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Thread: Pedro Espinoza - California Death Row

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    Pedro Espinoza - California Death Row


    Jamiel Shaw, Jr. was killed by an illegal immigrant who had been released from jail the day before.


    Pedro Espinoza



    The suspected street gang member charged in the shooting death of a high school football star may have been in the country illegally, an immigration official said Saturday.

    U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials will detain and investigate Pedro Espinoza, 19, for possible deportation once his current murder charge has run its course, agency spokeswoman Virginia Kice said.

    Espinoza was released from jail in an assault case the day before the March 2 killing of 17-year-old Jamiel Shaw Jr., a standout running back at Los Angeles High School, police said.

    Kice said she did not know if ICE had placed an immigration hold on him during that jail term. But she said inmates on such holds are generally released directly into her agency's custody.

    ICE takes hundreds of inmates into custody from Southern California prisons and jails each week who are in the country illegally or lost their right to remain in the country after being convicted of a crime, Kice said.

    But some deportable inmates escape detection by lying to ICE investigators or local law enforcement officials about their place of birth, she said.

    "There could be any number of reasons why an individual was not a subject of an ICE detainer in the past," she said. "It's possible that someone coming into the jail system may have made a false claim about their birthplace."

    Kice did not know what prompted ICE to investigate Espinoza during his current incarceration.

    Espinoza, a suspected member of a street gang called 18th Street, was charged last week with a single murder count with a special-circumstance allegation that could make him eligible for the death penalty, prosecutors said.

    Police are looking for a second suspect.

    ICE officials placed their immigration hold late last week on Espinoza, Kice said.

    The suspected shooter, who is believed to have been born in Mexico, will be released to her agency's custody "if and when he is released from local custody," she said.

    Questions about Espinoza's immigration status were first reported by KTTV-TV.

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    Jamiel Shaw Accused Killer May Face Death Penalty

    Los Angeles County prosecutors said today they will seek the death penalty against a 20-year-old gang member charged with murdering a 17-year-old boy near his Arlington Heights home.

    Pedro Espinoza is accused of the March 2, 2008, shooting death of Jamiel Shaw, a standout football player at Los Angeles High School.

    Espinoza, an 18th Street gang member and illegal immigrant who had been released from jail on a firearms charge the day before Shaw was killed, was arrested four days after the slaying. He was bound over for trial last summer on a charge of murder, with a special circumstance gang allegation.

    Shaw's parents are suing the county, alleging that Espinoza should not have been freed from jail, but turned over to immigration authorities.

    Shaw's mother, Army Sgt. Anita Shaw, who was in Iraq when her son was slain, and his father, Jamiel Shaw Sr., mounted an unsuccessful petition drive aimed at getting a law passed that would enable police to arrest illegal immigrant gang members and hand them over to federal authorities.

    Under policy established by Los Angeles police 1979, officers are forbidden from stopping or questioning people solely about their immigration status.

    http://cbs2.com/local/Jamiel.Shaw.Pedro.2.1145343.html

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    Four Years After His Death, Murder Trial Set to Begin in Case of Slain High School Football Star Jamiel Shaw

    Four years after a Los Angeles High School football star was gunned down in front of his home, spurring a push for a new law to crack down on undocumented immigrants, the trial is set to begin for the man accused of his murder.

    Pedro Espinoza, a 19-year-old undocumented immigrant and a known gang member, faces a charge of murder with special circumstances in the slaying of Jamiel Andre Shaw, 17, who was fatally shot in the head and stomach while talking on the phone with his girlfriend just a couple of doors down from his home in the 2100 block of 5th Avenue in the Arlington Heights neighborhood.

    On Tuesday 160 prospective jurors filled out questionnaires that included questions about the death penalty.

    Judge Ronald Rose directed the seated jurors—six men and six women-- to avoid reading or watching any media coverage relating to the death penalty, saying “we need you to be a proper jury.” Rose has denied media requests to record or broadcast portions of the trial, held at the Criminal Justice Center downtown.

    Opening arguments are expected to begin on Monday, April 30.

    In court on Tuesday Espinoza wore a dark suit and glasses, his hair shaved close on the sides and slicked back on top. Espinoza’s attorney, Csaba Plafi, said his client’s family declined to attend the trial, some “out of fear” and others because they were out of town.

