Drunken driving, traffic crime deportations way up

[AlphaCentauri]

Source: AP

Huge increases in deportations of people after they were arrested for breaking traffic or immigration laws or driving drunk helped the Obama administration set a record last year for the number of criminal immigrants forced to leave the country, documents show.

The U.S. deported nearly 393,000 people in the fiscal year that ended Sept. 30, half of whom were considered criminals. Of those, 27,635 had been arrested for drunken driving, more than double the 10,851 deported after drunken driving arrests in 2008, the last full year of the Bush administration, according to Immigration and Customs Enforcement data provided to The Associated Press.

An additional 13,028 were deported last year after being arrested on less serious traffic law violations, nearly three times the 4,527 traffic offenders deported two years earlier, according to the data.

The spike in the numbers of people deported for traffic offenses as well as a 78 percent increase in people deported for immigration-related offenses renewed skepticism about the administration's claims that it is focusing on the most dangerous criminals.



Read more: http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_CRIMINAL_IMMIGRANTS?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2011-07-22-03-43-20

[FreakinDJ]

1. In California

We've have had an significant increase of "Hit and Runs" because many illegals don't have a driver's license or insurance

[kestrel91316]

3. Yeah, anytime we have an accident where the driver races away, or

jumps out of the car and flees, we know what we've got.

20 years ago I had never heard of such a thing. It's rampant now.

[FreakinDJ]

9. 1,000 mourn East Oakland girl killed in hit-and-run accident

1,000 mourn East Oakland girl killed in hit-and-run accident

East Oakland's close-knit Latino community crowded into a church yesterday to say goodbye to one of its youngest members, a 5-year-old girl killed while crossing the street on her way to school.

More than 1,000 people -- about half of them children -- gathered at St. Elizabeth's Catholic Church for Ana Cerna's funeral Mass. With tear-stained cheeks and red-rimmed eyes, they prayed with Ana's parents and relatives for her and five others injured in the tragic accident last week.

Osvaldo Urzua, the Mustang's 41-year-old driver who fled the scene but was later arrested, was arraigned Friday on one count of vehicular manslaughter and five counts of hit and-run driving. He is being held in jail in lieu of $110,000 bail.

Urzua, an undocumented immigrant from Mexico, reportedly borrowed the 1967 car without permission from an auto body shop where he works. Police said he told them that he sped away because he was scared about not having a driver's license.

http://articles.sfgate.com/2002-01-20/news/17528169_1_ana-s-mother-dove-three-young-children

[AlphaCentauri]

14. 20 years ago anyone could study and practice for a driver license, I guess n/t

[TexDevilDog]

6. In Texas many cities have: No insurance/license = tow and impound

I think it is smart. If a police officer pulls someone over that has no insurance and/or license, then lets them drive is wrong. The are breaking the law while driving off. If an uninsured motorist kills or hurts someone, I think the police some be culpible if they let someone drive after giving them a ticket.

[DFab420]

8. +1000

THis actually happend to my father not to long ago. Guy tried to make a yellow and ended up turning, no signal, right into the front of my dads on coming car...

No one was hurt, thank god, but he did back up and take off at high speeds.

[otohara]

11. In CO Also

3 unsolved that all happened around the same time

[flamingdem]

19. How about when they stumble out of their car and threaten you?

It happens... good riddance to these drunks.

[Hangingon]

2. In Texas we have a lot of "hit and run" too.

The illegal drivers have no license and no insurance. These drivers count as "most dangerous criminals" as far as I am concerned.

[snooper2]

4. That's when you give chase...

Did it last year...Saw a lady get side-swipped on SpringValley and they tried to run for it busting a right on Coit, which happened to be the way I was going anyway.

Followed them and got on the phone with the po-po and they were pulled over pretty quickly after that :)

[alp227]

5. That's OK, and a real achievement would be deporting gang members/felons who lack legal status n/t

[BlueIris]

7. Traffic crime deportation. Unreal. nt

[Throd]

10. No sympathy here. DUIs are really really easy to avoid.

[kelly1mm]

12. Great! I support the President! nt

[brentspeak]

13. For once, this is good news from the administration n/t

[AlphaCentauri]

15. Republicans agree with that statement n/t

[robcon]

16. I am a Democrat, and i agree with that statement.

If you're an undocumented resident, one strike and you're out.

[AlphaCentauri]

17. so many democrats are implementing or accepting right wing ideas

that it is impossible to differentiate witch is witch

[pennylane100]

18. I do not think that wanting to enforce our laws is a right winged idea.

[AlphaCentauri]

20. Selective enforcement of the law is a right winged idea

seems like it is imperative to enforce the law only when the offenders are poor people and their crime is to work without permission.

Any idea of selective law enforcement?

http://www.democrats.com/justice-department-asks-spain-not-to-prosecute-us-torturers

http://www.businessinsider.com/nobel-economist-says-we-have-to-prosecute-fraud-or-else-the-economy-wont-recover-2010-11

http://www.ritholtz.com/blog/2011/04/justice-department-criminal-referrals/

[Devil_Fish]

21. If you don't have a license or insurance or your driving drunk, I don't want you here on the street

that I drive my family on. When you drive, you are controlling a machine that is responsible for the most childrens deaths in America. Thats right, it's not guns, disease, child abduction, drowning, etc. The leading cause of death among children is auto accidents.

I'm not racist, but the fact is that every multi-vehicle accident I have ever been in has been caused by an unlicensed, uninsured driver who is un-documented from Mexico and has resulted in the loss of my vehicle due to damage, as well as personal injury to me, and my family.

My Wife and her family are Mexican, here legally. She has visited Mexico Recently with our two year old daughter. She took the car seat with her, but found no use for it as the taxi cabs in Mexico have no seat belts, and the roads are so bad that the average speed is 20-25 m.p.h. additionally most families drive a 4 wheel ATV. no helmets, kids riding on the fenders. I'm not criticizing transportation in Mexico, but I wish to point out the huge difference between driving in Mexico as apposed to the United States.

Some one who has driven in Mexico their whole life is not a safe driver here. If your not going to follow the rules in this country then leave. It takes years of experience to become a safe driver in this country even after driver training and passing the test to get your license.

As for drinking, I don't care if you have a license or not, or what country you come from, If your drunk, even a little bit, stay off the god damed road. your a danger to every one, not just your self, and getting caught by the cops is the best thing that could happen.

If some one is driving erratically, I call 911 from my hands free cell phone, as should every one else. Drunk drivers are a danger to us all.

[AlphaCentauri]

22. The most common abuse I have found is license drivers blaming unlicensed drivers

a driver license doesn't make anyone capable of operating a vehicle.