Unlicensed Immigrant Killed My Son, S 744 Pardons Criminals

The Border Security, Economic Opportunity and Immigration Modernization Act, S.744, is filled with lies of commission. Chuck Schumer and his Gang of 8 tell us that aliens will be required to pay back taxes and pay fines as well as be subject to extensive background checks – all empty promises. Schumer’s deceit will supplant “the check is in the mail” as America’s favorite lie.

But S.744 contains even more nefarious elements that you’ll never hear the Gang of 8 tout. These are lies of omission. Regardless of anyone’s feeling about S.744, America should not protect criminals and put them on a path to citizenship.

But under S.744 anyone with two misdemeanors gets a free pass. In fact, even if illegal immigrants have been convicted of more than two misdemeanors or commit more after the bill passes, DHS has the authority to waive their crimes and keep the aliens on their citizenship path. Most misdemeanor crimes are committed by a small percentage of the population and never solved. If convicted of one, the probability is high that ten may have been committed.

Take for example drunk drivers. If an alien has already been convicted of drunk driving, he should be deported. S.744 ignores the first two DUIs of the illegal immigrant. If he gets a third, DHS can and probably will grant him a waiver.

Look at the tragic story of Riverside, California, sheriff’s dispatcher Dominick Durden killed by Guatemalan illegal alien Juan Tzun.

In 2008 Tzun was charged with two felonies. He pled guilty to one felony and the other was dropped. Tzun was given three years probation but should have been deported. A year later he was caught driving drunk. Three more years probation; but again, no deportation.

Another year later, Tzun was caught driving drunk a second time. Had he been detained by ICE pending his DUI hearing, Durden would be alive. Instead, Tzun was released and less than 60 days later he drove into Durden, and Durden was killed instantly. Finally, ICE detained Tzun until an immigration judge freed him on bond. Tzun spent all of 35 days in jail. Now Tzun is in detention pending deportation, too little and too late to save Durden. [Dispatcher’s Killer Could Serve Only 34 Days, by Brian Rokos, Press-Enterprise, April 4, 2013]

S.744 protects killers. Roberto Galo, while driving without a license, killed my son Drew in 2010. Galo had been previously caught driving without a license, but the San Francisco DA’s office dropped the charges, although he had failed his driving test twice. Although Galo originally entered the country illegally from Honduras in 1998, he was granted Temporary Protective Status (TPS) in 1999. Galo was charged with felony vehicular homicide and driving without a license. As frequently happens in these cases, the judge at the preliminary hearing reduced the charge to misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter even though Galo drove back and forth over my son three times trying to flee from the scene.

Galo was convicted of both charges and under the law (one felony or two misdemeanors) should have been deported after he served a mere 43 days in jail. But DHS policy supersedes the law. Driving without a license (DWL) doesn’t count. According to USCIS Director Mayorkas, DWL kills more than 7,000 people a year, but is a minor offense. Furthermore, multiple misdemeanors on the same incident only count as one. It took me eight months, a lot of time, money and heartache to get Galo deported. The complete story with updates is on my website here.

Believe it or not, S.744 would make similar situations even worse than what I went through. If passed, the bill would allow Galo to re-enter the United States, possibly to kill again but without becoming eligible for deportation.

Not one more of our children should die because of S.744’s twisted priorities.