An Update on Mario Benitez

Chicago Elections 2011 ^ | 12/02/2010 | Michael Volpe

[pinstripes715]

Last week, we brought you the story of Mario Benitez. Benitez is a legal permanent resident alien. He's been here since he was three years old. (he's now 42) He's facing deportation because of a grand larceny conviction. Benitez says that in September he witnessed about one hundred illegal aliens get released from KROME, the ICE facility he was being detained at.

[La Lydia]

For crying out loud. He is a non-citizen convicted felon with a deportation order. Why was he still in KROME? Why is he still in Florida? Why hasn’t he been deported already?

[pinstripes715]

I think there’s something called due process. You don’t simply get deported. There’s a Supreme Court ruling from early 2010 that fits into all this.

You’re simplifying this far beyond what it really is.

[Uncle Miltie]

If they keep him here just a little longer, he can enroll in college and become a citizen!

[blueplum]

Benitez is no angel. He has a previous misdemeanor conviction of drug paraphernalia possession. He also spent time in rehab in his 20’s for a heroin addiction. Finally, he didn’t inform his last employer, the now defunct Pan American Mortgage, of his criminal arrest while he worked there as a reverse mortgage specialist.

Heroin addicts are usually thieves one way or the other. Then he goes to being a drunk thief who believes in magic and conjuring (dude is permanently stuck in fantasyland). I don't see too many parallels between Benitez and Padilla - I wonder why Padilla was used as a comparison? seems to hurt his entire argument.