    Jamiel’s father, Jamiel Shaw Sr., sat in the front row with Althea Shaw, Jamiel’s aunt, and family friends. They were separated from Espinoza by a large glass window and an iron metal cage, remnants of one of the original high security courtrooms in the building.

    According to Jamiel Shaw Sr., more family members and friends will be present in the coming weeks including Anita Shaw, Jamiel Shaw’s mother, who was serving in the military in Iraq when Jamiel was killed. The only exception will be Thomas Shaw, 13, Jamiel’s younger brother, who will be in school.

    At the time of Jamiel's death, the young football star was being recruited by Rutgers and Stanford University. If he were alive, Shaw said, Jamiel himself would be in school, preparing for college graduation.

    “I’m looking to finish with this chapter of my life,” said Jamiel Shaw Sr. Jr., who discovered his son bleeding on the sidewalk moments after he was shot. “I want to move on to something else.”

    Shaw has seen Espinoza at numerous preliminary hearings over the years. As Shaw watched the tattooed 23-year old cross the courtroom, he expressed frustration at the slow pace of the judicial process in bringing his son’s alleged killer to justice.

    “Sometimes I wish I could attack him right there,” Shaw said.“I’m surprised more people don’t go crazy in court.”

    Gang Affiliation Key to Prosecution Strategy, Defense Looks for "Holes"

    In an interview, LA County Deputy District Attorney Robert Grace, who is prosecuting the case, expressed confidence in winning a conviction.

    “We have a couple witnesses that were at the scene and one who saw the shooting from further away,” Grace said. “We’ll be calling them to the stand to share what they saw.”

    Grace said he will emphasize Espinoza’s gang affiliation, and that “the murder was committed for the benefit of a criminal street gang.”

    If convicted of murder with the special circumstance of committing the crime as a gang member, Espinoza could life without parole or the death penalty.

    Espinoza’s attorney, Csaba Plafi, said he is planning to focus on what he calls “holes” in the prosecution’s argument. Plafi said a neighbor of the Shaws is a crucial witness in the case. His aim, he said, is to offer an alternate perception of the victim.

    “Jamiel wasn’t so innocent himself,” Plafi said in an interview. “That night he was wearing a red backpack, a red belt, red shoes. It’s the duck theory. If it walks like a duck and it looks like a duck…it’s a duck!”

    Plafl said he has not decided whether Espinoza will take the stand.

    “Trials are like chess,” Plafi said. “You want to plan ahead, but you can’t always see that far down. You just don’t know what is going to happen.”

    Tuesday’s court proceedings mark the latest chapter for the Shaw family after years of legal wrangling and an ongoing effort to enact a new law spurred by Jamiel’s death.

    Family's Wrongful Death Lawsuit Dismissed

    In 2009 the Shaw family sued the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s department, alleging that they had been negligent in releasing Espinoza from prison for an un-related abuse charge prior to the alleged murder, despite Espinoza’s lack of legal documentation.

    The lawsuit also alleged wrongful death, civil rights violations and a violation of the U.S. Immigration and Nationality Act, which ensures immigration enforcement by both federal and local police.

    Espinoza was released from the custody of the Los Angeles Police Department just one day before Jamiel was killed. Hours after the shooting, police arrested Espinoza, who emigrated to the US with his mother when he was an infant. He has been awaiting trial in Los Angeles County Jail ever since.

    In 2008, after the news of Jamiel’s death and the circumstances around his murder were made public, the outrage went viral. The Shaw family received a letter from President George Bush and a phone call from Bill Cosby, both expressing their condolences.

    The civil suit was denied by Superior Court Judge Charles Palmer on the grounds that the law did not support the wrongful death case.

    Family Seeks to Revive Interest in Jamiel's Law

    The Shaw family has sought to leverage public interest in Jamiel’s death,trying to generate support for a citywide ballot measure that would repeal Special Order 40, which was created in 1979 to allow victims and witnesses to report crimes without fear of exposing themselves to deportation based on their immigration status.

    The order has also prevented LAPD officers from determining the immigration status of gang members, violent criminals, and felons.

    “Jamiel’s Law” would allow police to collect this information on immigration status and arrest and deport undocumented immigrants for being in the country illegally, even if they haven’t committed a crime.

    The family contends that the circumstances surrounding Jamiel’s death make a strong case for adoption of such a law, but efforts to qualify it for the ballot have proved unsuccessful.

