Dr. Frank Kardasz, April 27, 2010. Revised May 12, 2010 
As a career law enforcement officer, first in Michigan and for the past 25 years in Arizona, I have admired many immigrants who came here legally and worked hard to succeed while following the laws of the land. I have also seen some people quietly slink into the US, not because they had criminal motives, but because they wanted to find productive work and send money back to their families in other countries.
I have empathy and respect for legal, first-generation immigrants who do the jobs that spoiled and "entitled" Americans refuse to do. They often toil in necessary but low-paying jobs including day-laborers, farm workers, cab drivers, housekeepers, caregivers, restaurant kitchens and hundreds of other places where they just want to do honest work and survive.
I am grateful for my born-into US citizenship and I have been employed in law enforcement for the past 30 years. I also have friends and family who properly emigrated and dutifully followed the lawful, cumbersome, and expensive naturalization processes for obtaining US citizenship.
As a young law enforcement officer in Michigan in the late 1970's I was only vaguely aware of the illegal immigration issues facing the southern border states. I assumed that a strong law enforcement contingent protected the Country: I was wrong.
When I moved to Arizona in the 1980's I was surprised to learn that police policies restricted an officers' ability to assist in thwarting criminal illegal aliens. Officers could notify Federal enforcement officers only when an arrest was for a serious felony, but in most other cases there was no immigration enforcement whatsoever. Police could assist the Feds fighting illegal drugs, illegal alcohol, illegal weapons and counterfeit currency - but not illegal immigration.
During my Arizona law enforcement work I have watched the revolving-door border non-protection mechanism of the Federal government sometimes result in aliens deported to Mexico one-day and returning across the barely-regulated border a few days later.
In the 90's I supervised a police undercover unit specializing in recovering stolen property. During that time we saw many incidents involving criminal illegal aliens trafficking property and narcotics.
More recently, I supervised investigations of Internet predators and I am aware of many incidents involving criminal illegal aliens committing sex crimes against minors. Several years ago 13-year-old Christina Long of Danbury, Connecticut was murdered by an illegal from Brazil whom she met on the Internet (Ohio Jobs, no date). Dozens of other troubling examples exist involving illegals committing various sex crimes against US citizens (Shilling, January 09, 2007).
As a supervisor in a Police Vice Unit I learned of many incidents involving prostitutes here illegally from other countries. One recent newsworthy case involved a prostitution business and money laundering operation in Washington and California involving illegals (Auburn Reporter April 26, 2010).
The underground but highly organized process of illegal entry to the U.S. sometimes involves “coyotes,” criminals who facilitate the illegal transportation of foreigners. Coyotes accept payments from aspiring immigrants trying to cross the border and transport them across. Upon arrival the coyotes sometimes hold their illegal human cargo hostage and then demand more money from relatives. The unlawful transportation process is highly evolved. A recent Arizona raid dismantled an organized shuttle service that was bringing illegals from Mexico to Arizona (McCombs, April 15, 2010). In another incident three children who were being smuggled from El Salvador and destined for Washington DC were rescued in Arizona after the parents reported that the smugglers were demanding additional ransom (Barron, May 11, 2010).
Illegals are often secreted at "drop-houses.” Drop-houses are usually rental homes in suburban neighborhoods where people are off-loaded from unmarked passenger vans under cover of darkness and quietly secreted in the dwelling. Police in Arizona have responded to dozens of calls about drop-houses. Police sometimes arrive at these locations only to witness eight to ten people fleeing on foot in different directions. Sometimes those who remain are frightened men, women and children who may have been deprived of food and water by their captors (Gibson, April 13, 2010).
The terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 reawakened many Americans' consciousness regarding lackluster border enforcement. Since then, efforts to strengthen border defenses have improved but are still imperfect (AP, April 27, 2010).
