drugs

Umatilla man sentenced to life for triple murder

The tension was thick inside a Benton County courtroom Monday as Francisco Resendez Miranda prepared to speak before being sentenced to life in prison for the execution-style killings of three Pasco people.

The Umatilla man, speaking through an interpreter, was critical of the evidence prosecutors presented at trial and the witnesses who testified against him.

During his brief statement, Resendez Miranda, 24, didn’t admit to the grisly slayings or apologize to the victims’ family members who were seated nearby.

Instead, he told the court the mandatory life sentence without parole for his November convictions on three counts of aggravated first-degree murder have ripped him from his children and family.

“I know that everybody thinks I am a monster,” he said. “But I would have liked for you to know me otherwise.”

Shortly after Resendez Miranda was done speaking, Judge Bruce Spanner imposed the life sentence for the 2014 shooting deaths of David Perez-Saucedo, 22, Victoria Torres, 19, and Abigail Torres-Renteria, 23, who was nearly nine months pregnant.

Resendez Miranda’s attorneys, Shane Silverthorn and John Chambers, plan to appeal.

Spanner had some harsh words for Resendez Miranda before he was led from the courtroom.

“The Legislature has decided that you should never walk freely in our community again. The Legislature has also decided that I should not have any discretion but to impose a sentence of life without the possibility of parole,” Spanner said. “And I have to tell you, I agree with the Legislature on both counts.”

Prosecutor Andy Miller told the Herald it didn’t come as a shock that Resendez Miranda decided not to apologize to the victims’ families because he has continually denied his role in the killings.

“I don’t think there’s anything great a defendant can say, but I was disappointed by what he said,” Miller said. “I think it made it harder on (the victims’ families) to listen to him.”

Representatives from all the families were at the hearing Monday. Miller told the court that it was too emotional for family members to speak, so an official read two letters on their behalf.

The stepmother of Torres-Renteria wrote about the victim’s 8-year-old son recently praying to God to bring his mother back.

“I didn’t have an answer for that. It broke my heart to hear him say that,” wrote Lupe Hernandez in the letter. “The only thing I have to say myself is may God forgive you because I will never forgive you.”

Resendez Miranda was arrested shortly after the victims’ bodies were found Aug. 9 in a rural Benton County cornfield off Nine Canyon Road.

Perez-Saucedo and Resendez Miranda knew each other through work at Wyckoff Farms. Resendez Miranda allegedly sold methamphetamine to Perez-Saucedo, according to testimony.

The victims had traveled to Umatilla, where Resendez Miranda lived, hours before they were killed. Testimony at trial and court documents revealed there was a break-in at Resendez Miranda’s apartment, which was a motive for the murders.

Perez-Saucedo’s sport utility vehicle was spotted leaving the scene of the break-in. Resendez Miranda and a crew of family and friends chased the SUV to a nearby gas station, where a confrontation took place.

The victims were then taken back to Resendez Miranda’s apartment, testimony and police reports confirmed, and they were found dead hours later.

Resendez Miranda reportedly admitted to more than one person that he was involved in the killings, according to testimony. His shoe print was found at the murder scene and blood from one of the victims was found on his clothes. Surveillance video also showed him with the victims at the gas station.

Police are still searching for Resendez Miranda’s father and two brothers in connection with the case. Authorities believe Fidel Miranda-Huitron, Eduardo Miranda-Resendez and Fernando De Jesus Miranda-Resendez fled to Mexico.

Esteban Torres, the grandfather of victim Victoria Torres, wrote in his letter that justice will be served when all the suspects are brought into custody.

“Today there is a heavy burden in my heart because she is gone and part of justice is being done,” the letter said. “I sincerely hope that it won’t be too long before the others will follow (Resendez Miranda).”
  Read more about Umatilla man sentenced to life for triple murder

Drug dealer sentenced to 13 years in prison

A man who was deported to Mexico last year after being convicted of multiple crimes is back in an Oregon prison.

Gustavo Isabel Vega, 23, was sentenced to 13 years in prison after being convicted of attempting to commit murder, delivering heroin and attempting to flee from a police officer.

Vega was admitted into Coffee Creek Correctional Facility on Tuesday. A representative from the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement was not able to answer questions Thursday about the possibility of Vega's being deported again.

Vega, whose last known address is in Boring, was arrested Jan. 31 following an Oregon State Police pursuit that ended near Turner.

