Inquisition

If you watched the Albuquerque City Council for just about any amount of time during the trumped up "immigration debate," you were treated to an example of political grandstanding Albuquerque style. We're all used to this type of "debate" from Congress but the council's not usually quite as blatant in their pursuit of sound bites and political brownie points.

In Congress you can usually spot grandstanding when a senator or representative starts to question a witness, corporate executive, or bureaucrat with question like "don't you think that...?" Then follows those four words with a 10 minute speech about what the poor schelp testifying should be thinking.

Monday's little council melee' was an exercise in fear-mongering. Councilors Sanchez, Garduno, O'Malley and Benton were attempting to conjure up horrific images of citizens of Hispanic decent being dragged from their beds in the middle of the night to be handed over to ICE for interrogation and of victims of domestic violence who are here either legally or illegally being afraid to contact police because of a immigration status check.

The policy itself only applies to those who are arrested and taken into custody. Then it applies to everyone who is arrested regardless of race, creed, or color. Everyone is finger printed. Everyone is checked for immigration status. Just like everyone will be run through NCIC.

The fingerprinting policy alone could result in numerous arrests for outstanding warrants. The truth is most criminals tend to commit more than one crime. Those that have come here illegally have already committed a crime when they chose to ignore U.S. immigration law. How is checking immigration status any different than searching for wants and warrants?

Officers generally check to see if you're wanted for other crimes any time they make a stop. If you're speeding or your brake light is out, they're gonna check. The simple fact is - that information could save their life if they come into contact with someone suspected of a violent crime. Mayor Berry's new administrative policy won't go into effect unless and until a suspect is taken into custody.

[Sidebar]
Much of last night's debate involved whether or not the new "procedure" was a policy. Councilors Garduno and Sanchez were in a bit of a twist over the distinction. They claimed that if it was a "policy" then the city council should have been consulted.

The City of Albuquerque has a strong executive form of government. The mayor and his designees are charged with setting administrative policy. If the council wants to weigh-in they have the authority to do so through their charter granted legislative authority. Their efforts failed.
[End Sidebar]

As we've said before, Mayor Berry's new policy might have prevented the rape of a 6 year old girl. And oddly enough, Governor Bill Richardson agrees.

Gov. Bill Richardson on Monday told the New Mexico Children, Youth and Families Department to start reporting violent juvenile criminals who are foreign nationals to immigration authorities.

CYFD has not been reporting them to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement since 2006, when Mary-Dale Bolson, then secretary of CYFD, suspended a state regulation requiring CYFD to do so, CYFD spokeswoman Romaine Serna said Monday.

But that regulation, which required CYFD to report all foreign nationals entering its system, was in place when Juan Gonzalez, a Mexican national who's now 20 years old, was accused in 2005 of raping a 6-year-old boy and molesting a 3-year-old girl.

(ABQ Journal - Subscription)

 Look... The idea that immigration should only be enforced at the border is an abrogation of responsibility. In fact it encourages illegal immigration by removing the threat of deportation if an illegal can just make it far enough into the country.

Monday night's council meeting reminded us of the Spanish Inquisition with Councilors Sanchez, Garduno, Benton, and O'Malley acting as Grand Inquisitors. All that was lacking was an order to tie Mayor Berry's representatives to a rock and throw them in Tingley Beach to see if they float. If they float, the policy's evil and can be burned at the stake. If they drown, then... well... oops.

Political Theater

Councilors Ken Sanchez and Rey Garduno are looking for their time in the political spotlight. The two have alerted the media that they plan to try and add Mayor Berry's new APD illegal immigration policy to tonight's council agenda. Their objective is to prevent the mayor from checking whether or not a criminal has already committed a crime by entering the country illegally.

In addition, the two intrepid councilors are proposing that the city join the few states, schools, and cities that are "boycotting" Arizona. Siding with Sanchez and Garduno is none other than Isaac Benton.

This isn't Benton's first foray into international affairs. Back in January of 2009, Benton characterized the Israeli conflict with Palestine as "genocide" (ABQ Journal - Subscription).

