Gabriel Hernandez

Wednesday, 05 March 2008
Questions arise over illegal alien's release in fatal wreck Print E-mail
Jeremy Duda - DAILY HERALD   

People are asking questions about why an illegal immigrant who was charged with killing a Spanish Fork man in a car wreck was allowed to make bail, and the answers differ depending on who is giving them.

Utah County Sheriff Jim Tracy said Immigration and Customs Enforcement declined to investigate the immigration status of 21-year-old Gabriel Hernandez, while ICE officials say they were not properly informed of his arrest. Tracy said internal jail documents show that jail officials made two calls to the ICE office in Orem before Hernandez was released on bail.

Hernandez, of Orem, was arrested by Spanish Fork police on Jan. 31 and booked into the Utah County Jail on a charge of negligent homicide, a Class A misdemeanor. Police said he lost control of his car on an icy road and slid into 83-year-old Albert Burns, killing him. Hernandez was also charged with driving on a denied license and driving with no insurance.

On Thursday, Hernandez missed his arraignment at Spanish Fork's 4th District Court, and a no-bail warrant was issued for his arrest. Burns's wife fears that Hernandez fled to his native Mexico and will never face justice.

In a report, Diana Carrasco, a booking clerk at the Utah County Jail, said she made two calls to the ICE office in Orem asking if the agency wanted the jail to put an immigration hold on Hernandez so they could investigate his immigration status. She made the first call when Hernandez was booked into the jail and the other about an hour later as his mother was paying his bail, she wrote. The clerk also wrote that she faxed a booking report to the ICE office.

Because the charges against Hernandez were misdemeanors and because he had no history with ICE, the agent said "to go ahead and let him post bail and that they would watch for him to go to court. If he was convicted of the charges then they would place a hold on him," Carrasco wrote.

In another report, Deputy Trish Dawe said she spoke to Carrasco a few days later and asked whether she had faxed the booking report to the ICE office.

"She told me that during her discussion about this individual that '[The agent] did not have time to come down and interview [and] to let him go,' " Dawe wrote.

ICE spokeswoman Lori Haley said the agency was not made aware of Hernandez's arrest in a timely fashion. Haley said ICE agents attended the arraignment that Hernandez missed, and went to his apartment in Orem, which had been vacated.

"We weren't able to determine his alienage without interviewing him and obtaining the biographical information that we need," she said on Tuesday.

Haley also said that ICE's primary goal is to remove illegal aliens from the United States, not to assist local law enforcement with prosecutions. When it orders immigration holds on inmates, ICE prioritizes the "worst of the worst," Haley said, including violent offenders and suspects with terrorism connections.

"When ICE takes custody or places a detainer on an individual, it's to initiate removal proceedings," Haley said.

But had ICE been made aware of Hernandez's arrest and charges in time, Haley said the agency would have placed a hold on him so it could have investigated his immigration status.

Tracy said ICE agents had told the jail numerous times in the past that they usually only order holds on inmates who are facing aggravated or felony charges, who have a felony conviction on their records or who have been deported in the past.

Since no ICE hold was ordered for Hernandez, he was allowed to make bail. The $2,300 bail, $230 of which Hernandez had to pay for his release, was determined by a bail schedule established by the state.

Jail officials suspected that Hernandez may have been in the country illegally, but without an ICE hold, they had no grounds to deny him the same bail granted to anyone else, Tracy said. If they had, he said, it would have constituted a federal civil rights violation.

"We don't set that bail, and he has due process rights, and so if he can make the bail and he has no other holds, no other warrants ... he's going to be allowed to bail out," Tracy said.

Tracy said the jail has no way to verify immigration status on its own and has no authority to hold suspected or confirmed illegal aliens on immigration violations. Jail officials will contact ICE to ask if agents want to order a hold so they can investigate when an inmate sets one of several triggers. The primary trigger, Tracy said, is if the inmate was born outside the U.S.

The flap over Hernandez's release comes as the Legislature concluded its debate over a comprehensive immigration bill. The bill, which was submitted to Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. on Tuesday, includes a number of reforms, including giving police officers more authority to enforce immigration laws.

June Christensen, a neighbor of Burns, said she and her husband, Ken, are offering a $10,000 reward for information leading to Hernandez's arrest and conviction. She said anyone with information on his whereabouts should contact the Spanish Fork Police Department.

"I'm sure that he didn't mean to do it, but he was driving without the privilege in the United States," she said of Hernandez. "We just want to bring him in if we can find him."


Jeremy Duda can be reached at 344-2561 or This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

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Discuss (18 posts)
bajarat Mar 06 2008 02:10:33
All illegals are criminals, and Mexicans tend to commit crimes here and flee to their beloved cesspool. It's nearly impossible to get them out of there. No foreigner, legal or not, should ever be granted bail.
#356515
The Keeper Mar 06 2008 14:01:58
Just in time for a "terrorist" attack come election day!