At 12:15 a.m. Jan. 31, Oregon State Police Trooper Donald Rummer spotted a white Honda Civic going 85 mph on Interstate 5 near the Santiam Rest Stop on the border of Marion and Linn counties. Rummer pulled over the car, took Tracy Betancourt-Garcia's driver's license and noticed a man lying in the back of the car, according to a sentencing memorandum.

While running records checks in his patrol car, Rummer saw the car speed away. Rummer followed with his lights and siren on.

The Honda raced down I-5 at 120 mph and passed through light traffic. It swerved around a vehicle in the right-hand lane and then sharply cut in front of it to take an exit. Rummer chased the Honda onto country roads.

At one point the car quickly turned around and when his car's headlights illuminated the Honda's driver, Rummer noticed the man who was in the backseat was driving instead of Betancourt-Garcia, according to court records.

When Rummer tried to block the Honda's escape, the driver crashed into the patrol car and drove away. The chase continued back onto I-5 after the Honda drove the wrong way down the off ramp.

As the Honda slowed near the Turner exit, the driver leaned out of the car and fired two pistol shots at the trooper, according to court records.

The Honda took the Turner exit and the chase continued through the city. The Honda ran multiple stop signs without slowing down and reached speeds of 100 mph on rural roads.

Rummer rammed into the Honda to try to force it off the road. It spun into a ditch and stopped.

The driver, who was identified as Vega, got out of the car and reached down to his waistband. Trooper Nick Rhoades fired multiple shots at Vega until he turned away, raised his hands and ran away. None of the gunshots hit Vega, according to court records.

Rummer told Vega he would be shot if he didn't stop. He continued running so Rummer hit him with a stun gun. The second time he was hit with the stun gun, Vega fell in to a ditch...

Inside Vega's pants, law enforcement found more than 21 grams of heroin and a card with a hand-written statement that contained lyrics from a song glorifying drug trafficking, made derogatory comments about police and referenced a drug cartel and El Chapo Guzman, a powerful drug trafficker, according to court records.

Inside the car, detectives found more heroin, marijuana, drug paraphernalia, a cell phone, almost $3,000, three .22 caliber rounds and one .22 caliber shell casing.

Records from the cell phones found at the scene, which belonged to Vega and Betancourt-Garcia, led law enforcement officials to believe the couple had conducted numerous drug transactions...

Vega was charged with five felonies and two misdemeanors...

Betancourt-Garcia pleaded guilty to delivering heroin before Judge Dennis Graves Oct. 30. A possession of heroin charge was dismissed. She was sentenced to a year and four months in prison.

In a sentencing memorandum filed mid-November, prosecutors argued that Vega's multiple convictions over the past three years, his probation record, lack of remorse, willingness to commit crimes to avoid being arrested, disregard for the law and history of institutional problems meant he should receive a 15-year prison sentence.

Beginning in 2012 and before his arrest in 2015, Vega was convicted of first-degree burglary, third-degree theft, felon in possession of a firearm, two counts of possession of heroin (from different incidents) and attempt to elude police.

Court records show he was in a gang-related fight in Multnomah County jail in 2013. He was in a fight with an inmate at the Marion County jail in August 2015.

On May 15, 2014, he was deported to Mexico. He was back in the United States and arranging illegal drug deals by Jan. 23, 2015, according to court records.

He was on post-prison supervision when the police chase and shooting occurred. Read more about Drug dealer sentenced to 13 years in prison

Illegal immigrants sue Oregon over ballot measure denying licenses

A group of illegal immigrants is suing the state of Oregon to overturn a voter-approved initiative that denied them driver’s licenses.

The lawsuit, brought by five illegal immigrants, comes after Oregonians passed Measure 88 last year with a strong two-thirds majority. Thirty-five of Oregon’s 36 counties voted against licenses for undocumented residents, as did every congressional district in the state, most of which are represented by Democrats.

But the lawsuit alleges Measure 88 is unconstitutional because it "arbitrarily" denies driving privileges based on membership in a "disfavored minority group." It alleges Oregon voters were motivated by "animus toward persons from Mexico and Central America."

Gustavo Recarde, who has worked construction and odd jobs in Portland and several states since sneaking into the United States in 1988, said a driver's license would help him feel more comfortable here and open doors.

"If an illegal [can] get a driver's license, it would be better because there's more opportunities to find a job as a driver," said Recarde, who is not part of the lawsuit. He said he believes race played a role in the vote.