Look... Mayor Berry's new SOP, is no different than checking those who are arrested for wants and warrants. We'd argue that the policy doesn't quite go far enough, but the truth is Berry's policy could have prevented the rape of a six year old girl earlier this month.

Juan Gonzalez told police he has "problems touching little children" after he was arrested earlier this week on suspicion of sexually assaulting a 6-year-old girl at an Albuquerque gym, officials said.

Gonzalez, a 20-year-old Mexican national, was being held at the Metropolitan Detention Center late Thursday on a $200,000 cash-only bond, jail records show. He is charged with criminal sexual penetration, kidnapping and evidence tampering. 

- (ABQ Journal - Subscription)

Not all immigrants are criminals - not even illegal immigrants (except for that whole illegally being in the country thing). But what Sanchez, Garduno, and Benton are proposing is that police officers intentionally ignore the crime of entering the country illegally when performing a legal investigation.

This looks to us like a case of political "me toos" designed to garner support from a far left constituency. It certainly makes for good political theater, but in reality a majority the public wants a secure border and Mayor Berry's new policy is a step toward that goal.

Immigration - Einwanderung - (名) 移住; 出入国管理; 移民 - Immigrazione - иммиграция - Inmigración

Believe it or not, it's possible to send the entire Industrial Media-Progressive Complex into apoplexy with one single word... "(名)  移住; 出入国管理; 移民" or more commonly known in the English speaking world as "immigration." There are two types - legal and illegal.

Until 1927, there really was only one form of immigration - legal. Those were the heady days of "Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free." The doors through which most immigrants passed were held wide open just like the American West where many risked life and limb in order to find a new life - a free life.

These immigrants may have passed through Ellis Island, crossed over an imaginary desert line in the sand, or fled the Great White North of Canada (eh), but they all came here understanding that nothing was guaranteed and that they would have to largely take care of themselves.

FDR's New Deal began an inevitable march toward government dependence that added a new and dangerous incentive to immigrate to the US - entitlement. Social programs designed as a safety net became a staple and the huddled masses yearning to breathe free became the masses looking for free things.

Don't misunderstand, there are those hardworking immigrants who only want an opportunity to better themselves and provide a better life for their family. The difference today is entitlement. Regardless of an immigrant's motives, their very presence here makes them eligible for all sorts of government goodies paid for by citizens and legal immigrants. Enter the new Arizona immigration law.

Arizona is broke. So broke in fact, that the state held an auction in January to sell off government buildings (read it here). It's estimated that Arizona is home to some 470,000 illegal immigrants - all of whom are eligible for some form of state funded assistance despite their less than legal status. Then there's the crime that is often associated with illegal immigrants. Phoenix has become the kidnap capital of the U.S. It's hard not to draw a correlation between the abductions in Arizona and the kidnappings in the Kidnap Capital of the World - Mexico City.

There's little doubt that crime and entitlement led to the new Arizona law - a law that is more rhetorically reprehensible than actually a threat to civil liberties. In fact, the law has at least one very positive effect - it makes Arizona immigration policy uniform.

Uniformity in law enforcement is imminently desirable. In Bernalillo County alone we have at least two different enforcement policies - one for the Sheriff's Department and one for the Albuquerque Police Department. And despite the mayoral campaign promises, our Eyes tell us that there has been no change to the APD SOP regarding illegal immigrants. Officers are prohibited from contacting federal authorities unless the suspected illegal is accused of a violent crime (read it here).

[Sidebar]
We understand that filling a $20 MILLION budget hole only to have to fill a $64 MILLION hole takes a large shovel and a lot of time. But, Mayor Berry needs to make good on his campaign promise and direct Uber-Chief White and Chief Schultz to make the promised adjustments to the APD SOP.
[End Sidebar]

Look... everyone in this country - including American Indians - came from somewhere else. Whether trekking across the Bering Strait, braving the Atlantic, or wading across the Rio Grande, all of us are or came from immigrant stock. Most of us came legally. But since 1927 the federal government has restricted immigration and if they won't enforce the laws they created, it's up to the states to do so. More importantly, in today's entitlement society it's economically unsustainable to continue to support those who have chosen to ignore our laws and enter this country illegally.

