Massachusetts state representatives are vowing to push for tough immigration laws after an illegal immigrant suspected of killing two people was discovered to
“„“What was he doing walking the streets?” an indignant state Rep. Brad Hill (R-Ipswich) demanded to know of Fernando Guerrero-Lara, 27. “If the federal government isn’t going to do their job, then I guess we’ll have to start doing it ourselves, state by state.” [...]
“„U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has refused to say why Guerrero-Lara, a Dominican immigrant, was not in custody pending his preliminary March 7, 2011, deportation hearing.
“„State Rep. Jeffrey Perry (R-Sandwich), who is running for retiring U.S. Rep. William Delahunt’s seat, pushed this year to pass more stringent hurdles blocking illegal aliens from receiving state services. “This is a prime example of the impact illegal immigration has on our country,” Perry said. “It’s absolutely a matter of public safety.”
“„“If an illegal immigrant commits a crime, this confirms our view that illegal immigrants are criminals,” Ms. Gans said. “If an illegal immigrant doesn’t commit a crime, either they just didn’t get caught or it’s a fluke of the situation.”
“„Ms. Gans noted that sponsors of Arizona’s controversial immigration enforcement law have made careers of promising to rid the state of illegal immigrants through tough legislation.
“„“Their repeated characterization of illegal immigrants as criminals — easy to do since they broke immigration laws — makes it easy for people to ignore statistics,” she said.