No! do you really think so?

Many deported felons just sneak back across border
U.S. pushing prosecution, lengthy prison terms to deter re-entry

by Daniel González - Aug. 16, 2009 12:00 AM
The Arizona Republic .

The goal of the U.S. government's expanding program to rid the country of foreign-born criminals is clear: Find illegal immigrants who commit violent crimes and deport them so they no longer pose a threat to the public.

The government has successfully deported hundreds of thousands of foreign-born criminals in recent years. But a significant number have come back again, illegally, to the United States, often to commit more crimes, according to government data and interviews with law-enforcement authorities, federal prosecutors and criminal-defense lawyers.

There are no broad government statistics on how many deported criminals re-enter the United States illegally, but arrests by Border Patrol agents in the Tucson region alone suggest the number is high. In fiscal year 2008, 16 percent of the 317,696 immigrants arrested by agents in Tucson, one of nine sectors on the U.S.-Mexican border, were charged with felony counts of re-entering illegally, either because they had prior felony convictions in the U.S. or previously had been formally deported. Crossing the border illegally is typically a misdemeanor.The illegal re-entry of people who have been deported, especially those with criminal histories, represents one of the most vexing and persistent problems in the government's stepped-up effort to battle illegal immigration. The government doesn't have the resources to prosecute all of them, and in the past most were simply just deported again.
There is no easy answer, especially as authorities struggle with shrinking budgets and increasing responsibilities.

But now to deter re-entry, the government is beefing up efforts to prosecute violent criminals who come back to the country after they've been incarcerated and then deported, sentencing the most dangerous and egregious offenders to lengthy prison terms, rather than just automatically sending them back home.

The goal is to prevent deported criminals who re-enter the U.S. from committing more crimes and to deter others from re-entering, said Joseph Koehler, an assistant U.S. attorney in Phoenix who supervises a unit that prosecutes these cases.

The only way to deter violent criminals who get "formally kicked out of the country" and repeatedly return is to "make it very clear that there is a sanction for coming into the United States," Koehler said.

But even that is no guarantee that a criminal prosecuted for re-entering the country illegally, sent to prison and then deported again won't sneak back into the country.

"I'd say it happens fairly frequently," Koehler said. "It certainly is not the majority of the people we prosecute, but there are a significant number who do."

Jessica Vaughan, director of policy studies at the Center for Immigration Studies, a think tank in Washington, D.C., that favors less immigration, said prosecuting deported criminals who return to the United States is effective at preserving public safety because it takes criminals off the street.

"These are not just people coming to work as bus boys," she said. "They are coming to return to a life of crime."

But, she said, it is difficult to say whether prosecuting deported criminals actually deters them or others from re-entering illegally.

"The only way to stop that is to have better security at the border," she said.

Atmore Baggat, a defense attorney who has represented immigrants charged with felony counts of illegal re-entry, said deported immigrants often return for jobs or because their spouses or children are still in this country, not necessarily to commit crimes.

He said many often do not realize the penalty for re-entry can be so harsh.

"I don't know how much the government impresses upon them the penalties for coming back," he said.

Federal officials say deportees are given plenty of warning, including a written statement that notifies them that re-entering the U.S. illegally is a federal offense that could cost them up to 20 years in prison. Helloooo? They are criminals.....they commit crimes.... they are not planning on being caught, so they don't really think about penalties in the here and now.... duh.

Marc Rosenblum, a senior policy analyst at the Migration Policy Institute, a nonpartisan research organization in Washington, D.C., said the United States has tried developing programs with other countries to integrate deported criminals into their homelands rather than just "dumping them at the border or kicking them off an airplane." But those efforts fell off following the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, he said.

Rosenblum said, however, that countries are often reluctant to take in deported criminals.

"When you talk about real bad guys, they are not real attractive to take back," Rosenblum said.

He said there is strong public support for deporting illegal immigrants who commit crimes and for prosecuting those who return. But, he stressed, studies have shown that illegal immigrants tend to commit fewer crimes than people born in the United States.

The U.S. government is deporting more criminals than ever before.

In fiscal year 2008, ICE deported 369,221 people, 31 percent of whom had criminal records. The year before, 35 percent of the 291,060 people deported had criminal records.

