TailOverTeaKettle.com

Fresh on the heels of Cobb County, GA starting standard immigration database checks of those in custody, it was reported today that the Sheriff of Forsyth County, GA is applying to join the federal program as well.

According to WDUN:

Forsyth County Sheriff Ted Paxton announced Tuesday that he has applied to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to begin enforcement of immigration statutes.

That means Forsyth County deputies will soon be trained to perform immigration-related duties of suspected illegal aliens who are arrested and brought into the Forsyth County jail.

“The time has come where the Sheriff’s Office has got to be more proactive in addressing the issue of crimes being committed in our county by illegal aliens,” Sheriff Paxton said. “The Immigration and Nationality Act give us the authority to do just that,” he added.

Paxton added, “While immigration enforcement is primarily a federal issue, when illegal aliens commit crimes in our county then the issue becomes local and calls for swift, local response on our part. That is what is provided for in Section 287(g).”

Selected deputies will be trained by ICE and given the resources to determine if someone brought into the Forsyth County jail is in the country illegally. If the person is in the country illegally, the deputies will initiate the paperwork to start the deportation process. All of this is done under the supervision of an ICE agent. However, arrestees must serve their sentences before deportation occurs.

The Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office joins a handful of other agencies across Georgia, and the nation, who are using the Immigration Act on a local basis.

              

Over the weekend, I happened to see the Reuters “report”: Post 9/11, Islam flourishes among blacks. I wasn’t sure exactly what I wanted to say about it, but I am very happy to see that Independent Conservative is already all over the case. The article, without actually having any hard statistics to back it, also kept referring vaguely to some sympathy between black Americans and Muslims because of reactions to radical terrorist acts. And that there is some connection because of government conspiracy. From the article:

They (the government) unplug black people and plug in Arabs or Muslims. They unplug Arabs and plug in communists. America needs war to maintain its economic status,” [cleric Nadim Ali] said.

Interestingly, the article also says that it not really about integrating with the existing religious community:

Black Americans typically attend mosques separate from Muslims from immigrant backgrounds despite sharing common beliefs, according to Aminah McCloud, religious studies professor at DePaul University in Chicago.

That makes me wonder whether or not this is about the attractiveness of the religion in any way, or simply a banner under which to recruit followers of the particular “clerics”. Of course, there’s no way to really leap to any conclusion, I’m sure that you could study the racial profiles of many Christian churches and make similar statements, much of which goes to reflect the racial makeup of the communities in which they are established.

But the report ended with the money quote:

For young African Americans, there is some attraction to learning about traditions that have been associated with resistance to European imperialism,” said [new convert Mark] King, who has adopted the name Bilal Mansa since his conversion.

Connecting religion with race is a very curious, and disturbing thinking. As Independent Conservative puts it bluntly:

Well unlike how things are done in Christianity, Muslims have no problem playing on race and it appears Blacks who enjoy having their ears and egos tickled and playing on Black versus White or African versus European are eating up the foul meat from the cult of Muhammad.

But please, go read the whole thing.

              

Fake ID ring supplying forged documents for illegal immigrants has been discovered in Carrollton, GA

According to WXIA:

Police in Carrollton said that they’ve broken a forgery ring that has been supplying hundreds of fake IDs to illegal immigrants in the Carroll County area. Residents tipped them to the problem and after months of investigation by Carrollton police and federal immigration operatives they’ve taken three people into custody.

Investigators said 42-year-old Christine Garcia admitted to making the fake IDs, hundreds of them over at least the last year.

Police said they believe her sister-in-law Elisa Garcia and Elisa’s husband Hugo Castillo were the other two involved and that those two mainly drummed up the clients needing false documents.

Captain Daryl Diamond of the Carrollton Police said an undercover buy confirmed what was going on.

“They were able to make a purchase and their purchase was for two separate IDs and for both together it was $130,” Diamond said.

Diamond said Garcia made the IDs in her home in Roopville, Ga., on the southern edge of Carroll County. Police found a computer with evidence of hundreds of IDs on it as well as printers and clippings from the ID operation.

“There’s no telling how many people she made IDs for that are out of this area, throughout the U.S. They could be using these IDs for any kind of illegal acts,” said Diamond.

Investigators said the clientele was made up of illegal immigrants, and that Garcia made all sorts of IDs — state ID cards, social security cards with made-up numbers, resident alien cards. They believe the impact of the operation reaches across the country.

Christine Garcia is charged with six counts of forgery. Elisa Garcia and Hugo Castillo remain in federal custody and are expected to be deported back to Mexico.