But Cynthia Kendoll, president of Oregonians for Immigration Reform, said it's not the responsibility of Oregonians to make illegal immigrants comfortable or able to drive to jobs they don't legally have.

"They came here by choice, they weren't brought here against their will, and with those choices come hardships," she said.

Measure 88 was a public vote and a reaction to a law passed by the Oregon Legislature in 2013 and signed by then-Gov. John Kitzhaber, a Democrat, that would have given "driver's cards" to those who cannot prove they are in the U.S. legally.

The campaign to deny licenses won big despite being outspent 10-to-one.

"People were not swayed by their arguments that they deserve to have a driver's card so they could more easily get to their jobs," Kendoll said. "They're not supposed to be working here."

Kendoll said Oregonians were motivated by national security and drug-smuggling by Mexican cartels, not race. Those without papers have not gone through immigration checks, she said, and licenses make it easier to transport narcotics up and down the West Coast.

Norman Williams, associate dean for academic affairs at the Willamette University College of Law in Salem, said the plaintiffs’ best argument is under the U.S. Constitution's Equal Protection Clause – and to claim Oregon has no rational basis for depriving undocumented Latin Americans of the ability to drive on Oregon's roads.

"The U.S. Supreme Court has been clear that neither legislators nor voters may target a minority group because of their race or ethnicity," he said.

The plaintiffs -- five illegal immigrants identified only by their initials -- don't have to prove every Oregon voter was racially motivated, he said.

"They do have to establish there were enough voters who voted 'no' who were prompted to do so because of racial concerns, that could have tipped the balance," he said.

Still, Williams said they face an uphill battle.

"Federal judges are very hesitant to strike down state statutes on constitutional grounds," he said.


  Read more about Illegal immigrants sue Oregon over ballot measure denying licenses

Convicted heroin dealer, deported once, busted again across the street from Milwaukie school

A convicted heroin dealer deported earlier is facing additional charges and deportation after he was arrested during a drug deal Monday across the street from a private school in Milwaukie.

The drug deal did not involve anyone from the school...

Rafael Rivera-Rodriguez, 35, of Portland was arrested by members of the Clackamas County Interagency Task Force after an investigation in cooperation with the Milwaukie Police Department. During the bust, police seized about three ounces of heroin, with a street value of $7,500.

Rivera-Rodriguez subsequently was arraigned in Clackamas County Circuit Court on charges of dealing heroin within 1,000 feet of a school, possessing heroin and violating probation from a previous conviction....

Sgt. Nathan Thompson, Clackamas County Sheriff's Office spokesman, said Rivera-Rodriguez initially gave investigators a phony name...

Thompson said Rivera-Rodriguez previously has been convicted in Multnomah County of possession and delivery of heroin. He also has been convicted on federal charges of illegally re-entering the country after he was deported. He recently was released from federal federal custody after serving a prison term for illegal re-entry.

Clackamas County authorities have contacted U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which may bring additional federal charges against Rivera-Rodriguez.
  Read more about Convicted heroin dealer, deported once, busted again across the street from Milwaukie school

Murdered by Illegal Aliens 2015: Families Gather in Remembrance

YORBA LINDA, CALIFORNIA — “I’ve been called a traitor” for speaking out against illegal immigration, grieved mother and latina woman Angie Morfin, as she enlightened those gathered at one of many events across the country for the National Remembrance Day for those killed by illegal aliens.

Sabine Durden can be seen in the photo above clutching a small jar containing the ashes of her son Dominic. A twice convicted drunk driver and foreign national illegally present in the United States struck and killed the young 9-1-1 operator on July 12, 2012.

Breitbart News was on scene at the Yorba Linda, California gathering commemorating the National Remembrance Day. Other events occurred in cities across the country including Phoenix, Arizona, Houston, Texas and in New York State.

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Morfin, mother of murdered 13-year-old Ruben Morfin told the crowd, “I’m serving a life sentence.” She shared how her son was shot in the back of the head by an illegal alien. Doctor’s at the hospital told her half of her little boy’s brain was missing. Young Ruben was in the hospital a short time before passing away. Morfin recalled how her son’s murderer fled the country, but after being featured on America’s Most Wanted, was caught in Jalisco, Mexico in 1994 and was finally sentenced.

“I’ve been called a traitor,” Morfin told the crowd gathered. She continued, “I think the best thing that’s happened to us was Donald Trump.”

