades.” But the leaked report shows the spurious nature of the Obama administration’s claim.

The increasing number of “special interest aliens,” those from countries that are known terrorist hotbeds, poses a “significant threat to homeland security,” according to the report. “The number of CBP encounters with SIAs in Texas sectors increased 15 percent during the first nine months of 2014 compared to the same time period in 2013,” the report finds. “Over the past few years, these have included SIAs from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Pakistan, Somalia, and Turkey.”

Between November 2013 and July 2014, approximately 143 individuals on terrorist watch-lists successfully crossed the southern border into the U.S. before encountering law enforcement or immigration-enforcement officers.

One of these special interest aliens was a member of al-Shabaab, the Islamic terrorist group. The Somali man was encountered at the southern border in Hidalgo, Texas in June 2014....

The full extent to which the drug cartels and special interest aliens have overrun Texas’ border remains unclear....

“Two months from now, if [another surge of immigrants] occurs, well then we’ve lost that edge, but right now I think we have it,” Martinez says. “We need to learn their pattern so you can get the right staff in there to intercept that. … Either we’re looking at theirs or they’re looking at ours.” The edge the U.S. maintains comes at a steep cost. The report says the state of Texas spent more than $100 million to regain control of the border, but that “ample and compelling evidence” suggests the Texas-Mexico border is still not secure. It is unclear if Texas has the wherewithal to keep the border in check this summer, when more illegal immigrants are expected to arrive. Read more about Mexican Drug Cartels Caused the Border Crisis

Federal immigration authorities say they have arrested more than 100 undocumented immigrants with prior criminal convictions living illegally in North Texas and Oklahoma.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement announced the arrests Monday as part of a five-day operation carried out last week.

Operation “Cross Check,” began Sunday, March 1, and ended Thursday, March 5.More than 2,000 people were arrested nationwide in the operation.

The 2,059 individuals with prior criminal convictions who were arrested include more than 1,000 individuals who have multiple criminal convictions. More than 1,000 of those arrested have felony convictions, including voluntary manslaughter, child pornography, robbery, kidnapping and rape.58 are known gang members or affiliates, and 89 are convicted sex offenders.

“This nationwide operation led to the apprehension of more than 2,000 convicted criminal aliens who pose the greatest risk to our public safety,” said Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas. “Today, communities around the country are safer because of the great work of the men and women of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.”

ICE regional spokesman Carl Rusnok says 47 of the 109 people arrested regionally (Texas, Oklahoma) were convicted of felonies.

They include a Balch Springs man who was convicted this year of indecency with a child involving sexual contact.

In the nationwide sweep, 476 were illegal re-entrants who had been previously removed from the country.
  Read more about Nationwide Sting Nets Immigrant Felons In Texas, Oklahoma

KANSAS CITY, Kan. — A suburban Kansas City hotel owner was sentenced Monday to 27 months in prison in a case that highlights the U.S. Justice Department’s shift to targeting employers who knowingly hire immigrants not authorized to work in the United States.

Munir Ahmad Chaudary, 53, and his wife pleaded guilty in July to conspiracy to encourage immigrants to reside unlawfully in the United States. His 42-year-old wife, Rhonda R. Bridge, was sentenced last month to 21 months imprisonment....

... U.S. Attorney Barry Grissom said in a news release. “You can go to prison for knowingly employing undocumented workers. Violating federal law is not a good business strategy.”

Prosecutors say that the couple replaced lawfully employed workers with immigrants not authorized to work in the United States ...

“The Chaudarys sought to game the system and gain an unfair business advantage over their legitimate competitors...

The U.S. attorney’s office said their investigation began in 2011 when the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the Kansas Department of Revenue received information the hotels were unlawfully employing foreign workers. An undercover agent was hired in June 2012 even though he told his employers he was not authorized to work in the United States.
  Read more about Kansas City-area hotel owner gets 27 months in prison for hiring workers illegally in U.S.

On Friday, the New Mexico House of Representatives passed House Bill ("H.B.") 32, which repeals New Mexico's 2003 law that grants driver's licenses to illegal aliens. Currently, ten states grant driving privileges to illegal aliens. (CBS, Feb. 13, 2015) However, New Mexico is one of only two states that grant regular driver's licenses, as opposed to "driving privilege cards," to illegal aliens, in violation of the federal REAL ID Act. Washington is the second.

Originally, H.B. 32 was drafted to allow illegal aliens in the state to receive "driving privilege cards" in lieu of driver's licenses, in order to come into compliance with the federal law. (H.B. 32 Introduced Version) Last Wednesday, however, the House Judiciary Committee voted to amend H.B. 32 to create just one driver's license for both citizens and legal aliens, and to rescind driving privileges for illegal aliens all together. (H.B. 32 Amendment) Under the revision, illegal aliens with New Mexico driver's licenses will simply see them expire. (Id.)