One political flash-point killing involved Arizona rancher Robert Krentz who was shot on his own property near the southern border town of Douglas, Arizona (Robbins, April 12, 2010). The murder is unsolved but unidentified illegals are suspected. Besides the long list of good American citizens who have tragically lost their lives to criminal acts committed by illegal aliens (Ohio Jobs, no date), the following is a sad list of some of my law enforcement colleagues who have died as the result of criminal acts committed by illegals (Crime Victims, no date):
Officer Nick Erfle, Phoenix, AZ
Officer Shane Figueroa, Phoenix, AZ
Officer Marc Atkinson, Phoenix, AZ
Officer Kenneth Collins, Phoenix, AZ
Officer Jeffery Stone, Lebanon, TN
Officer Henry Canales, Houston, TX
Officer Gary Gryder, Houston, TX
Officer Rodney Johnson, Houston, TX
Office Brian Jackson, Dallas, TX
Officer Vincent Owen D'Anna , Flint, MI
Officer Andrew Widman, Fort Myers, FL
Officer Daniel Golden, Huntsville, AL
Officer Hugo Arango,Doraville, GA
Officer Tony Zappetalla, Oceanside, CA
Officer Gregory Bailey, CA
Officer Roy Wade Jr. Long Beach, CA
Officer Abe Yap, Long Beach, CA
Border Patrol Agent James Paul Epling, CA
Senior Border Patrol Agent Luis Aguilar, Yuma, AZ
Border Patrol Agent Robert Wimer Rosas Jr., Campo, CA
Border Patrol Inspector Theodore L. Newton Jr. Oak Grove, CA
Border Patrol Inspector George F. Azrak, Oak Grove, CA
Officer Robert Bryant, Denver, CO
Officer Will Seuis, Oakland , CA
Officer Michael Gordon, Chicago, IL
Deputy David March, Los Angeles County, CA
Trooper Bret Clodfelter, OR
Officer Sheila Herring, Detroit, MI
In 2003, Phoenix Police Officer Robert Sitek was shot and wounded by an illegal who had previously been deported but had returned the US to continue a criminal career (ImmigrationsHumanCost.org, no date). Officer Sitek survived the shooting. Many other law enforcement officers have also been assaulted and injured by criminal illegal aliens.
The illegal immigration issue must be addressed and border security must be tightened. The Arizona law, SB1070, attempts to loosen the restraints on a police officers' ability to assist in fighting illegal immigration. It does not authorize racial profiling. It does not authorize Constitution-trampling and it does not appear to be an apocalyptic reawakening of the Hitler regime. Naysayers should read the legislation closely before believing the misinformed hype (Arizona State Legislature, 2010).
Officers who enforce the laws must meet standards of reasonableness towards developing probable cause for arrest when enforcing the new laws. These are the same standards used in every other kind of investigation done by law enforcement. Enforcement will be scrutinized by supervisors, prosecutors judges and juries before anyone is ever adjudicated for a crime under the new laws. I recommend that the justice system be allowed to proceed before the new laws are preemptively abolished by misinformed critics.
References
Arizona State Legislature. (2010). SB1070 Immigration; law enforcement; safe neighborhoods. (web page). Retrieved April 27, 2010 from http://www.azleg.gov/DocumentsForBill.asp?Bill_Number=1070&image.x=6&image.y=7
Associated Press. (April 27, 2010). Senators call for scraping 'virtual fence". Las Vegas Sun (web page) .Retrieved April 27, 2010 from http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2010/apr/27/senators-call-for-scraping-virtual-fence/
Auburn Reporter. (April 26, 2010). Two arrested in multi-state prostitution, money laundering scheme. Auburn Reporter (web page). Retrieved April 27, 2010 from http://www.pnwlocalnews.com/south_king/aub/news/92108544.html
Barron, A.E. (May 11, 2010). ICE agents rescue 3 kids held hostage by smugglers in Phoenix. AZ Family.com (web page). Retrieved May 12, 2010 from http://www.azfamily.com/news/ICE-agents-rescue-3-kids-held-hostage-by-smugglers-in-Phoenix-93477129.html
Crime Victims of Illegal Aliens. (no date). Immigrations Human Cost. Web page. Retrieved April 27, 2009 from http://www.immigrationshumancost.org/text/crimevictims.html
Gibson, D. (April 13, 2010). Another drop house found in Phoenix. Exa
miner.com (web page). Retrieved April 26, 2010 from http://www.examiner.com/x-35821-Immigration-Reform-Examiner~y2010m4d13-Another-drop-house-found-in-Phoenix
ImmigrationsHumanCost.org. (no date). (web page). http://www.immigrationshumancost.org/text/crimevictims.html
McCombs, B. (April 15, 2010). Border shuttles in Tucson raided in AZ immigration sweep. Arizona Daily Star (web page). Retrieved April 26, 2010 from http://azstarnet.com/news/local/border/article_6d121a36-48b1-11df-ac5b-001cc4c002e0.html
Ohio Jobs and Justice PAC. (no date). web page.Retrieved April 27, 2010 from http://www.ojjpac.org/memorial.asp
Robbins T. (April 12, 2010). Arizona ranchers caught up in Mexican drug violence. National Public Radio (web page). Retrieved April 26, 2010 from http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=125844450&ps=cprs
Shilling, C. (January 09, 2007). Sex-offender stings get thousands of illegals: Experts stil concerned U.S. children. WorldNetDailey.com (web page). Retrieved April 26, 2010 from http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=39607
Wooldridge, F. (April 22, 2010). States rights: Arizona deals with illegal alien immigration. NewsWithViews.com Web site. Retrieved April 26, 2010 from http://www.newswithviews.com/Wooldridge/frosty563.htm
As a career law enforcement officer, first in Michigan and for the past 25 years in Arizona, I have admired many immigrants who came here legally and worked hard to succeed while following the laws of the land. I have also seen some people quietly slink into the US, not because they had criminal motives, but because they wanted to find productive work and send money back to their families in other countries.