Illegals: A Source of Crime

A few weeks back we posted some statistics we found all over the web regarding the link between crime and illegal aliens. Last week 770 KKOB aired an hour long special on immigration hosted by Laura McCallum. The show started with a litany of statistics supplied by former INS Senior agent Mike Cutler, that should scare the bejeezus out of everyone.

- 86% of Warrants for Murder in Albuquerque are for Illegal Aliens
-75% of People on the FBI's Most Wanted List are Illegal Aliens
-48% of ALL Inmates in New Mexico Prisons are Mexican Nationals here Illegally
-66% of Drivers in New Mexico Do Not have a Drivers License, Insurance, or Registration - 98% of Those are Illegal Aliens

One thing is abundantly clear; people that come across our border illegally are responsible for an inordinate amount of crime and violent crime at that. If there was an apartment or home in your neighborhood that accounted for half of the crime in the area, you can bet Marty would be out there with his Safe City Strike Force seizing property. For some reason the mayor and his administration expect someone else to take responsibility for this obvious source of crime in our midst.

"APD secures Albuquerque, it does not secure the boarder," says Director Payne on Marty's radio show. (We'll let you guess what that sucking noise is.) If APD is not in the business of removing a known criminal element illegal alien or otherwise, then APD isn't securing anyone or anything.

We doubt that even in their heyday the organized crime families of New York and Chicago were responsible for 86% of all murder warrants. Illegal aliens are coming here, they are a major source of violent crime, and therefore they are our problem; which makes them APD's problem. The cavalier and dismissive attitude of the Almighty Mayor is at best a failure to fully grasp the problem, and at worst a willful dereliction of his duty as mayor.

APD's SOP has got to be crystal clear. Illegals must be reported to ICE if arrested, in custody, or charged with a crime. Further, officers should be encouraged to report those who give them probable cause to believe that they are here illegally unless they are victims of or witnesses to a crime that is serious enough to warrant some sort of leniency.

This isn't about some member of the huddled masses coming to America to find a better life for himself and his family. Illegal aliens are putting pressure on our health care and social services, in addition to our legal and penal systems. It's time for them to go home and stay there and it's time for APD and Mayor Chavez to take responsibility for fighting crime that illegal aliens represent.

The Meaning of Illegal

It's not about race, it's not about color, and it's not about point of origin, Eye readers decide that illegals means illegal. With 174 participants, this week's Eye Poll overwhelmingly determines one thing illegals need to be reported to federal officials. Readers disagree on exactly when they should be reported but 79% of readers believe that illegals should be reported to federal authorities in this unscientific poll.

We've said that this is an 80% issue and our readers proved us correct. 45% of readers believe that illegals should be reported to ICE whenever APD officers come into contact with them, 22% believe that illegals should be reported to ICE except when they are victims of crime, 17 % believe APD officers should follow the new SOP (whatever that truly is), 12% believe that APD should use department resources to actively pursue illegals, 2% believe they should never be reported, 1% don't know, and 1% don't care.

Whew! Remind us to make our Eye Poll answers shorter! This poll while unscientific illustrates just how much people generally believe that respect for our laws is a prerequisite for those who wish to come to our country. The United States is a place of liberty and prosperity that is guaranteed by our mutual respect for the law. Our Constitution guarantees us the ability to change those laws or at least the politicians who created them. (Look out scam-era supporters in the Chavez administration and on the council.)

This week the Eye Poll takes aim at the recent controversy surrounding APS Police and whether they should be given the tools necessary to protect the students and faculty in their care. Don't forget to vote!

Eye Poll: Council Panned

In a recent Eye Poll the Almighty Alcalde was panned by a margin of 10 points. This time Eye readers decided to voice their dissatisfaction with the city council. We've suspected that folks generally didn't have a positive opinion of the council for sometime. This Council Eye Poll confirmed our suspicions with 66% disapproving; only 31% approving, 2% didn't know, and 1% didn't care. Remember, this is an unscientific poll but a margin of 35 points is hard to ignore.

We generally view the council as being simultaneously inept and overbearing. They love to overlook the mundane but most important issues like funding APD, AFD, building and repairing infrastructure, in favor of sexier or more narrowly focused ones like trolleys, big box ordinances, affordable housing, etc. The biggest problem with the council is that they feel like they need to do something, which in this case means create laws.

