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According to the Associated Press, $4 million worth of cocaine was seized from a Mexican national during a traffic stop in Forsyth County, Georgia.

[Forsyth County Sheriff Ted] Paxton said Patrol Deputy Lawrence Tanner spotted a light extended cab pick-up truck making an illegal lane change on Buford Highway at Highway 400.

Tanner noticed the driver was a Mexican national with a Mexican driver’s permit in a locally registered vehicle and in the vehicle were several suitcases in plain view.

When searched, deputies found they held 60-kilo packages of cocaine.

“In our terms it turns out to be 132 pounds, that’s 132 pounds of cocaine, and in and of itself is the largest seizure of cocaine in Forsyth County,” Paxton said.

Deputy Tanner charged 45-year-old Justo Alberto Lazano-Schadtler of Mission San Carlos, Mexico with failure to maintain a lane, but he is in jail without bond for trafficking in cocaine.

Previously:

• February 2007: $89,600 meth delivery seized in Gainesville, GA
• 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

              

In a baffling move, it appears that President Bush and other “get-tough” Republicans appear poised to propose indefinite amnesty for immigration law breakers and. Interestingly enough, the Associated Press calls this a ‘conservative plan’, conservative I guess in the sense that it does not grant immediate retroactive citizenship on anyone breaking the law.

Under the plan, undocumented workers could apply for three-year work visas, which the plan dubs “Z'’ visas. They would be renewable indefinitely but renewal would cost $3,500 each time.

The undocumented workers would have legal status with the visas, but to get a green card, making them legal permanent residents, they’d have to return to their home country, apply at a U.S. embassy or consulate to re-enter legally and pay a $10,000 fine.

Can someone please explain how blocking a path to citizenship, but allowing indefinite work visas to anyone and everyone will either change employer hiring practices or discourage people from flowing in and breaking the laws?

Well anyway, I guess we have some of our first candidates for the “Z” Visa - discovered crammed into a van during a routine traffic stop on I-85 near Buford, GA, 18 suspected illegal aliens arrested in Buford:

A Gwinnett County Police officer discovers 18 suspected illegal immigrants in a van during a routine traffic stop on I-85 in Buford.

The officer initially pulled the van over because it had a paper drive out tag covered in a plastic bag with heavily tinted windows.

Despite a language barrier, the officer was able to determine that including the driver, Cesar Guzman Garciahere, 19, there were 18 occupants inside the van–17 men and one woman.

Inside the van authorities found food wrappers, clothing, and numerous plastic containers filled with human waste. Cpl. Darren Moloney says that leads police to think they were trying to stop as little as possible.

All of the occupants were taken into custody by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Agents say all 18 were illegal aliens from Mexico. Their exact destination and how they entered the country is unknown.

Not sure why it matters: please issue them a Z Visa, a drivers license, and food stamps immediately. Once you get here, we need you. Oh, and by the way, please dispose of the containers of human waste you’ve been sitting with once you get here.

              

Simply unbelieveable. As Fox News reports, illegal immigrants are almost certain not to be arrested even if they are discovered.

Guidelines issued by U.S. attorneys in Texas showed that most illegal immigrants crossing into the state had to be arrested at least six times before federal authorities would prosecute them, according to an internal Justice Department memo.

The disclosure provides a rare view of how federal authorities attempt to curb illegal immigration. The memo was released this week in response to a congressional investigation of the dismissals of eight U.S. attorneys.

The Border Patrol makes more than 1 million arrests a year on the U.S.-Mexico border. T.J. Bonner, head of a union representing Border Patrol agents, said it’s unrealistic to prosecute all violators.

Why do you think there are so many people crossing the border? Could it be that it’s because we keep looking the other way when it comes to violating the immigration law? And then because so many people flaunt our neglect, we then say the problem is too big to solve?

The fact that one million people are actually caught at the border to be a good sign. And if we started by being serious and sending them back - others will undoubtably get the message!

              

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.

              

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!

              

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.

              

Federal authorities seized over 1000 pounds of marijuana which was being smuggled into Georgia from Mexico. The obviously racist officials continue to deny Mexico’s attempts to improve it’s own economy through ‘free trade’.

Ha!

According to the Associated Press report:

Federal agents seized more than a half ton of marijuana after tracking the drugs from Savannah to Athens, authorities said Friday.

Frank Jaramillo, port director for the U.S. Customs and Border Protection office in Savannah, said the 1,118 pounds of marijuana led to multiple arrests, though he declined to give a specific number. The drugs valued at more than $1 million were shipped from Mexico hidden inside bags of laundry detergent.

At first, agents believed they were intercepting smuggled tuna. They discovered the drugs two weeks ago in Savannah, but allowed the shipment to proceed inland so they could determine its destination, Jaramillo said.

There’s hasn’t been word yet on those arrested or their immigration status.

Previously:

• 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