Yet another “work-at-home” scheme… and certainly just the tip of the iceberg. Imagine what would happen if the feds and state government actually verified the information supplied on employment records!

              

Back in October I noted that Cobb County, GA approved joining the federal program which allows their Sherriff to more easily determine the immigration status of those arrested, since many would make it out on bond before it was even known whether they were in the country illegally.

WXIA is reporting that Cobb County is now preparing to activate those checks:

Cobb County is about to make history by taking a bite out of crime committed by illegal immigrants. This week, the Cobb County Sheriff’s Office became the first law enforcement agency in Georgia to gain unprecedented access to federal resources.

The agreement is called 287(g). It is long and complicated, but it comes down to this: for the first time, the Cobb County Sheriff’s Office will have access to a specialized database run by Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The sheriff said that will help close a gap that lets criminals slip away.

Previously, according to Cobb County Sheriff Neil Warren, a system that doesn’t quite work kept his hands tied.

“Some individuals made bond or got out before we could find out if they were legal,” Warren said.

The current system in Georgia is that an inmate suspected of being in the country illegally is run through a specialized immigration database. The information is then routed back to law enforcement. By the time the information gets back, though, the inmate may have already walked.

The new agreement now gives the Cobb County Sheriff’s Office access to that very database, making them one of just seven local law enforcement agencies in the nation with permission to get the information directly.

The sheriff’s office plans on training about a half-dozen deputies how to use the new database in an intense five-week program including interview techniques, civil liberties education, and cultural awareness training. Sheriff Warren hopes to have the training underway by March.

I will be curious to see, however, what actions ultimately result once they have access to the information in the federal database. What they found in Roswell, GA was that even though the police chief made every effort to report illegal immigrants or suspected illegal immigrants to ICE, they were rarely actually deported.

Overwhelmed immigration agents say they only have time to deport the worst of the worst - terrorists, murderers and violent gang members. “It’s a simple question of priorities,” said ICE’s [Kenneth] Smith. “If we’re using resources to respond to somebody charged with a misdemeanor in Roswell, who are we missing?”

Let’s see if they have a better success rate when the program is implemented in Cobb County. We’ll be watching!

              

The NCAA political correctness police have driven away the Chief. FOX News reports that the University of Illinois will drop its 81-year-old American Indian mascot, Chief Illiniwek, following the last men’s basketball home game of the season.

Unlike Florida State, the Chief never rode around on horseback shooting flaming arrows. But in the end, since the Illiniwek indians are no more, there were no casino tribes who could speak on their behalf.

So we’re left with college sports vastly improved, now featuring only sensitive mascots like crazy leprechauns, cartoon birds, giant railroad workers, and mean rodents named ‘Bucky’ (can’t rhyme with that one, can ‘ya?).

Congratulations NCAA. And best of luck to the Trustees of the University of Illinois. Let’s see if the anti-Chief alumni contribute significant amounts of money to make up the difference!

              

Although I was skeptical, the GA state legislature did approve one of the identiy crackdowns - this being a measure requiring a valid drivers license in order to license a car.

Certainly that makes some unhappy:

[Executive director of the Georgia Association of Latino Elected Officials, Jerry] Gonzales said [GA State Senator Chip] Rogers’ bill, along with a pair of other driver’s licenses measures moving through the Legislature this session, will effectively make illegal immigrants less willing to cooperate with law enforcement out of fear they could be punished.

I’d just hate if they would be afraid of being punished for breaking the law once before…

              

Caught illegal immigrants distributing drugs in Gainesville, GA this time… and they tried to run down a cop to escape!

Via WDUN:

A two-week investigation by Hall County authorities leads to the seizure of two pounds of Methamphetamine and the arrest of three alleged illegal immigrants.

Fransisco Javier Perez-Campuzano 20, of Atlanta, Javier Palacios-Ortega, 37, of Roswell, and Miguel Hernandez, 24, of Gainesville were arrested during a drug bust in the 12-hundred block of Dawsonville Highway on January 30th.

Agents arrested the three during the delivery of the Methamphetamine.

Perez-Campuzano was in one vehicle while Hernandez and Palacias-Ortega were in another. As agents moved in Perez-Campuzano fled the scene nearly striking one of the agents with his vehicle. He led agents and marked patrol cars on a four mile chase until he wrecked on Dawsonville Highway.

Lt. Scott Ware with the Multi Agency Narcotics Squad says agents found the drugs February 9th in a hidden compartment of a car one of the men was driving, “The drugs had an estimated street value of $89 thousand six hundred.”

The three face charges for trafficking Meth and are being held in the Hall County Detention Center.

Perez-Campuzano also faces charges for Aggravated Assault on a Police Officer.