When you spend your time pandering to very narrow interest groups everyone else feels neglected. It's no surprise that almost 2/3rds of us don't think much of them.

On to other things like this week's Eye Poll. You knew this was coming after last week's Mighty Marty Mayoral mistake. Yep... immigration is the topic. Let us know what you think APDs policy towards known illegals should be.

One more thing...

A while back we started a segment called letters to the Eye. If you'd like to be featured, send us your best post. If we like it... up it goes! You don't have to agree with us but you can be sure that if you don't we'll have a comment or two about it. We promise not to edit it unless it contains particularly vile language, but we're also not going to run spell check on it either. (We've got enough trouble trying to keep our grammar semi-correct.) Send your letters to editor@eyeonalbuquerque.com.

Bigger Problem

We've often looked at immigration as a problem faced primarily by cities like Las Cruces, El Paso, Tucson, or San Diego. This Week's APD SOP fiasco got us looking around at crime statistics and what we found was to say the least, eye opening.

INS/FBI Statistical Report on Undocumented Immigrants

2006 (First Quarter) INS/FBI Statistical Report on Undocumented Immigrants

CRIME STATISTICS 95% of warrants for murder in Los Angeles are for illegal aliens.

83% of warrants for murder in Phoenix are for illegal aliens.

86% of warrants for murder in Albuquerque are for illegal aliens.

75% of those on the most wanted list in Los Angeles, Phoenix and Albuquerque are illegal aliens.

24.9% of all inmates in California detention centers are Mexican nationals here illegally

40.1% of all inmates in Arizona detention centers are Mexican nationals here illegally

48.2% of all inmates in New Mexico detention centers are Mexican nationals here illegally

29% (630,000) convicted illegal alien felons fill our state and federal prisons at a cost of $1.6 billion annually

53% plus of all investigated burglaries reported in California, New Mexico, Nevada, Arizona and Texas are perpetrated by illegal aliens.

50% plus of all gang members in Los Angeles are illegal aliens from south of the border.

71% plus of all apprehended cars stolen in 2005 in Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada and California were stolen by Illegal aliens or “transport coyotes".

47% of cited/stopped drivers in California have no license, no insurance and no registration for the vehicle. Of that 47%, 92% are illegal aliens.

63% of cited/stopped drivers in Arizona have no license, no insurance and no registration for the vehicle. Of that 63%, 97% are illegal aliens

66% of cited/stopped drivers in New Mexico have no license, no insurance and no registration for the vehicle. Of that 66% 98% are illegal aliens.

BIRTH STATISTICS 380,000 plus “anchor babies” were born in the U.S. in 2005 to illegal alien parents, making 380,000 babies automatically U.S.citizens.

97.2% of all costs incurred from those births were paid by the American taxpayers.

66% plus of all births in California are to illegal alien Mexicans on Medi-Cal whose births were paid for by taxpayers

-Stephen Frank's California Political News and Views

Now before some of you become apoplectic we admit that we are unable to find the original report that these statistics are reputed to come from, but they're literally repeated all over the Internet; which doesn't make them true. Even sites like Snopes.com fail to refute them and other sites like the non-partisan Center for Immigration Studies seem to confirm at least some of the stats in a report entitled Crime and the Illegal Alien. What is undeniably true is that there is a link between illegal immigration (no matter where they're from) and crime.

What we do know is that Albuquerque has a serious property crime problem. Back in June, The Albuquerque Journal reported (Subscription) that 2006 was a "banner year" for property crime. Over 5,000 vehicles were stolen and more than 6,000 homes were broken into. That's almost 14 vehicles per day and almost 17 homes per day.

Our Eyes behind the badge (and sometimes on it) tell us that APD believes that an auto theft ring based out of Mexico is behind a large number of the thefts. We'd be willing to bet that a large number of those involved aren't exactly in this country legally. After all, you don't need to be a legal U.S. resident to get a driver's license in the state.