Brenda Sparks shared the story of her son Eric Zepeda who was killed by an illegal alien. She explained that the individual who hit and killed Zepeda had previously pled guilty to drunk driving three times, but remained in the country and was driving to deliver papers when he hit her son. Zepeda was in a coma for four long weeks before he was taken off of life support. Sparks expressed the shock being told that the offender who was illegally in the country, illegally driving and illegally working delivering papers could only be charged with misdemeanor vehicular homicide without negligence.

Sabine Durden recalled her experience legally immigrating to the United States from Germany to those gathered Sunday. She gladly went through the process and was proud to become a citizen. Years later her only son Dominic, also a legal immigrant, was killed by an illegal alien at just 30 years old. She lovingly told the crowd Dominic’s nickname, “German chocolate.” As a half black young man there was no outcry from activists like those that now herald, “black lives matter.” No big headlines appeared for Durden’s son in the mainstream media.

A statement was read from Kathy Woods, mother of murdered teen Steven Woods. Young Steve was murdered at the beach after a high school football game in San Clemente, California. The statement recalled three cars of gang members, one of which shattered the passenger window of the car the young man was in and plunged a sharpened paint roller into his temple. The statement from Kathy Woods noted that for over three weeks her son lived in the hospital before he died. The media neglected to report that the gang members who attacked him were illegal aliens.

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Many of those families who have lost loved ones to illegal alien crime expressed great thanks for 2016 Presidential candidate Donald Trump for helping spark national conversation over their plight following the death of Kate Steinle in San Francisco last July.

Breitbart News reported from the 2014 National Day of Remembrance event in Temecula California where Moreno, Sparks and Durden spoke alongside the family of murdered young man Jamiel Shaw and Don Rosenberg, father of Drew Rosenberg, killed by an illegal alien.

Mary Ann Mendoza recounted the story of her murdered son Sgt. Brandon Mendoza on the Sunday evening edition of Breitbart News radio with guest host Dan Fluette on SiriusXM 125. Mendoza explained that she lost her son when a three times drunk driver illegal alien, who was on meth, slammed head on into Sgt. Mendoza. She told the listening audience that many elected officials are not listening to the families that have lost family members to illegal alien crime, but that

Rep. Steve King (R-IA) 79% and Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-TX) 96% are among the few who have listened and taken action.

Again and again families relayed — if the killer(s) of their loved ones had been deported, as many of them passed through the hands of the justice system, these Americans would be alive today. Read more about Murdered by Illegal Aliens 2015: Families Gather in Remembrance

34 Oregon drug offenders join early release exodus of 6,000 U.S. prisoners

The U.S. Bureau of Prisons began to free the first of about 6,000 drug offenders in its custody on Friday, including dozens convicted in Oregon. All were convicted of serious drug crimes...

Federal judges in Oregon have ordered 34 prisoners cut loose under an amendment to federal sentencing guidelines, although 21 of them are heading into custody of U.S. immigration officials because they are not American citizens, said Thomas H. Edmonds, Oregon's top federal drug prosecutor.

The foreigners are expected to be held in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention centers.

"In total, ICE anticipates taking into custody approximately 1,789 non-citizens on October 30 and November 2," ...  "Seven hundred sixty-three of these individuals have already been issued final orders of removal, while the others are in varying stages of processing and removal proceedings."

...eight of those prisoners are from Oregon and another five are Americans from outside the state. They will be supervised by U.S. Probation and Pretrial Services...

The sentence reductions were approved last year by the U.S. Sentencing Commission, which cut about two years off the sentences of many drug offenders.
  Read more about 34 Oregon drug offenders join early release exodus of 6,000 U.S. prisoners

Thousands of Alien Felons Are Being Released from Prison

WASHINGTON, DC - The Center for Immigration Studies examines sentencing reform legislation now before Congress and finds provisions of concern that could lead to the release of dangerous criminal alien offenders.
 
The Obama administration has announced the pending release of 6,000 felons from federal prisons, of whom an estimated 2,000 are non-citizens. This is the first wave of releases; the total number of serious alien drug offenders released could exceed 13,000.
 
A bill under consideration in the Senate Judiciary Committee, known as the "Sentencing Reform and Corrections Act of 2015," S.2123, proposes to go down the same path and shorten the sentences for repeat cross-border drug traffickers, manufacturers, and distributers caught in the future.
 