The movement to repeal illegal alien driver's licenses in New Mexico has seen wide support amongst state officials and constituents. A 2014 Albuquerque Journal poll revealed that 75 percent of New Mexicans support repealing the state's current driver's license law. (Albuquerque Journal, Feb. 11, 2015) Greg Fouratt, the Secretary of the Department of Public Safety, explained his support for repealing the current law, stating "New Mexico driver's licenses have become a commodity for criminal rings across the country." (Id.) Rep. Paul Pacheco, the sponsor of H.B. 32, stated, "This bill is attempting to secure New Mexico's driver's licenses and bring us into compliance with the (federal) Real ID Act." (CBS, Feb. 13, 2015)

Proponents of the bill argue that granting driver's licenses to illegal aliens resulted in an increase in fraud and human trafficking to the state. (Albuquerque Journal, Feb. 11, 2015) Indeed, New Mexico has experienced high instances of fraud as a result of granting driver's licenses to illegal aliens. During an audit between August 2010 and April 2011, investigators found that as much as 75 percent of foreign national license applications were phonies. (KRQE) Between that same period, investigators also uncovered 37 percent of foreign national requests for appointments came from out-of-state, most from Arizona, Georgia, and Texas. (Fox News, Jan. 25, 2012)

H.B. 32 will next be sent to the Senate for consideration. The full Senate must vote on the bill before it can be sent to the governor for signature. Governor Susana Martinez has been pushing for repeal of the current driver's license law since she took office in 2010, and is likely to sign the bill if it makes it to her desk. (Albuquerque Journal, Feb. 11, 2015) Read more about New Mexico House Votes to Repeal Illegal Alien Driver's License Law

WASHINGTON — An estimated 5,000 aliens were either arrested for committing crimes or absconded over a three year period while they were participating in a supervision program that allowed them to be released from detention and into U.S. communities, the latest publicly available data shows.

In an audit released earlier this month, John Roth, the inspector general (IG) for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), revealed that a total of 2,010 aliens were arrested for committing crimes while they were participating in a supervised release program in 2010 (576), 2011 (729), and 2012 (705).

Furthermore, the DHS watchdog found that a total of 2,760 aliens absconded while they were enrolled in the same scheme over the same period — 2010 (927),  2011 (982), and 2012 (851)...

“Under the program, ICE supervises aliens it has released from detention, and monitors them electronically,” explained the DHS auditor in a report on ICE’s alternatives to detention. “As a condition of release, ICE requires aliens to appear in immigration court for removal proceedings and comply with removal orders from the United States.”...

Roth concluded that it is uncertain whether the program has reduced the rate at which released aliens have absconded or committed criminal acts.

ICE releases aliens “by means of bond; order of recognizance (unsupervised); order of supervision (which can consist of nothing more than a periodic telephone call to a designated ICE telephone number); an alternative to detention (such as an electronic ankle bracelet, or other form of tracking device); or parole (a form of legal status),” explained the Center for Immigration Studies (CIS).

The inspector general revealed that 1,341 ISAP program participants violated the conditions of their supervised release, but added that ICE “does not have sufficient resources to re-detain participants who willfully violate [the program’s] terms of supervision, such as those who tamper with GPS monitors or miss appointments.”

ICE enrolls aliens in the program who are “at high risk of committing criminal acts, absconding, or violating the terms of their release” by committing crimes or failing to report, reported the IG....

Mr. Roth revealed that ICE lacks funding “for the number of beds needed to accommodate program violators.”

However, in responding to the report, ICE said it has sufficient detention capacity to accommodate non-compliant participants.

As of February 2014, there were 22,201 program participants.

Congress appropriated approximately $90 million for the program for fiscal year 2014.

According to the audit, ICE does not evaluate the rate at which aliens abscond after they are recommended for release.

In 2013, the CIS found, “ICE freed 36,007 convicted criminal aliens from detention who were awaiting the outcome of deportation proceedings.”

Among those aliens were criminals convicted of serious crimes, including homicide, sexual assault, kidnapping, and aggravated assault.

Also included were 16,000 aliens convicted of drunk and drugged driving.

Citing a DHS document, Chuck Grassley (R-IA), the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, revealed that 1,000 of the 36,000-plus criminal aliens released in 2013 went on to commit new crimes, including drunk-driving, rape, robbery, and aggravated assault.
  Read more about DHS IG: Nearly 5,000 Aliens in Supervised Release Program Committed Crimes, Absconded

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A man charged with killing two Northern California sheriff's deputies stunned a courtroom Wednesday by blurting out that he committed the crimes and is ready to be executed.

"I did kill those cops. You can execute me whenever you're ready," an agitated Luis Enrique Monroy Bracamontes said at the end of a hearing as he was led from the Sacramento County courtroom in chains...

Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty for the Utah man, who is charged with killing two deputies during an hourslong rampage in October that also left a motorist and another deputy wounded.

His wife, Janelle Marquez Monroy, also is charged but does not face the death penalty...

But Bracamontes was adamant, turning his head to address spectators as he was being handcuffed to leave the courtroom.

"I killed, I did, I did. I just want to plead guilty and get the execution," he said as his attorneys stood nearby amid heavy security. "I did it, everything."...

Bracamontes is a Mexican national with a long criminal history who had been deported several times and was in the country illegally at the time of the slayings.

Most of the court proceeding itself revolved around a request by attorneys for both suspects to exclude reporters from the courtroom to prevent news media accounts from influencing prospective jurors.

White denied the request....
  Read more about 'I did kill those cops,' suspect says of California slayings