ICE orders release of 4 illegal immigrants (Standard Speaker)

ICE orders release of 4 illegal immigrants
BY TOM RAGAN (STAFF WRITER)
Published: June 24, 2011

Four illegal immigrants caught in Beaver Meadows since Wednesday were ordered to be released by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency, the borough police chief said.

On Thursday afternoon, police stopped a blue Honda Accord that was traveling 57 mph in a 35 mph zone on Route 93, Beaver Meadows Police Chief Michael Morresi said.

The driver, Robert Isaac Rivera-Campos, 22, of El Salvador, could not produce proof of insurance for the car, which had an expired registration and Maryland plates, Morresi said. One of the three passengers had a valid Maryland driver's license but the other two were from Honduras and had fake identifications, he said. ICE was notified and discovered the driver and the two men from Honduras - 33-year-old Carlos Cordona and 24-year-old Walter Borgas - were in this country illegally for six years. All four men were most recently living in Baltimore.

Rivera-Campos was cited for speeding and having no license; Cordona and Borgas were cited for having false identifications. ICE refused to pick them up, according to Morresi, because they had no criminal records; however, Morresi discovered one of the men was charged with assault. Since it was a recent incident, the charge did not appear in the system, he said.

About 5:30 p.m. Morresi said three of the men went to the impound lot and asked an attendant if they could retrieve something out of the vehicle. Morresi said the three illegals jumped in the car and drove off toward Hazleton.

On Wednesday, Morresi stopped 24-year-old Cezar Ramirez-Cortes for speeding on Route 93. An investigation revealed that Ramirez-Cortes, who did not have a criminal record, was originally from Mexico and had been stopped for speeding six times in the past four years he has been in the U.S. illegally. Beaver Meadows police cited him for speeding, driving without a license and driving with a suspended license. His vehicle was impounded because he is a habitual offender, Morresi said.

Ramirez-Cortes can re-claim his car but must show proof of ownership and have a valid driver's license and insurance. ICE was notified but since he had no criminal record Morresi had to drive him to the Carbon County line and release him on foot.

A similar incident occurred in May when a speeding illegal immigrant produced a Mexican registration card as identification, two public benefit Access cards bearing different names and $3,000 in cash. At the time, an ICE official said he was not detained because "the subject was not arrested and charged with a crime by the local department, did not have a criminal record and is not a fugitive from ICE, the subject was not a priority case and a detainer was not placed."