Dan Cadman, a Center fellow and author of the analysis, said, "It is beyond incomprehensible that Senate leaders would attempt to fast-track a sentencing reform bill painted with such a broad brush that tens of thousands of aliens will be released from federal penitentiaries with no assurance of prompt deportation putting public safety at great risk."
 
The present bill affects sentences going forward, and also is retroactive in effect, which could make it easier for some alien offenders to challenge their deportation.
 
Equally concerning, it does not ensure that released alien prisoners will be detained while in deportation proceedings following their release. Since 2013, the administration has freed more than 76,000 convicted criminal aliens while in deportation proceedings, resulting in an uncounted toll of new crimes.
 
Several specific provisions will shorten the sentences of aliens who are repeat offenders convicted for trafficking illegal drugs into the United States from abroad, and for those caught serving as drug mules. In addition:
 

  • Courts will be required to seal juvenile offenders' records, including those
  • The bill shortens the sentence for those also charged with illegally possessing or using a firearm to effect the crime (often drug trafficking), from 25 down to 15 years.

"The immigration and public safety priorities of the Republican-led Senate will be apparent if this bill is rushed through like the Trans-Pacific trade and Iran sanctions bills, while Sen Vitter's solid anti-sanctuary bill, S.2146, languishes," said Cadman. "The tragic death of Kate Steinle and so many others seems to have already been forgotten."

Contact: Marguerite Telford
202-466-8185, mrt@cis.org Read more about Thousands of Alien Felons Are Being Released from Prison

Senate Dems block anti-sanctuary city bill

Senate Democrats on Tuesday blocked a Republican-backed bill that would crack down on so-called sanctuary cities by threatening to withhold funds to local governments that don't cooperate with federal immigration officials. 

The bill failed on a 54-45 vote. It needed 60 to advance. 

The Stop Sanctuary Cities Act became a lightning rod issue ahead of the vote, as GOP sponsors tried to peel off just a few Democrats to support it while Democratic leaders blasted the legislation as counterproductive. The White House issued a formal veto threat Tuesday morning, while the chamber's top Democrat tried to discredit the measure by calling it "The Donald Trump Act." ...

"Sanctuary cities and the associated violent crimes by illegal immigrants are reaching a critical point, and we cannot wait any longer to take action to protect Americans here at home," sponsor Sen. David Vitter, R-La., said in a statement. 

The bill was considered months after a young woman's murder in San Francisco allegedly at the hands of an illegal immigrant touched off a national debate over immigration law. 

Vitter had urged colleagues to "remember Kate Steinle's vicious murder and the tens of thousands of crimes committed by illegal immigrants within our borders." 

...The suspect, Juan Francisco Lopez-Sanchez, had a felony record and had been deported five times --... the city sheriff released him once an old marijuana charge was dropped. San Francisco is among hundreds of so-called sanctuary cities that do not cooperate fully with federal immigration officials 

The White House, though, claimed in a written statement that the bill "fails to offer comprehensive reforms...

According to the White House, it would "essentially turn State and local law enforcement into Federal immigration law enforcement officials, in certain circumstances." 

Only two Democrats voted Tuesday to advance the bill, Sens. Joe Donnelly of Indiana and Joe Manchin of West Virginia. Illinois Sen. Mark Kirk was the only Republican to vote "no." 

The legislation would have made it illegal for local governments to ignore immigration-related detainers -- federal requests to notify them before releasing an illegal immigrant so they can take custody -- and to bar local officials from sharing immigration information with federal agents. 

The bill called for withholding certain federal funding to any local governments that flout the policy. 

The issue, though, became a political football not only on the presidential campaign trail but on Capitol Hill. 

In advance of the vote, Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid said on the floor: 

"This vile legislation might as well be called 'The Donald Trump Act.' Like the disgusting and outrageous language championed by Donald Trump, this legislation paints all immigrants as 'criminals and rapists.'" 

As Congress stalled on the sanctuary city matter, some state governments already are taking action. North Carolina lawmakers recently voted to make their state the first prohibiting such policies at the local government level.

  Read more about Senate Dems block anti-sanctuary city bill

Police chiefs, sheriffs blast ICE over policy they say frees violent illegal immigrants

A California toddler fighting for her life Thursday after a brutal beating at the hands of an illegal immigrant with a long criminal record is the latest case to rile California sheriffs and police against a U.S. immigration policy they say is forcing them to release dangerous criminals out on the street.