Over the past two years, Immigration and Customs Enforcement also has greatly ramped up a program to identify illegal immigrants in the federal prison system and deport them. In fiscal 2008, ICE began proceedings to deport 46 percent more illegal-immigrant criminals than it did the previous year and 225 percent more than in fiscal year 2006, according to the agency's annual report.

Those numbers do not include the more than 78,000 illegal immigrants who have been placed in deportation proceedings over the past five years through a separate ICE program that trains state and local jail officials on how to identify inmates who are in the country illegally.

In Arizona, the number of people prosecuted for felony re-entry jumped 300 percent from 1997 to 2007, according to the Justice Department. Nationwide, prosecutions increased 150 percent during the same period.

Vincent Picard, an ICE spokesman in Phoenix, said the agency's Detention and Removal Operations has placed highest priority on those who "pose the most danger to our community," primarily illegal immigrants who have been convicted of violent crimes and major drug offenses.

From Jan. 1 through June 30 of this year, the ICE office in Phoenix had initiated 1,497 such cases, more than any other ICE office in the nation. The San Antonio office initiated the second-highest number, 997, and 96 percent of those cases were accepted for prosecution.

The U.S. Attorney's Office in Phoenix, however, because of limited resour- ces, accepted less than half of the Phoenix cases, 659, according to ICE records.

Nationwide, ICE has initiated 9,954 cases through June 30; 6,462 were accepted for prosecution.

Koehler, the assistant U.S. attorney in Phoenix, said the office can't keep up with all the cases, despite the addition of four prosecutors over the past year. As a result, the office focuses on the worst offenders, including deported immigrants with violent criminal histories and illegal immigrants who have re-entered multiple times.

"In a world of limited resources, you always have to prioritize your targets," Koehler said.

Illegal immigrants who aren't prosecuted are deported again. Koehler acknowledged that there is a chance some will return and commit more crimes.

"I think that there is always a class of people that is hard to deter from committing further crime," he said.

Killing thugs: You're Doing it Right!

Top cop Raymond Kelly says Harlem Blue Flame Co. owner "Shotgun Gus" shot in self-defense

BY Tanyanika Samuels and Corky Siemaszko

DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITERS

Sunday, August 16th 2009, 4:00 AM

Charles "Gus" Augusto, in the Blue Flame Corp., where he shot four robbers with his shotgun, killing two, and wounding two .

New York's top cop on Saturday defended the shotgun-toting Harlem businessman who became a reluctant hero by blasting the bandits terrorizing his store.

Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said Charles (Gus) Augusto "acted in self-defense" when he killed two thugs and wounded two more on Thursday.

"He certainly had the right to defend himself and his co-workers," he said. "I know he took no pleasure in this thing. It was the toughest day of his life."

Kelly spoke as officials prepared to arraign the two tough guys who survived being shot by Augusto on Thursday.

"No one could take pleasure in taking a life, but all indications are he acted pursuant to New York penal law," Kelly said of Augusto.

A 72-year-old businessman who has operated the Blue Flame restaurant supply store for decades, Augusto grabbed his gun after the invaders burst into his store and began beating up his store clerk.

Augusto said he told the alleged ringleader, 29-year-old James Morgan of Manhattan, they had no money and pleaded with him to let them go. But Morgan wouldn't listen and resumed pistol-whipping Toxie (JB) Hall.

So Augusto fired three times, killing Morgan and 21-year-old Raylin Footmon. Shamel McCloud and Bernard Witherspoon, both 21, staggered bleeding out of the store and were quickly caught by cops.

"I would have been happy if they'd all run out of the door," Augusto told The Daily News on Friday when he reopened his store on West 125th St. "I'm sick to my stomach over it."

Augusto also bristled at being called a hero.

"I would have felt like a hero if I could have talked that kid into going home," he said.

Asked if he had another weapon in case somebody else tried to rob him, Augusto said, "I'm not going to tell you that."

It was later discovered that Augusto did not have a permit for the shotgun, which he had purchased more than 20 years earlier - and had hoped he would never have to fire.

Police officials said Saturday that shotgun owners are required to register their weapons with the city - unlike permits needed for handguns. Augusto's shotgun was registered.

Augusto stayed home Saturday and the store was closed.

The front door was still pitted from the shotgun blasts. And on the sidewalk, specks of blood were still visible.

Sometimes you just need to remember the good times.

Tip your hat and thank the man. Would America be the same without him?

Way to go Gus!!!