    In a news release issued in 2011, LAPD Charlie Beck described the key role of Special Order 40 in law enforcement.

    “It is imperative that our immigrant communities, regardless of their country of origin, understand that they are not at risk of being deported or subject to any other penalty for reporting crimes that they have either been the victim of or a witness to,” Beck said.

    For Jamiel Shaw Sr., the value of the order does not mitigate his grief. “People think life is like Disneyland and everyone loves you. It’s just not like that anymore,” Shaw said. “My mind still hasn’t even processed Jamiel’s death. It’s years later and I still feel like I’m in a dream.”

    In recent months the Shaws have revived their push to qualify Jamiel’s Law for the ballot, though daily family attendance at the trial may stall that effort. “We want to let the people decide compared to the politicians,” Althea Shaw said.

    On Sunday the Shaws began a daily blog called In Court Today, The Jamiel Shaw Case to detail the daily proceedings of the trial. Shaw Sr. also maintains a weekly Internet radio talk show to discuss aspects of Jamiel’s Law and garner support.

    The Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles (CHIRLA) expressed sympathy for the Shaw family and support for Espinoza’s conviction.

    “The issue that he was an immigrant is irrelevant because this gentlemen committed a crime and should face justice,” said Jorge Mario, communications director of the CHIRLA. “If that means you spend the rest of your life in jail then you should.”

    http://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/lo...148946845.html
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    High School Football Star Murdered Over Spider-Man Backpack

    Los Angeles High School football star, Jamiel Shaw, Jr., 17, was murdered by gang members three doors from his home because of his red Spider-Man backpack, said Deputy District Attorney Bobby Grace during opening arguments of the trial of the accused, Pedro Espinoza, 23, reports Our Weekly.

    The trial for the March 2, 2008 brutal murder began Monday, April 30, at the Criminal Courts Building in downtown Los Angeles.

    Our Weekly reports:

    “That was enough for Pedro Espinoza to figure in his head that Jamiel Shaw was a possible enemy of (his gang),” Grace said.

    He said Espinoza associated the red color of the backpack with the rival Bloods gang, and that “dovetailed with Jamiel Shaw being a young African-American.”

    “Pedro Espinoza would not let this opportunity pass,” he told the jury.

    Espinoza, 23, faces a possible death sentence, if convicted of first-degree murder. The murder charge includes the special circumstance allegation that the killing was carried out to further the activities of a criminal street gang, along with an allegation that Espinoza personally and intentionally discharged a handgun.

    The defendant still sports a tattoo by his left ear consisting of the initials “B.K.,” which Grace said stands for “Blood Killer.”

    According to prosecution, Espinoza ambushed Shaw with an abrupt, “Where you from?” before shooting the teen in the stomach. As Shaw lay crumpled in pain on the ground, Espinoza fired a second shot into his brain, killing him instantly.

    At the time of the murder, Shaw’s mother, U.S. Army Sgt. Anita Shaw, was preparing to return home from her second tour in Iraq.

    “She called crying, saying, ‘Tell me it’s not my son,’ ” said Jamiel’s aunt, Althea Shaw. “She was so proud. She felt he had made it through the hard times. She still called him her baby, even though he was taller than her.”

    Jamiel Shaw, Sr. had just called his son to tell him to hurry up and return home from the mall, not knowing that he was about a block away. After hanging up with his father, Shaw called his girlfriend, Chrystale, to tell her he was almost home when Espinoza approached him. His father says that he had barely hung-up the phone when he heard the shots. Running outside, he saw his son bleeding on the ground, not three doors away from home, reports the L.A. Times.

    “[His mother's] over there trying to protect us from guns and bombs, and then she has to hear that her son is dead over here,” he said at the time. “I’ve got my own personal Iraq now.”

    Since his death, Shaw’s parents tried unsuccessfully to sue the county. Espinoza, an alleged member of the 18th Street Gang in L.A., was a dangerous felon and an “immigration violator” according to them, who was just released two days prior to their son’s murder. The Shaws also tried to get a law passed that would allow police to turn over undocumented immigrant gang members to federal authorities. That effort failed as well, reported the Huffington Post.