I have empathy and respect for legal, first-generation immigrants who do the jobs that spoiled and "entitled" Americans refuse to do. They often toil in necessary but low-paying jobs including day-laborers, farm workers, cab drivers, housekeepers, caregivers, restaurant kitchens and hundreds of other places where they just want to do honest work and survive.
I am grateful for my born-into US citizenship and I have been employed in law enforcement for the past 30 years. I also have friends and family who properly emigrated and dutifully followed the lawful, cumbersome, and expensive naturalization processes for obtaining US citizenship.
As a young law enforcement officer in Michigan in the late 1970's I was only vaguely aware of the illegal immigration issues facing the southern border states. I assumed that a strong law enforcement contingent protected the Country: I was wrong.
When I moved to Arizona in the 1980's I was surprised to learn that police policies restricted an officers' ability to assist in thwarting criminal illegal aliens. Officers could notify Federal enforcement officers only when an arrest was for a serious felony, but in most other cases there was no immigration enforcement whatsoever. Police could assist the Feds fighting illegal drugs, illegal alcohol, illegal weapons and counterfeit currency - but not illegal immigration.
During my Arizona law enforcement work I have watched the revolving-door border non-protection mechanism of the Federal government sometimes result in aliens deported to Mexico one-day and returning across the barely-regulated border a few days later.
In the 90's I supervised a police undercover unit specializing in recovering stolen property. During that time we saw many incidents involving criminal illegal aliens trafficking property and narcotics.
More recently, I supervised investigations of Internet predators and I am aware of many incidents involving criminal illegal aliens committing sex crimes against minors. Several years ago 13-year-old Christina Long of Danbury, Connecticut was murdered by an illegal from Brazil whom she met on the Internet (Ohio Jobs, no date). Dozens of other troubling examples exist involving illegals committing various sex crimes against US citizens (Shilling, January 09, 2007).
As a supervisor in a Police Vice Unit I learned of many incidents involving prostitutes here illegally from other countries. One recent newsworthy case involved a prostitution business and money laundering operation in Washington and California involving illegals (Auburn Reporter April 26, 2010).
The underground but highly organized process of illegal entry to the U.S. sometimes involves “coyotes,” criminals who facilitate the illegal transportation of foreigners. Coyotes accept payments from aspiring immigrants trying to cross the border and transport them across. Upon arrival the coyotes sometimes hold their illegal human cargo hostage and then demand more money from relatives. The unlawful transportation process is highly evolved. A recent Arizona raid dismantled an organized shuttle service that was bringing illegals from Mexico to Arizona (McCombs, April 15, 2010). In another incident three children who were being smuggled from El Salvador and destined for Washington DC were rescued in Arizona after the parents reported that the smugglers were demanding additional ransom (Barron, May 11, 2010).
Illegals are often secreted at "drop-houses.” Drop-houses are usually rental homes in suburban neighborhoods where people are off-loaded from unmarked passenger vans under cover of darkness and quietly secreted in the dwelling. Police in Arizona have responded to dozens of calls about drop-houses. Police sometimes arrive at these locations only to witness eight to ten people fleeing on foot in different directions. Sometimes those who remain are frightened men, women and children who may have been deprived of food and water by their captors (Gibson, April 13, 2010).
The terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 reawakened many Americans' consciousness regarding lackluster border enforcement. Since then, efforts to strengthen border defenses have improved but are still imperfect (AP, April 27, 2010).