To make Albuquerque even more inviting, APD's SOP prohibits pursuit unless the suspect is exhibiting reckless behavior before their emergency equipment is engaged. What's worse is that officers believe that criminals know that APD will not pursue.

(Sidebar)
For some reason the most commonly stolen vehicle seems to be a Ford Truck. Good for your local Ford dealer - not so good for you or your insurance rates. If you own an F-150, F-250, or F-350, it'd be a good idea to hide it in your garage; except in the case of a F-350 which probably needs to be hidden in a barn.
(End Sidebar)

What that means to all of us is if APD officer spots a criminal stealing your brand new F-150 and engages his lights, when the suspect flees in your still being paid for pick-up they must let them go. Now that you've recovered from shock, let us say that again. They have to let them go!

Consequently, when a crook sees the red and blue lights of an APD cruiser, they simply keep going. Now if it's the solid reds of the State Police or BCSO, criminals know they've got a problem on their hands. One thing that's absolutely sure, if you create an environment where criminals know that they have a chance they're gonna' to take advantage of it.

It's no different in the immigration game. When illegal aliens enter this country from anywhere - Mexico, France, Central America, even Canada, where do you think they'll go? Where would you go? We'd head to the place with the most available jobs or the most number of potential victims if the crime connection holds, and the least likelihood that we'd get caught. That means sanctuary cities like Albuquerque has become thanks to the new APD SOP.

Winter Calls for APD to Report Illegals

This afternoon we received a press release from Councilor Brad Winter's office. He's calling for a re-write of Albuquerque's illegal immigrant friendly ordinance that stipulates that APD shouldn't go out of its way to determine the status of suspected illegals.

WINTER: APD SHOULD REPORT CRIMINAL ILLEGALS TO FEDS

Councilor to Address Mayor’s “Sanctuary City Policy” at APD

ALBUQUERQUE – City Councilor Brad Winter said today he will introduce a measure to allow the Albuquerque Police Department to determine the immigration status for individuals arrested for, or suspected of, committing a crime, and require that those suspected of being in the country illegally be immediately reported to federal immigration officials.

Winter said he intends to amend a 2001 resolution that sought to make Albuquerque an “immigrant friendly” city. Winter’s resolution will include the following language, “If a person is in police custody or is a suspect in a criminal investigation, law enforcement shall take reasonable steps to identify that person’s immigration status and shall immediately notify federal immigration officials if they suspect that person is not lawfully in the United States, where applicable.”

“The 2001 resolution was passed unanimously to protect the rights of immigrants and was never intended to make Albuquerque a sanctuary city for illegal immigrants who commit crimes,” said Winter.

Earlier this week, a copy of APD’s new change in “procedural orders” was obtained by a local news station. It stated clearly that “officers shall not inquire about… a person’s immigration status, even if an arrest is made for a non-immigration criminal violation.”

APD Police Chief Ray Schultz held a press conference to tout the new policy and said that local activist groups helped write it. After intense public outcry over the change, a new and altered copy of those “procedural orders” was released to the press. While Mayor Martin Chavez’s administration claims the second document was a “clarification,” it effectively did nothing to alter the original policy change.

“Our diversity is our strength and Albuquerque should always remain a welcoming and immigrant-friendly city. Anyone who is a victim or a witness to a crime should be able to call police for help without fear of having their immigration status investigated. But Mayor Chavez has gone too far. We can’t turn a blind eye to criminals who are in the country illegally,” said Winter.

Winter said he also wants to set up a task force to take a look at the larger issues raised in the 2001 resolution.

“We need to immediately clarify what city law requires of its local law enforcement, and then we need to take a look at the bigger picture,” said Winter. “We live in a border state in a post-9-11 world. The people of Albuquerque deserve input on how we deal with these issues.”

- Press Release

Look, immigration is about an 80% issue. Most people in this country are of the opinion that people from other countries should respect us enough to enter this country legally. It simply makes sense for law enforcement agencies to at least make a phone call when someone is suspected of being in our country illegally.

Sanctuary City Flip - Credibility Flop

The AM radio waves had barley stopped echoing off the Sandia Mountains before the 11th floor went into damage control mode over their defacto creation of a sanctuary city. Their original announcement that immigration authorities would not be contacted when a person was suspected of being an illegal immigrant suddenly became unless the person in question was accused of a violent crime.