    In the days before his death, Shaw was contacted by both Rutgers University and Stanford University and, according to coach Hardy Williams, he was not only a “Houdini on the football field,” but a genuinely good person:

    “He was a very special kid,” Williams said. “Not only was he an outstanding athlete, he was a good person. I’ve never seen Jamiel mad. He had such a big smile.”

    His father, battling through his stunned grief at the time of the murder, said that the thought of his son in pain was unbearable to him.

    “When he went on the field, he never came out,” the father said. “He’d never been hurt. This is the first time I saw him hurt.”

    The parallels between this case of Trayvon Martin are striking. Both young Black men, 17-years-old, walking home to their fathers, talking on the phone with their girlfriends, were gunned down by Hispanic vigilante-thugs, intent on taking “justice” into their own hands, because of an article of clothing — and skin color — that made them suspects.

    If convicted of first-degree murder, Espinoza faces a possible death sentence.

    http://cncnws.com/blog/2012/05/04/hi...-man-backpack/
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    Jamiel Shaw murder trial

    Jurors in the Jamiel Shaw murder trial heard the first part of the prosecution's closing argument Tuesday.

    L.A. County Deputy District Attorney Allyson Ostrowski asked them to return a first-degree murder guilty verdict against Pedro Espinoza, and find true a series of special allegations and circumstances that the killing on March 2, 2008 was done to benefit a street gang.

    "Each and every one of the witnesses...all point to one person," she said. Was it just the most unfortunate coincidence, she asked?

    "No. It's evidence of his guilt."

    Ostrowski compared the case to an old puzzle and asked jurors to see the 'picture on the box' -- even if a few pieces were missing.

    She said Espinoza's own words before and after provide the clues the killing of Jamiel Andre Shaw, II on March 2, 2008 was a premeditated murder.

    "It is clear from the facts this was no accident," she said. "This was an execution."

    While jurors were instructed not to consider whether or not a defendant testifies, Ostrowski said they can consider why the defense chose not to call any witnesses.

    "The defense has yet to provide any reasonable alternative to the evidence presented," she said.

    Espinoza's allegiance to the Alsace St. clique of the 18th Street gang is the only reasonable explanation for the killing, prosecutors said.

    "This gang is the purpose for everything Pedro Espinoza did that night, because there is no other purpose," she said, and added the Alsace group was known as the 'elite murder squad' of the 18th Street gang.

    Attorneys for Espinoza rested their case Monday without calling a single witness to testify.

    Defense lawyer Csaba Palfi said he'd prepared some 50 pages of argument for his closing that will ask the jury to find Espinoza not guilty.

    He said the prosecution had failed to prove guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

    http://www.kfiam640.com/pages/NEWS.html#ixzz1uJafjbcL
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    Gang member convicted of first-degree murder of L.A. High football star

    A 23-year-old gang member was convicted today of first-degree murder for gunning down a standout Los Angeles High School football player whom he mistakenly thought was a rival gang member.

    Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty for Pedro Espinoza, who killed 17-year-old Jamiel Shaw Jr. on March 2, 2008. A penalty phase of trial will begin Tuesday, with jurors being asked to recommend whether Espinoza should be sentenced to death or life in prison without the possibility of parole.

    Jurors deliberated for about four hours before reaching their verdict. They found true the special-circumstance allegation that Shaw's killing was carried out to further the activities of a criminal street gang, along with an allegation that Espinoza personally and intentionally discharged a handgun.

    Shaw was shot twice -- once in the abdomen and a fatal bullet to the head -- only yards from his home in Arlington Heights. His father found him lying on the pavement.

    "This restores my faith in the justice system," Jamiel Shaw Sr. said after the verdict as tears welled in his eyes.

    Prosecutors said Shaw was gunned down while walking home carrying a Spider-Man backpack, the red color of which made Espinoza perceive Shaw as a member of a rival Bloods gang.

    "We are here today because on March 2nd, 2008, he chose to take the life of Jamiel Shaw II," Deputy District Attorney Allyson Ostrowski told jurors during her closing argument, noting that the last thing the teenager heard before being shot was the classic gang challenge, "Where are you from?"

    "It was a cold-blooded murder. It was an execution," the prosecutor said.

    Espinoza, who had no reaction as the verdict was being read, still sports a tattoo by his left ear consisting of the initials "B.K.," which prosecutors said stands for "Blood Killer."

    At the time of the shooting, Espinoza was living in the United States illegally and had just been released from jail for allegedly brandishing a firearm, without immigration authorities placing a hold on him.

