Clinton voices support for deported Iowa immigrant
Source: The Des Moines Register
Tony Leys and Jennifer Jacobs, jejacobs@dmreg.com 7:02 a.m. CDT July 8, 2015
IOWA CITY – Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton on Tuesday took up the cause of an Iowa City immigrant who was deported over a 16-year-old misdemeanor conviction.
During a campaign stop here, Clinton referred to the controversial case of Max Villatoro, a Mennonite pastor-in-training who was arrested at his home on March 3 and wound up being deported to his native Honduras. The case has gained widespread attention from immigration-reform advocates, who say Villatoro, 41, was an upstanding member of the community unjustly ripped away from his family.
Clinton agreed with a Villatoro supporter, who said federal authorities should have used their discretion not to deport him. She noted that the deportation was based on a misdemeanor charge from the 1990s. "He was from all accounts, everything I've read and heard, a contributing member of the community. And for the life of me, I don't understand why he was deported," she said. "And I would think we would have to take a hard look at cases like that and exercise more discretion."
Max Villatoro and his wife, Gloria (Photo: Special to the Press-Citizen)
She credited the Obama administration with making progress on the issue, but said she would push for more movement toward reforming the country's broken immigration system. "I still think we should deport dangerous people, dangerous criminals — they should be gone," she said. "But for people who have maybe one small blemish on their record, and they've proven over the years since that they are contributing citizens, I think we should show them understanding and permit them and their families to stay together."
Federal authorities have defended Villatoro's deportation, saying it was a legitimate part of a sweep of unauthorized immigrants who'd committed crimes. His lawyer has said the charge stemmed from an attempt to gain a driver's license.......
Read more: http://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/elections/presidential/caucus/2015/07/07/hillary-clinton-iowa-immigrant-max-villatoro/29830169/
also a short video at link.
Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton thanks supporters at the Iowa City Public Library on Tuesday, July 7, 2015.(Photo: David Scrivner/Iowa City Press-Citizen)
= new reply since forum marked as read
Did they just get around to deporting him for something he did 16 years ago? Or did they just get around to deporting him for something he was convicted of 16 years ago?
Born in Honduras, Villatoro crossed the U.S. border illegally when he was 20 years old. According to accounts published on the church’s website, Villatoro obtained a Social Security number on the black market in the 1990s. In 1999, Villatoro was convicted of tampering with records, an aggravated misdemeanor, and sentenced to two years’ probation with suspended jail time.
They not only didn't deport him immediately, and didn't bother to look him up for sixteen years, they probably wouldn't have found him if he HADN'T had a criminal record?
rocktivity
Last edited Mon Jul 2, 2018, 09:33 PM - Edit history (5)
ICE began conducting large-scale national operations targeting convicted and other ERO priority aliens in May 2011...The first nationwide Cross Check operation occurred at the end of May 2011...Since then, five national Cross Check operations resulted in the arrest of more than 12,440 convicted criminals as well as 774 other priority individuals for a total of 13,214 arrests...
This operation is the sixth nationwide Cross Check operation in the agency’s history...Of the total 2,059 criminals arrested, 58 were known gang members or affiliates, and 89 were convicted sex offenders...
I'd be a lot more impressed if:
a) it hadn't taken more than eight years to come up with the idea of cross-checking arrest records;
b) it took less than 17 years to deport convicted offenders if they're going to be deported anyway;
c) they "crosschecked" EVERY month -- every THREE months minimum!
https://www.ice.gov/news/releases/2059-convicted-criminals-arrested-ice-nationwide-operation
rocktivity
