Publicity and Deportation

Finally, it looks like someone at the federal level may have been taking MY advice to heart! While I'm sure that it's purely coincidence that I suggested something a few months ago and then today found out that it actually happened - the Colbert inside can't help but celebrating with cheesy graphics, a balloon drop, and the phrase "I CALLED IT!"

For those of you who don't remember this post about the May Day rallies, I called for the I.C.E. to monitor the most obvious source of information on illegal immigrants: news stories featuring illegal immigrants. Especially if there's a name. ESPECIALLY if it's accompanied by a city/state. ESPECIALLY if there's an accompanying picture. Seriously, if there's a picture of an illegal immigrant in the papers or one featured on a news telecast, how can the feds NOT be deporting these people?

Well, finally, they did.

Immigrations and Customs Enforcement agents arrested Mynor Montufar at his apartment Friday after local newspapers and television stations showed him and Carmen Marrero as parents of the first baby born in the state after the new year rolled in, officials said. ICE spokeswoman Paula Grenier said the timing of Montufar's arrest was coincidental to the publicity surrounding his child. Another man also was arrested at the apartment, although Grenier would not identify him, citing agency policy.

So the ICE is going to play the "coincidental" card? I'd like to think higher of them, and that they finally started playing the game smarter than they supposedly have been playing in the past. It really shouldn't take a rocket scientist to see an illegal immigrant on the news and connect it with deporting them. For all the nonsense flying around about Big Brother listening in to private broadcasts, it's about time that someone on the federal level listened in to a public one and did something about it!

The story gets better when it turns out that another man was taken into custody at the apartment as well. While I don't want to go off about a stereotype involving multiple illegal immigrants sticking together, I can follow a flow of unbiased logic to get to the same conclusion. After all, since landlords aren't supposed to rent to illegal immigrants, one would logically figure that if one illegal immigrant managed to procure a living space, others would join rather than struggle to procure more living spaces. In fact, there was a third illegal immigrant living there as well! The ICE never entered that locked bedroom, but the fear of deportation once they entered and made the arrests was possibly what drove him to hang himself with a belt. It's still not clear WHEN the suicide happened - but it's likely it happened at the time or shortly after the arrests were being made.

The president of the Mexican-American Association of Rhode Island, Antonio Barajas, said an investigation would show whether the death was a result of distress triggered by fear of deportation. "There are two tragedies," Barajas said. "Hopefully an investigation will be conducted to determine whether they are related or not."

No, Antonio, an autopsy would NOT show if the death was a result of distress or fear over deportation. I'm pretty damned sure it WILL show that the death was a result of suicide by hanging. It COULD show that the death happened around the time that ICE entered and made arrests, but it won't know a motive or causation for the suicide. You don't get to blame the people doing their job (correctly, for a change) for the suicide of a possibly-frightened man in a locked bedroom.

Frankly, if you choose death over going back to the country you emigrated from - what does that really say about your native country?

All in all, I would NOT call this a tragedy in any way - neither the death of a cowardly criminal or the arrest and probable deportation of a criminal bold enough to voluntarily appear in the news. I sincerely hope that the ICE continues to follow my advice and keep their eyes peeled on the news for all the leads towards illegal immigrants than they can find. If I run across more stories featuring illegal immigrants, I'll certainly post the information here on my blog. I just want to help fight crime - even if it is in such a passive manner.

ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION IS ILLEGAL.

(The story the led to the arrest)

(The story about the arrest)