    Shaw's parents have campaigned for a law that would enable police to arrest undocumented-immigrant gang members and hand them over to federal authorities.

    "We want (Espinoza) and his homeboys to see that this is what happens when you kill American citizens," Jamiel Shaw Sr. said.

    One of Espinoza's attorneys, Csaba Palfi, told the jury that the prosecution's case was weak because of inconsistencies and said of his client, "Just because he's a gang member doesn't mean he did it."

    "There's no charge for being a gang member. There's no charge for standing up for your gang," Palfi said, urging jurors to give his client "a fair trial."

    But in his rebuttal argument, Deputy District Attorney Bobby Grace said there was a "wall of evidence that points to this particular defendant" shooting Shaw as the teen walked home while talking to his girlfriend on a cellular telephone.

    Shaw's parents vividly recalled learning of his death.

    "To see him lying there (on the pavement) was just unacceptable," the boy's father said.

    Anita Shaw, a sergeant in the U.S. Army, got the news about her son's death while she was serving in Iraq.

    "I felt like my world just came to an end," she said. "That was a painful day, a very, very painful day."

    The Shaws also unsuccessfully sued the county after their son's slaying, alleging that Espinoza was a "dangerous felon and an immigration violator" who should have been turned over to immigration authorities rather than being freed from jail two days before the shooting.

    http://www.dailybreeze.com/crimeandc...-murder-l-high
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    Shaw family urges death penalty for Espinoza

    Prosecutors are urging jurors to recommend the death penalty against Pedro Espinoza, a gang member convicted of murdering high school football star Jamiel Shaw II.

    Espinoza's gang affiliation makes him eligible for the death penalty. He was also reportedly in the country illegally when he murdered Shaw. The prosecution is seeking the death penalty with the support of Shaw's family.

    For three days, probation officers and jail personnel described Espinoza as a persistent troublemaker, attacking other inmates and deputies more than a dozen times.

    His defense team says Espinoza was neglected and abused as a child. That's a stark contrast to how Shaw, 17, was raised.

    Jamiel Shaw II was gunned down just three doors away from his Arlington Heights home after leaving a friend's house in 2008. He was confronted by Espinoza, who thought he was a member of a rival gang.

    Shaw had been attracting attention for his athletic talents from schools like Rutgers and Stanford at the time of his death.

    The parents say the death penalty for Espinoza is justified, and ask that it be done without years of delay.

    Shaw's mother Anita, an Army sergeant, was in Iraq when she was notified of her son's death.

    "He came in and he killed him quickly, so let his death be quickly," said Shaw. "Listen to all the stuff that he has done while my son was doing nothing but good. His life speaks for what he deserves. He's guilty. He deserves death."

    http://abclocal.go.com/kabc/story?se...les&id=8666384
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    Espinoza won't take stand in penalty phase

    The man convicted of killing Jamiel Shaw, a high school football star, will not take the stand in the penalty phase of his trial.

    Jurors convicted Pedro Espinoza in the 2008 murder of the 17-year-old. Now, they are weighing whether to sentence him to death. Espinoza's gang affiliation makes him eligible for the death penalty.

    Prosecutors have asked for the death penalty, but the defense wants life in prison without parole.

    Testimony is expected to resume on Tuesday.

    Shaw was gunned down after leaving a friend's house in 2008. He was confronted by Espinoza, who thought he was a member of a rival gang.

    http://abclocal.go.com/kabc/story?se...les&id=8670667
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    Jurors Recommend Death Penalty For Espinoza In Jamiel Shaw Killing

    A jury recommended on Wednesday that a gang member who gunned down a standout Los Angeles High School football player because he was carrying a red Spider-Man backpack should be sentenced to death.

    Jurors were asked to decide whether to recommend either death or life in prison without the possibility of parole for Pedro Espinoza, 23, who was convicted May 9 of killing Jamiel Shaw on March 2, 2008, near his home in Arlington Heights.

    Deputy District Attorney Allyson Ostrowski told jurors Tuesday that while Espinoza was serving time in juvenile custody years before Shaw’s killing, Espinoza told a Probation Department employee that he was “down for death row” and understood someone had to kill to get there.

    The remark has “shown us that Pedro Espinoza has literally aspired to be here, he has literally aspired to sit in this chair as a capital murder defendant,” the prosecutor told the Los Angeles Superior Court panel.