Francisco Javier Chavez, the live-in boyfriend of the unidentified two-year-old's mother, is out on bail after being charged in the late July attack, which left the San Luis Obispo County girl with two broken arms, a broken femur, a compressed spine, a urinary tract infection and a fever of 107 degrees. Chavez's criminal record includes assault and drug convictions and arrests for violent acts including kidnapping, car jacking and cruelty to a child.

A disgusted San Luis Obispo Sheriff Ian Parkinson told FoxNews.com Chavez should have been locked away or deported long before he had the chance to inflict "horrific injuries" on the little girl, but said conflicting federal policies leave his department handcuffed. Instead, Chavez is now free, awaiting a court date for which he may not even show up.

"The law actually does not give us the right to place an ICE hold, unless there is a warrant for them. That is why we are united in California and asking that this be fixed and changed, because at end of the day, we are the ones who have to let them out the door.”

- San Luis Obispo Sheriff Ian Parkinson

“The truth is, if we had any legal right to hold him, we would, because of the concern that, not being a U.S. citizen, he will bail out and flee the country and flee prosecution,” said Parkinson, who suspects Chavez may have already fled the county.

The issue, says Parkinson and dozens of other sheriffs and police chiefs across California and Arizona, is that, while Immigration and Customs Enforcement routinely asks departments to hold prisoners like Chavez until they can take custody of them for deportation, the local law enforcement officials believe doing so will expose them to lawsuits. They cite court cases including the March, 2014, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit ruling in Galrza v. Szalczyk that held states and localities are not required to imprison people based on ICE "detainer" requests, and that states and localities may be held liable if they participate in wrongful immigration detentions.

“I am not aware of any County in California that is honoring detainers, simply because we can’t,” Parkinson said. “We have to follow the law or the threat of violating the law ourselves,” Parkinson said, citing a Court decision issued approximately one year ago. “The law actually does not give us the right to place an ICE hold, unless there is a warrant for them. That is why we (local law enforcement) are united in California and asking that this be fixed and changed, because at end of the day, we are the ones who have to let them out the door.”

The Arizona Sheriffs’ Association agrees, noting every day ICE asks local sheriffs to ‘detain’ an inmate, yet don’t provide “rational, legal authority to do so,” putting sheriffs at enormous risk for legal liability. When the local authorities let an illegal immigrant criminal free on bail, they do so reluctantly - and they blame ICE.

ICE maintains there is no requirement that it obtain a judicial warrant to compel law enforcement agencies to hold suspects and that a detainer is sufficient. A spokesperson for ICE said the agency continues to work “cooperatively” with local law enforcement partners and is implementing a new plan, the Priority Enforcement Program – PEP, to place the focus on criminals and individuals who threaten the public safety and ensure they are not released from prisons or jails before they can be taken into ICE custody.

Martin Mayer, legal counsel to sheriffs and chiefs of police in 70 law enforcement agencies throughout California for the last 25 years, and general counsel to the California State Sheriffs’ Association, told FoxNews.com the U.S. Department of Justice, the California Office of the Attorney General, and ICE all take the position that the detainer is only a request and the law does not give sheriffs authorization to hold illegal immigrant suspects ordered released by a judge. 

If ICE agents are present when suspects are ordered released, and if they have the legal basis to take custody of them, they can, but local law enforcement does not have the authority to hold them in the absence of ICE, the California Sheriffs Association recently said in letter to Congress.

The American Civil Liberties Union's California chapter has been vocal in pressuring city police chiefs to honor the court rulings that said ICE detainers are mere requests, not mandates, and that honoring them would violate suspects' Constitutional rights.

“This (ACLU) letter to the cities states that ‘Your police department should immediately cease complying with immigration detainers, or else risk legal liability for detaining individuals in violation of the Fourth Amendment,’” Mayer said.

The ACLU did not respond to Fox News’ request for comment.

A string of murders across the country by criminal aliens has spotlighted the conflict between ICE and local law enforcement, and in recent days, caught the attention of lawmakers on Capitol Hill. After one of the cases, the July 24 murder of Marilyn Pharis, a 64-year-old Air Force veteran, Santa Maria Police Chief Ralph Martin blamed the state and federal governments for a convoluted policy that leaves local law enforcement holding the bag.

“I am not remiss to say that from Washington D.C. to Sacramento, there is a blood trail to Marilyn Pharis’ bedroom,” Martin said.
  Read more about Police chiefs, sheriffs blast ICE over policy they say frees violent illegal immigrants

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