Blue Flame owner kills two: Harlem's restaurant supply owner shoots two dead after botched robbery

BY Kerry Burke, Alison Gendar and Bill Hutchinson

DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITERS
Friday, August 14th 2009, 5:07 AM




Charles Augusto, (in blue shirt and white T-shirt) owner of the Kaplan Brothers Blue Flame Co. is led out after apparently shooting four people with a shotgun during a robbery.

A shotgun-wielding owner of a Harlem restaurant-supply company blasted two robbers to death and wounded two others on Thursday when he caught them pistol-whipping his employee, police said.
Turning the tables on the brutish bandits, 72-year-old Charles (Gus) Augusto opened fire with a 12-gauge shotgun he kept handy for such occasions, cops and witnesses said.

"He's been robbed before, so I'm not totally amazed," said Stefany Blyn, who rents a space above the store from Augusto.

"They ran into some tough stuff today," witness Vernon McKenzie, 48, said of the stickup men, including one whose bloody corpse was splayed on the sidewalk in front of Augusto's store on W. 125th St. near Amsterdam Ave.

The robbers stormed into the business, Kaplan Brothers Blue Flame, just after 3 p.m. demanding cash.

"He did a large cash business," a police source said. "They were probably watching the place and made a move after a sell."

Neighbors said Augusto, who was not charged last night, had sold a stove earlier in the day.

The stickup crew - three 21-year-olds and a 29-year-old - came prepared with a pistol and plastic handcuffs. They tried to tie up two of Augusto's employees - a 35-year-old man and his 47-year-old female co-worker, said Deputy Police Commissioner Paul Browne.

"The male employee started to struggle, and then, as he did that, the perp with the gun struck him once in the head," Browne said.

"... That's when the owner opened fire with the shotgun."

As the bandits bolted from the store, Augusto squeezed off three blasts from the pistol-grip shotgun from 20 to 30 feet away from the pistol-whipped employee.

He was deadly accurate. The four bandits - who were all from Manhattan - were hit.

Two of the robbers were struck in the back. One, identified as James Morgan, dropped dead inside the store among the sparkling gas stoves, a pistol near his body.

The other - Raylin Footmon, a nephew of a cop in the NYPD's 25th Precinct - made it across the street before collapsing on the sidewalk, police and witnesses said. He was later pronounced dead at St. Luke's Hospital.

The furious employee who had been pistol-whipped ran out of the store and leaned over the mortally wounded Footmon, cursing at him, witnesses said.

The worker went back into the store and dragged Morgan's body onto the sidewalk, yelling at him and kicking him, witnesses said.

"He stood over the body cursing him and shaking him, even though he was dead," said Matthew Viane, 38, who lives in the neighborhood. "He was screaming at him and stomping him. "He [the employee] said, 'You were going to kill me? Now you're dead!'"

Viane said he overheard the 35-year-old employee - whom cops took away from the scene in handcuffs, but later released - thanking Augusto.

"Gus, you saved my life. You saved my life," Viane quoted the worker as saying.

A man who worked at Blue Flame a couple of years ago unloading trucks said Augusto was just sticking up for himself.

"He's a respectable businessman. ... He wouldn't hurt a fly. He found a deer by his house and nursed him back to health. He loves animals," said the man, who declined to give his name.

Cops followed a bloody trail to Amsterdam Ave., where they found the third suspect, Bernard Whitherspoon. He was in police custody last night at St. Luke's where he was being treated for his wounds. He was in stable condition.

The remaining robbery suspect, Shamel McCloud, was nabbed at 128th St. and St. Nicholas Terrace after being identified by a witness. He was also in stable condition at St. Luke's last night.

Augusto told cops he bought his shotgun after a robbery nearly 30 years ago. Browne said it was unclear Thursday night if Augusto has a license for the weapon.

"He's being treated as a witness and the victim of an attempted robbery," Browne said of Augusto. "He has not been arrested or charged."

A police source said that if Augusto is hit with a charge, it will be a minor one. "It doesn't look too bad for him," the source said.

OK, dragging the guy outside, kicking him and yelling at him as he expires is a bit much. But this is New York, you know how they get when you piss them off.

Hey wait a minute..... I'm Paul and I don't support that kind of thing...

 

 

"A government which robs Peter to pay Paul can always depend on the support of Paul." George Bernard Shaw (1944)

Of course they do.

