I-80 aliens now lower priority (Pennsylvania)

MERCER COUNTY - State police have stopped hundreds of illegal aliens along Interstate 80 this year, but only one in four is taken into custody.

The reason for the low arrest rate is that immigration officials have put a lower priority on such cases. "In Pennsylvania, we prioritize your airports and national security interests, electric facilities, dams, power plants . . . we also prioritize criminal aliens that present public safety risks, such as drug dealers, child sex predators, murders and perpetrators of sexual assault," said Russ Knocke, director of public affairs for the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Office in Washington.

The acronym for the office is ICE. Between May and July, 235 illegal aliens were caught during traffic stops along I-80, said William Williams, an officer at the Mercer County state police barracks in Jackson Township. In August, close to 90 were documented. "Ever since 9/11, our directive from Harrisburg has been to look beyond the traffic stop," Williams said of the large number of aliens caught. "They want to see an increase in interstate presence, a more proactive role in enforcement on interstates, not only (with) illegal activity but also for the safety of motorists."

Despite this increase, many of the illegal, or undocumented, aliens are released because of too few immigration officers in the area.

Williams said state police typically come across illegal aliens during routine stops. Initial violations might include common traffic offenses or overcrowding in vehicles, with children sitting on laps and too few safety belts for the number of passengers.

In those kinds of cases, officers question the driver and passengers, attempting to obtain names, birth dates and addresses. Police then search an ICE database for more information.

"It's not uncommon for an undocumented alien to be forthcoming with their identity," said Knocke. "If there's a hit with one of the databases, we will relay to the state trooper that Jane or John Doe is of interest to us, and request they be taken to the nearest detention facility, where we will go to speak to them further."

Knocke said all undocumented aliens are processed when they are caught by ICE agents. However, many are let go in outlying areas, such as Mercer County, because those cases could channel attention away from matters more vital to homeland security.

Of the 235 undocumented aliens caught by state police between May and July, only 60 - or 25 percent - were detained, Williams said.

"Those determinations are made simply based on resource prioritization, because along I-80, ICE's presence is not as strong as it is elsewhere," Knocke said of the large number of aliens who are let go. The nearest ICE office is in Pittsburgh, but the state's primary ICE office is in Philadelphia.

"If our agents come into contact with an undocumented alien, we will aggressively enforce immigration law," Knocke said of ICE officers operating on their own turf. "We are limited in resources, and we have a vital homeland security mission to carry out. We prioritize to fulfill that mission."

Neither Williams nor Knocke says he has reason to believe that more undocumented aliens are traveling along I-80, but that more of them are being stopped because of increased vigilance by police patrols. "We've always been making stops like this," said Williams, who attributes the increase to expert police work. "It's basically good work on the part of the troopers out there. The troopers are more vigilant with traffic stops."

"We do get a lot of U.S. citizens that are fugitives from justice, too," he added, referring to other criminals, many of them involved with drugs, who are caught on the interstate.

Williams said although many of the undocumented aliens are from Mexico, others have been from Somalia, Jamaica, Ecuador, various states in Russia, Nigeria and from South American countries.

Knocke said, on a national level, most undocumented aliens are also from Mexico, with a higher percentage of men than women.

Knocke said two-thirds of aliens caught in the nation must remain in custody after being classified as "mandatory holds." That means they are repeat immigration violators or present a risk to public safety. Members of the remaining one-third are handled on a case-by-case basis. Many qualify for alternative detention programs while awaiting due process in the legal system. Alternative programs could mean release on bond, release on their own recognizance or release with intensive supervision.

Williams said the release of many such aliens in Mercer County doesn't discourage police who patrol the interstate.

"What it boils down to is our organization is going to continue to do its job," he said, adding that non-immigration cases can sometimes conclude with similar results.

"Individuals can be arraigned for a particular crime. Once it goes to the court system, they may be sentenced to a lesser degree of the crime. Regardless of that, the troopers continue to do their job," he said

...""If our agents come into contact with an undocumented alien, we will aggressively enforce immigration law," Knocke said of ICE officers operating on their own turf. "We are limited in resources, and we have a vital homeland security mission to carry out. We prioritize to fulfill that mission." "...

Something that has just occurred to me. Should have happened a long time ago.

ICE absorbed INS

ICE got additional funding (I'm assuming) from DHS, for national setup.

So, where's all the money that used to go to the INS?

Where are their old supplies? Computers, Vehicles, Personnel...etc.

No resources my left nut. We're being played like a banjo here.

Up until fairly recently, if you came to JFK airport in NYC from another country without appropriate documentation, you would be detained - but usually not held, as the INS has virtually no detention space in THE major port city in this country.

You - the illegal - would be told to come back tomorrow and appear before the judge. Yea...right......Abdul would disappear into the city, be driving a cab next week, and then make money to bring over his friends & family.

That is how they got here in the 80s and most of the 90s. And now our govt not only wants to let them stay, work, grant them amnesty, but they want to let them bring over their "poor, oppressed relatives".

Its not that we are being invaded, of are going to be invaded: we HAVE been invaded! It was a "done deal" by the early 90s!

In many urban centers we - legal citizens - have been replaced!

All the blather about the overcrowding on the subways, and the need to build new schools is generated by one thing: illegal immigrants!!!! THEY are riding the subways......THEY are spawning - dropping babies left and right which you (the taxpayer) must now educate, feed, and house!!!

Recall our armies, and put them on the borders, have our warships patrol OUR waters, and have INS do massive sweeps for illegals, and SEND THEM HOME!!!!!

Oh, they are oppressed? Too damned bad! Our nation was invaded while we were asleep, or watching football.

This is not politics, nor is it a matter of charity, or racism; it is the survival of this nation which is at stake!

In addition to the corrupt politicians, I also place blame squarely on the shoulders of the Marxised priests of the Catholic Church........and I can say that, as I am a Catholic. They were co-opted into the destruction of the social fabric of our urban centers, which they gleefully encouraged over a 40 year period. And many like minded Protestant ministers are also to blame.

Illegal Immigrants Poem

I cross ocean, poor and broke, Take bus, see employment folk.

Nice man treat me good in there, Say I need to see welfare.

Welfare say, "You come no more, We send cash right to your door."

Welfare checks, they make you wealthy, Medicaid it keep you healthy!

By and by, I got plenty money, Thanks to you, American dummy.

Write to friends in motherland, Tell them 'come fast as you can.'

They come in turbans and Ford trucks, I buy big house with welfare bucks

They come here, we live together, More welfare checks, it gets better!

Fourteen families, they moving in, But neighbor's patience wearing thin.

Finally, white guy moves away, Now I buy his house, and then I say,

"Find more aliens for house to rent." And in the yard I put a tent.

Send for family they just trash, But they, too, draw the welfare cash!

Everything is very good, And soon we own the neighborhood.

We have hobby it's called breeding, Welfare pay for baby feeding.

Kids need dentist? Wife need pills? We get free! We got no bills!

American crazy! He pay all year, To keep welfare running here.

We think America darn good place! Too darn good for the white man race.

If they no like us, they can scram, Got lots of room in Pakistan.

SEND THIS TO EVERY AMERICAN TAXPAYER YOU KNOW

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