Illegal Aliens: Why “Deported” Should Mean “Deported”

From Front Page Milwaukee, student paper at UWM, a dandy piece of investigative reporting.

One hundred eighty eight previously deported felons identified as illegal immigrants by federal and local officials were booked into the Milwaukee County Jail on new criminal charges, municipal violations, and other violations in the past four years, a three-month Frontpage Milwaukee investigation found.

Many of the previously deported felons have a long history of police contact. For instance, Osvaldo “Shootout” Lares had at least 19 interactions with law enforcement officials for crimes involving drug possession, weapon charges, murder, and traffic violations. Some on the list are gang members.

On Nov. 11, 2004, when the Milwaukee police came to arrest Lares on the charge of Attempted Homicide, they found $1,465 and marijuana in a shoebox. The criminal complaint also reports that marijuana was found in a plastic baggie hidden within a white sneaker. Lares was subsequently found guilty and sentenced to the House of Correction for 9 months. In a criminal complaint filed Nov. 5, 2004, Lares told police that he was a former member of the Mexican Posse gang, which represents Southern Mexico on the south side of Milwaukee.

In total, the felons had at least approximately 388 contacts with police and have been charged with at least 497 offenses dating back in some cases to 1986. The number of past law enforcement contacts is almost surely higher since the tallies only include those that resulted in criminal charges or non-municipal issued traffic offenses.

In addition, about nine previously deported felons have reoffended yet again after the federal detain holds were placed on them by the Milwaukee County jail, the Frontpage Milwaukee student journalists found.

Alfredo Rebollo is one example. Having already racked up 11 contacts with police for traffic violations, driving while his license was suspended, and reckless driving, a federal detain order was placed on him in 2005 for soliciting a prostitute. The criminal complaint states that Rebollo offered to pay a female $20 for oral sex. Though the detain order was placed on him in 2005, in October 2007, he was arrested for parking or standing in a prohibited area and his third offense of driving with a suspended license. He was fined. It is not clear if he was deported in 2005 and reentered the United States, or if he never left Wisconsin.

Of the cases involving deported felons who landed back in jail:

• The criminals were in contact with the police at least 388 times prior to their federal detain holds
• The criminals were charged with 59 violent crimes, and six were sex offenders
• At least 52 were granted bail, 19 received work release in their sentencing, 23 were ordered to obtain work, 13 were told not to vote, 25 had their driver’s licenses suspended, 22 were ordered not to possess firearms or weapons, and three were ordered to have the Ignition Interlock system installed in their cars
• 14 used state taxpayer-funded public defenders, and 61 used translators

None of this is to suggest that Mexican immigrants -- or even illegal immigrants -- are criminals. The data simply don’t support that.

But when people violate U.S. laws, in addition to violating the immigration laws, they should be deported.

And they should stay deported.

Which is why the very first step toward reforming immigration policy is to control the border. When that is done, other problems tend to fall into line. For example, in five or seven or nine years, when all the illegal immigrants in the country have been here for that many years-- mostly working and obeying the law-- a humane “path to citizenship” will be politically possible.

But failure to control the border will undermine anything and everything else about immigration policy.