770 KKOB's Jim Villanucci spent his first two hours hammering APD and by extension the Almighty Mayor for the change in SOP that in effect created a sanctuary city right here in Albuquerque. By roughly 6:00 PM the brain trust downtown was furiously sending out faxes to media outlets trying to "clarify" their position; which according to Villanucci created yet another SOP. To say that he wasn't happy would be an understatement. Take a listen below, he calls both APD Spokesman John Walsh and Chief Ray Schultz "liars" and recalls a similar occurence during the recent Red Light Scam-era eruption.

In our opinion, Mr. Villanucci points out the very real problem that our city government and Mayor Chavez in particular have developed a credibility problem. Whether it's red light scam-eras or immigration policy, it's hard to believe anything they tell you when it will literally change in a couple of hours. Villanucci wasn't the only one to notice problems with the new sanctuary city policy.

The Republican Party of New Mexico hit the phones with an autodialer that made the very relevant point that Marty's perfectly happy to hit you up with a scam-era fine but won't protect the rest of us by reporting illegals to ICE.

Is it political... you bet, that's what political party's do. However, it's interesting that the RPNM has decided to go after The Almighty even though his chances of becoming governor or even mayor (yet again) have diminished significantly of late.

We do wonder at the logical disconnect required to happily steal money from the taxpayers of Albuquerque through the red light scam-era system while turning a blind eye to illegal aliens. Is crossing a line at an intersection really more important or dangerous than crossing a line that violates our nation's sovereignty?

Sanctuary City

We've been getting some shut Eye for the last few weeks and had planned to continue our August respite for the rest of the week, but we just couldn't believe our Eye when we read that the Almighty Marty and Chief Ray Schultz have made Albuquerque a sanctuary city. According to The Journal (Subscription), KOB-TV, and KRQE-TV, APD officers "shall not inquire about or seek proof of a person's immigration status."

The change in SOP (Standard Operating Procedure) stems from an incident (ABQ Journal - Subscription) where three Del Norte High School students were detained for presenting identification that was suspected to be false - the act itself is a fourth degree felony. The three were turned over to immigration authorities and eventually deported. Not surprisingly the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund filed suit claiming that the students' constitutional rights had been violated (ABQ Journal - Subscription).

We don't understand exactly what kind of insanity makes a group like MALDEF believe that illegals of any ethnicity have a right to a free education provided by the taxpayers of Albuquerque and the State of New Mexico. We've got enough problems providing a quality education to students that are in this country legally without taking on the additional burden of providing it to those who have already shown their contempt for our laws and our sovereignty.

This idiotic move to settle a case that should have been fought to the bitter end by our illustrious city attorney puts an even greater burden on officers who already have to deal with the problem of illegal activity by illegal immigrants.

Another idiotic move - this time by the state - granted illegals driver's licenses. Since the bearers are ILLEGAL they don't have social security numbers. All of the driving records are tied directly to a person's social security number so when running an illegal's state issued drivers license the information that comes up is... well, nothing. That means the driver in question could be speeding for the first time or the fiftieth, they could be driving under the influence for the first time or the fourteenth, the officer will never know until the offender kills someone.

Look, we're not advocating that APD enforce immigration law. However, it makes little sense to actively prohibit officers from contacting ICE when they suspect someone of being in the country illegally.

The tired argument that somehow turning suspected illegals over to immigration officials is some form of racial profiling is simply ridiculous, as three unfortunate Newark college students found out last week. Jose Carranza, aka Jose La Chira had previously been charged with raping a 5-year-old. Mr. Carranza should never have been allowed to have the opportunity to commit another crime, but Newark is a "sanctuary city" and so he remained giving him the opportunity to allegedly kill three innocent people.

How long is it before this reckless policy leads to the death of someone here in Albuquerque? It's not racist for us to expect that anyone coming to this country do so legally and it's common sense to give our police officers every weapon in their struggle to keep our streets safe. When someone dies because APD is prohibited from contacting immigration to deport an illegal, there will be only one person to blame... Martin Chavez.