Previously:

• February 2007: 1000 pounds of marijuana seized in Athens, GA
• November 2006: $9 million in cocaine and crystal meth seized in Lilburn and Lawrenceville, GA
• November 2006: $29,600 in cocaine seized in Gainesville, GA
• November 2006: $497,000 in cocaine seized in Gainesville, GA
• October 2006: $27 million in cocaine and crystal methamphetamine seized in Clayton County, GA
• September 2006: $10 million in cocaine seized in Gainesville, GA
• August 2006: $50 million in crystal meth seized in Gainesville, GA
• August 2006: $25 million in crystal meth seized in Buford, GA

              

The AJC is reporting that State Sen. John Douglas is preparing to introduce a number of bills to the Georgia Legislature regarding enforcement of various aspects of immigration law.

One bill would require Georgians to prove they are U.S. citizens when registering to vote. Several proposals target the document fraud that can give illegal immigrants access to Georgia roads and health clinics. Another measure would make driving without a license a felony on the third offense.

While these all seems like reasonable responses to situations which have arisen due to a lack of enforcement of existing Federal immigration laws, I expect that none of these proposals will have a very road to passage.

• We already know about how attempts to propose stronger Voter ID programs have been delayed again and again by lawsuits. So far, while it certainly seems that the main objections raised in these lawsuits could be corrected by making the state constitution crystal clear on this point, we have heard from new Lt. Governor Casey Cagle that Republicans are unlikely to take up that fight. Can you image when it’s not just proving your identity, but rather your proper citizenship that’s the question. Look out! Can’t just do that with a utility bill and signing a sworn statement!
• Whenever we hear of proposals to strengthen punishments for driving without a license, they are met with strong outcry from groups such as GALEO (Association of Latino Elected Officials), who seem to believe that driving a car is not a priviledge, but rather a right, especially if exercised by those here in the US illegally.

It will be interesting to see if any of these measures make any headway under the Gold Dome, or die at the press release stage.

              

In the wake of the recent bomb scare in Boston, the head of Cartoon Network has resigned.

The bomb scare caused by a Cartoon Network advertising campaign has cost the head of the Atlanta-based network his job.

Jim Samples, the General Manager and Vice-President of the network owned by Turner Broadcasting, stepped down Friday.

In an e-mail to company employees Samples said “I deeply regret the negative publicity and expense caused to our company as a result of this campaign.”

“I feel compelled to step down in recognition of the gravity of the situation that occurred under my watch.”

The company agreed earlier this week to pay $2 million to the city of Boston to cover the cost of the bomb scare that shut down highways and roads across the city.

But let’s just say that the signs in Boston were not greeted by panic. Doesn’t it strike anyone as odd that in Cartoon Network’s judgement it would be a great idea to have an advertising campaign in major cities consisting of posting pictures of a cartoon character making an obscene gesture? For that alone, the head of the network should have been ashamed and embarassed… but I guess that’s not the age in which we are living.

              

Unfortunate news today from the Associated Press: Rep. Charlie Norwood of Georgia is leaving Washington D.C. and returning home to Augusta, GA for hospice care.

From their story:

Rep. Charlie Norwood said Wednesday he is leaving Washington to receive hospice care at home in Augusta, Ga., declining further treatment for lung cancer that has spread to his liver.

Norwood’s spokesman, John Stone, said the seven-term Republican is not resigning his seat in Congress, but he said Norwood has decided to be home with his family and “put it in the Lord’s hands.’”

“He has spent three months just sick as a dog and finally just said, ‘That’s it. I’m going home,’” Stone said. “The goal now is to make him as comfortable as he can be … for as long as the Lord will let him stay with us, and nobody knows how long that will be.’”

Stone said Norwood would re-evaluate the situation after returning home and that he was not ruling out further treatment if he feels better. Norwood’s congressional office will continue operating “as if he’s sitting in the next room,'’ Stone said.

Norwood, 65, is fighting his second bout with cancer since receiving a lung transplant in 2004. He suffers from idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, a chronic lung disease.

The cancer is believed to be a side effect of immune suppression drugs he takes as a result of the transplant.

Last year, doctors discovered a small cancerous tumor on his non-transplanted lung. They removed the cancer with surgery, but then discovered more cancer on his liver when Norwood returned to Washington after the November election, in which Norwood easily won re-election.

In a press release, Stone said Norwood will leave Washington as soon as an air ambulance flight can be arranged, possibly by Thursday. The family requested continued prayers.

This is obviously not a case where one can hope for an improvement, but I hope that he and his family find peace in this time. God bless.