Officials see rise in militia groups across US

Aug 12 12:09 AM US/Eastern By EILEEN SULLIVAN Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) - Militia groups with gripes against the government are regrouping across the country and could grow rapidly, according to an organization that tracks such trends. The stress of a poor economy and a liberal administration led by a black president (of course, it's our closeted racism... why not? ) are among the causes for the recent rise, the report from the Southern Poverty Law Center says. Conspiracy theories about a secret Mexican plan to reclaim the Southwest are also growing amid the public debate about illegal immigration. Bart McEntire, a special agent with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, told SPLC researchers that this is the most growth he's seen in more than a decade. "All it's lacking is a spark," McEntire said in the report. It's reminiscent of what was seen in the 1990s—right-wing militias, people ideologically against paying taxes and so-called "sovereign citizens" are popping up in large numbers, according to the report to be released Wednesday. The SPLC is a nonprofit civil rights group that, among other activities, investigates hate groups. Last October, someone from the Ohio Militia posted a recruiting video on YouTube, billed as a "wake-up call" for America. It's been viewed more than 60,000 times. "Things are bad, things are real bad, and it's going to be a lot worse," said the man on the video, who did not give his name. "Our country is in peril." The man is holding an AR-15 semiautomatic rifle, and he encourages viewers to buy one. While anti-government sentiment has been on the rise over the last two years, there aren't as many threats and violent acts at this point as there were in the 1990s, according to the report. That movement bore the likes of Timothy McVeigh, who in 1995 blew up a federal building in Oklahoma City and killed 168 people. But McEntire fears it's only a matter of time. These militias are concentrated in the Midwest, Pacific Northwest and the Deep South, according to Mark Potok, an SPLC staff director who co-wrote the report. Recruiting videos and other outreach on the Internet are on the rise, he said, and researchers from his center found at least 50 new groups in the last few months. The militia movement of the 1990s gained traction with growing concerns about gun control, environmental laws and anything perceived as liberal government meddling. The spark for that movement came in 1992 with an FBI standoff with white separatist Randall Weaver at Ruby Ridge, Idaho. Weaver's wife and son were killed by an FBI sniper. And in 1993, a 52-day standoff between federal agents and the Branch Davidian cult in Waco, Texas, resulted in nearly 80 deaths. These events rallied more people who became convinced that the government would murder its own citizens to promote its liberal agenda. (Kinda hard not to come to that conclusion. Weaver's wife and son were unarmed, and you could have just starved the Davidians out eventually.) Now officials are seeing a new generation of activists, according to the report. The law center spotlights Edward Koernke, a Michigan man who hosts an Internet radio show about militias. His father, Mark, was a major figure in the 1990s militia movement and served six years in prison for charges including assaulting police. Last year, officials warned about an increase in activity from militias in a five-year threat projection by the Homeland Security Department. "White supremacists and militias are more violent and thus more likely to conduct mass-casualty attacks on the scale of the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing," the threat projection said. A series of domestic terrorism incidents over the past year have not been directly tied to organized militias, but the rhetoric behind some of the crimes are similar with that of the militia movement. For instance, the man charged with the April killings of three Pittsburgh police officers posted some of his views online. Richard Andrew Poplawski wrote that U.S. troops could be used against American citizens, and he thinks a gun ban could be coming. (If you are a crazy liberal killer, it's poignant and worthy of analysis. If you are a crazy conservative killer, it's the vanguard operation of a secret militia plot.... God forbid we just call them crazy.) The FBI's assistant director for counterterrorism, Michael Heimbach, said that law enforcement officials need to identify people who go beyond hateful rhetoric and decide to commit violent acts and crimes. Heimbach said one of the bigger challenges is identifying the lone-wolf offenders. One alleged example of a lone-wolf offender is the 88-year-old man charged in the June shooting death of a guard at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington. (Lone wolf my ass. How about "hate filled, crazy-ass motherfucker?" We give too little credit to the effects of being an out of touch with humanity psycho) 1. Plant a scary militia story. 2. Cause gun owners to buy more guns and ammo out of fear of the eventual militia crackdown. 3. Point to increase in weapons ownership as proof of growing militias. 4. Scare more people into buying weapons....

Faces of Woman

It's not insulting. If you're not a woman, you've never been on the receiving end of these looks.