One political flash-point killing involved Arizona rancher Robert Krentz who was shot on his own property near the southern border town of Douglas, Arizona (Robbins, April 12, 2010). The murder is unsolved but unidentified illegals are suspected. Besides the long list of good American citizens who have tragically lost their lives to criminal acts committed by illegal aliens (Ohio Jobs, no date), the following is a sad list of some of my law enforcement colleagues who have died as the result of criminal acts committed by illegals (Crime Victims, no date):
Officer Nick Erfle, Phoenix, AZ
Officer Shane Figueroa, Phoenix, AZ
Officer Marc Atkinson, Phoenix, AZ
Officer Kenneth Collins, Phoenix, AZ
Officer Jeffery Stone, Lebanon, TN
Officer Henry Canales, Houston, TX
Officer Gary Gryder, Houston, TX
Officer Rodney Johnson, Houston, TX
Office Brian Jackson, Dallas, TX
Officer Vincent Owen D'Anna , Flint, MI
Officer Andrew Widman, Fort Myers, FL
Officer Daniel Golden, Huntsville, AL
Officer Hugo Arango,Doraville, GA
Officer Tony Zappetalla, Oceanside, CA
Officer Gregory Bailey, CA
Officer Roy Wade Jr. Long Beach, CA
Officer Abe Yap, Long Beach, CA
Border Patrol Agent James Paul Epling, CA
Senior Border Patrol Agent Luis Aguilar, Yuma, AZ
Border Patrol Agent Robert Wimer Rosas Jr., Campo, CA
Border Patrol Inspector Theodore L. Newton Jr. Oak Grove, CA
Border Patrol Inspector George F. Azrak, Oak Grove, CA
Officer Robert Bryant, Denver, CO
Officer Will Seuis, Oakland , CA
Officer Michael Gordon, Chicago, IL
Deputy David March, Los Angeles County, CA
Trooper Bret Clodfelter, OR
Officer Sheila Herring, Detroit, MI
In 2003, Phoenix Police Officer Robert Sitek was shot and wounded by an illegal who had previously been deported but had returned the US to continue a criminal career (ImmigrationsHumanCost.org, no date). Officer Sitek survived the shooting. Many other law enforcement officers have also been assaulted and injured by criminal illegal aliens.
The illegal immigration issue must be addressed and border security must be tightened. The Arizona law, SB1070, attempts to loosen the restraints on a police officers' ability to assist in fighting illegal immigration. It does not authorize racial profiling. It does not authorize Constitution-trampling and it does not appear to be an apocalyptic reawakening of the Hitler regime. Naysayers should read the legislation closely before believing the misinformed hype (Arizona State Legislature, 2010).
Officers who enforce the laws must meet standards of reasonableness towards developing probable cause for arrest when enforcing the new laws. These are the same standards used in every other kind of investigation done by law enforcement. Enforcement will be scrutinized by supervisors, prosecutors judges and juries before anyone is ever adjudicated for a crime under the new laws. I recommend that the justice system be allowed to proceed before the new laws are preemptively abolished by misinformed critics.
References
Arizona State Legislature. (2010). SB1070 Immigration; law enforcement; safe neighborhoods. (web page). Retrieved April 27, 2010 from http://www.azleg.gov/DocumentsForBill.asp?Bill_Number=1070&image.x=6&image.y=7
Associated Press. (April 27, 2010). Senators call for scraping 'virtual fence". Las Vegas Sun (web page) .Retrieved April 27, 2010 from http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2010/apr/27/senators-call-for-scraping-virtual-fence/
Auburn Reporter. (April 26, 2010). Two arrested in multi-state prostitution, money laundering scheme. Auburn Reporter (web page). Retrieved April 27, 2010 from http://www.pnwlocalnews.com/south_king/aub/news/92108544.html
Barron, A.E. (May 11, 2010). ICE agents rescue 3 kids held hostage by smugglers in Phoenix. AZ Family.com (web page). Retrieved May 12, 2010 from http://www.azfamily.com/news/ICE-agents-rescue-3-kids-held-hostage-by-smugglers-in-Phoenix-93477129.html
Crime Victims of Illegal Aliens. (no date). Immigrations Human Cost. Web page. Retrieved April 27, 2009 from http://www.immigrationshumancost.org/text/crimevictims.html
Gibson, D. (April 13, 2010). Another drop house found in Phoenix. Exa
miner.com (web page). Retrieved April 26, 2010 from http://www.examiner.com/x-35821-Immigration-Reform-Examiner~y2010m4d13-Another-drop-house-found-in-Phoenix
ImmigrationsHumanCost.org. (no date). (web page). http://www.immigrationshumancost.org/text/crimevictims.html
McCombs, B. (April 15, 2010). Border shuttles in Tucson raided in AZ immigration sweep. Arizona Daily Star (web page). Retrieved April 26, 2010 from http://azstarnet.com/news/local/border/article_6d121a36-48b1-11df-ac5b-001cc4c002e0.html
Ohio Jobs and Justice PAC. (no date). web page.Retrieved April 27, 2010 from http://www.ojjpac.org/memorial.asp
Robbins T. (April 12, 2010). Arizona ranchers caught up in Mexican drug violence. National Public Radio (web page). Retrieved April 26, 2010 from http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=125844450&ps=cprs
Shilling, C. (January 09, 2007). Sex-offender stings get thousands of illegals: Experts stil concerned U.S. children. WorldNetDailey.com (web page). Retrieved April 26, 2010 from http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=39607
Wooldridge, F. (April 22, 2010). States rights: Arizona deals with illegal alien immigration. NewsWithViews.com Web site. Retrieved April 26, 2010 from http://www.newswithviews.com/Wooldridge/frosty563.htm
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