    Defense attorney M. David Houchin told the six-man, six-woman jury that there has been “so much emotion in this case.”

    Jurors deliberated about four hours on May 9 before convicting Espinoza of first-degree murder and finding true the special circumstance allegation that the slaying was carried out to further the activities of a criminal street gang.

    http://losangeles.cbslocal.com/2012/...-shaw-killing/
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    Father of murdered teen urges Gov. Brown to veto bill ordering illegal immigrants released

    A California father whose son was murdered execution-style in 2008 by an illegal immigrant gangster has launched a campaign to persuade Gov. Jerry Brown to veto a bill that would have police release illegal immigrants into the streets even when the feds want them detained.

    The controversial bill, which passed the legislature in August, would compel local law enforcement in most cases to ignore requests by Immigration and Customs Enforcement to hold illegal immigrants if they could otherwise be released.

    Advocates say it's a way for police to build "trust" with local communities -- the name of the bill is the TRUST Act. But opponents warn the policy could have dangerous consequences.

    The bill "will have real and potentially devastating consequences for people across our state," Jamiel Shaw Sr., whose 17-year-old son was killed, said in a statement.

    Shaw separately put out a web video appealing to Brown to reject the bill.

    "Would you want that to happen to your son? ... How many have to die by people being let out into the streets from the county jail that should be deported," he said in the video. "No one should have to go through losing a child."

    Shaw's son Jamiel Shaw Jr., a high school football player, was killed in 2008 by a member of the 18th Street Gang hours after he had been released from a local jail. Pedro Espinoza was accused of shooting Shaw twice, after mistaking him for a rival gang member. A jury recommended the death penalty for Espinoza earlier this year.

    Bob Dane, a spokesman at the Federation for American Immigration Reform, said California would open the door to a rampant public safety threat - as well as additional financial burden on the state - if the governor lets the bill become law. He noted Brown could opt to take no action on the bill, allowing it to become law by default.

    "It's the perfect storm for complete lawlessness," he told FoxNews.com, saying the state would be rolling out "the welcome mat" for illegal immigrants and become even more of a magnet.

    "This is not the work of responsible custodians of the public trust," he said.

    The bill would compel law enforcement in California to release illegal immigrants once they become eligible -- even if ICE wants them held -- unless the individual has been convicted of a "serious or violent felony."

    Supporters cited the financial burden on local communities that hold these detainees for ICE and the potential erosion of trust with police.

    In a Sept. 13 letter to Brown signed by House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi and other Democratic members of the California congressional delegation, supporters urged the governor to sign the bill. They cited accounts that a federal program called Secure Communities "currently erodes trust between local communities and law enforcement."

    "They report that the initiative already has reduced the willingness of immigrant and non-immigrant crime victims and witnesses to cooperate with law enforcement and has consequently diminished public safety," they wrote. The suggestion is that illegal immigrants would be reluctant to report crimes out of concern ICE would come after them.

    Secure Communities is a program that allows federal immigration agents to work with local officials to determine who in local jails might be deportable.

    But Shaw argues that police in California are not interested in checking the immigration status of people who report or witness crimes.

    Further, he argues that in California in particular, illegal immigrants are not fearful of law enforcement.

    Federal immigration officials have defended the Secure Communities program, which they say has helped the agency remove nearly 150,000 convicted criminals to date -- including murderers and rapists.

    ICE Director John Morton wrote in an Aug. 23 letter to FAIR that communities that ignore ICE requests to hold detainees "are undermining public safety in their communities by exposing their local communities to risks from suspected and convicted sex offenders, weapons violators, drunk drivers and other violent criminals."

    "These are not hypothetical risks," he wrote. The letter was in reference to a separate initiative in Illinois.

    ICE spokeswoman Gillian Christensen told FoxNews.com on Wednesday that the agency implements "clear priorities" to focus on convicted criminals. She stressed the importance of local cooperation, without commenting specifically on the California proposal.

    "The federal government alone sets these priorities and places detainers on individuals arrested on criminal charges to ensure that dangerous criminal aliens and other priority individuals are not released from prisons/jails and into our communities," she said. "The Administration remains committed to immigration reform and to enforcing current law in a smart and effective manner across the country."

    http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012...#ixzz26vt3r3wq
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