Friday, February 22, 2008

On doing the jobs that Americans won't do...Part....

Imagine you're the family in southwest Minnesota, awaiting on a call that will let you know if your child is safe.

Imagine getting that call, and hearing that your child, or children, are dead.

Now, after losing a child in a tragic highway mishap on a schoolbus, imagine your anger when you find that not only shouldn't the perp have been on the road, not only did she have no insurance, not only is she living under an assumed name; but that if immigration laws were enforced, even when she was convicted two years ago of driving without a license, she would have never have even been in the country in the first place:

MINNEAPOLIS — A woman who authorities say is in the country illegally and using an alias was charged Friday with four counts of criminal vehicular homicide and two lesser charges in a school bus crash that killed four children.

A woman who identified herself as Alianiss Nunez Morales, 23, of Minneota, was driving a van that failed to stop at a stop sign Tuesday before hitting a bus carrying 28 students from Lakeview School, Lyon County Attorney Richard Maes said. The accident happened near the small town of Cottonwood, in southwestern Minnesota.

Morales was also charged with a stop sign violation and for driving without a valid license, Maes said.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents are trying to figure out the woman's true identity. Claude Arnold, ICE special agent in charge of investigations, said his agency believes Morales is an illegal immigrant. ICE has filed paperwork to detain her for deportation proceedings after the criminal case is resolved.

Now imagine being the parent of said dead or injured child(ren), knowing not only is she not supposed to be in the country, but that she has the cajones to refuse to cooperate with authorities:
"The only name we have for her is the name she gave us when she was booked," Arnold said, adding that the woman told authorities she was from Mexico.

Arnold said ICE would continue to investigate her identity.

"We're going to do everything in our power and authority to ensure justice is served in this case," he said.

Morales does not have a Minnesota driver's license, and "she doesn't have a (driver's license) anywhere that we're aware of," said Lt. Mark Peterson of the Minnesota State Patrol.

According to the criminal complaint filed Friday, Morales used an interpreter to tell police that she stopped at the stop sign.

"She stated that she stopped for the stop sign and that when she took off, the bus hit her," according to a statement of probable cause.

Translation: "Yeah, teacher... I didn't hit that kid... his face just hit my fist as it was innocently flying through the air.."

Yeah, I know, George Bush. Yeah, I know, John McCain... yeah, I know Hillary Clinton. Yeah, I know, Barack Obama. this case exemplifies yet another in a series of "law abiding" good, hard-working folk who are here only to do the jobs that Americans won't do. Like recklessly driving so that they kill or maim innocent school children. Police have released negative toxicology reports on the bus driver, as well as the pickup driver; yet a toxicology report has not yet been released on "Morales" (though the results are in).

I only hope that the tragic deaths of those four students are not in vain, and that this incident serves as the clarion call to put politics aside, and once and for all enforce our immigration laws.