National Guard to be pulled from border patrol
http://kob.com/article/stories/S367486.shtml?cat=0

The state said there will be a six month gap of vulnerability at the border when feds pull National Guard troops.
. . .
#356534
The Keeper Mar 06 2008 17:04:02
deadeye wrote:
So let me get this straight: This presumed illegal alien was allowed to kill a man while driving a car without insurance or license, and gets to leave jail for a mere $230.00, posted by his mother? I guess we can assume that the mother is also here illegally?

What are the chances of tracking her down to find out 1) where her son is and 2) whether she should be deported as well for being here illegally. It seems like we should be checking the status of people who show up to pay bail.

How about going after the employer of this illegal who was working as a sub-contractor for the new Spanish Fork high school. Someone is taking our school tax dollars and paying an illegal alien with them who drives to the work site each day without insurance or a license?


You mean employers like this...

3 imprisoned for hiring illegal immigrants for cleaning firm

South Florida Sun-Sentinel, March 5, 2008
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/palmbeach/sfl-flpillegal0305pnmar05,0,4670611.story

A West Palm Beach man was sentenced Monday to more than four years in prison and ordered to pay $16 million in unpaid taxes for his role in a nationwide tax scheme that employed illegal immigrants as janitors to clean for restaurant chains like Hard Rock Cafe, Dave & Busters and Yardhouse.
. . .
The indictment said that illegal immigrants were "essential to the success of their scheme" because they were willing to be paid in cash, could be fired without legal recourse and were "highly unlikely to report the irregular nature of their employment."


Sounds alot like some of the criminal enterprises going on here in Happy Valley!
#356562

Uncle_Bud
Mar 12 2008 17:40:40
WatchDog wrote:
Paperboy wrote:
Watchdog,

This probably isn't what you wanted, but for what it's worth:

Feb. 2
target="_blank">http://www.heraldextra.com/content/view/253835/

Feb. 9
http://www.heraldextra.com/content/view/254696/155/


Right! It is NOT what I want. What I want is for the Herald to engage in fair, unbiased, and honest reporting - for a change. Tell me, where was the story about the presumed illegal alien jumping bail on the 28th of Feb - for $230 no less? The Herald did promise some of the UFIRE folks who personally contacted the Herald that the court hearing for this guy on the 28th would be covered by the paper.

So, where was that story?

Maybe I misunderstand...is this story today that is that coverage? How convenient that today is the last day of the legislative session, before you get around to printing it! Your timing is impeccable!

A reminder for you: Our "citizens" are not the fools you folks take us for.



American Suicide..................Very sobering
>
>
>
> Wherever you stand, please take the time to read this; it ought to
> scare the bejeebers out of you!
>
>
>
> We know Dick Lamm as the former Governor of Colorado. In that context
> his thoughts are particularly poignant. Last week there was an
> immigration overpopulation conference in Washington, DC, filled to
> capacity by many of America's finest minds and leaders. A brilliant
> college professor by the name of Victor Hansen Davis talked about his
> latest book, "Mexifornia,"
> explaining how immigration - both legal and illegal was destroying the
> entire state of California. He said it would march across the country
> until it destroyed all vestiges of The American Dream.
>
>
>
> Moments later, former Colorado Governor Richard D. Lamm stood up and
> gave a stunning speech on how to destroy America
>
>
>
> The audience sat spellbound as he described eight methods for the
> destruction of the United States . He said, "If you believe that America
> is too smug, too self-satisfied, too rich, then let's destroy America
> It is not that hard to do. No nation in history has survived the ravages
> of time.
> Arnold Toynbee observed that all great civilizations rise and fall and
> that 'An autopsy of history would show that all great nations commit
> suicide.'"
>
>
>
> "Here is how they do it," Lamm said:
>
>
>
> "First, to destroy America , turn America into a bilingual or
> multi-lingual and bicultural country. History shows that no nation can
> survive the tension, conflict, and antagonism of two or more competing
> languages and cultures. It is a blessing for an individual to be
> bilingual; however, it is a curse for a society to be bilingual. The
> historical scholar, Seymour Lipset, put it this way: 'The histories of
> bilingual and bicultural societies that do not assimilate are histories
> of turmoil, tension, and tragedy. Canada, Belgium, Malaysia, and Lebanon
> all face crises of national existence in which minorities press for
> autonomy, if not independence. Pakistan and Cyprus have divided. Nigeria
> suppressed an ethnic rebellion. France faces difficulties with Basques,
> Bretons, Corsicans and Muslims."
>
>
>
> Lamm went on:
>
>
>
> "Second, to destroy America, invent 'multiculturalism' and encourage
> immigrants to maintain their culture. Make it an article of belief that
> all cultures are equal; that there are no cultural differences. Make it
> an article of faith that the Black and Hispanic dropout rates are due
> solely to prejudice and discrimination by the majority. Every other
> explanation is out of bounds.
>
>
>
> "Third, we could make the United States an 'Hispanic Quebec without
> much effort. The key is to celebrate diversity rather than unity. As
> Benjamin Schwarz said in the Atlantic Monthly recently: 'The app arent
> success of our own multi-ethnic and multicultural experiment might have
> been achieved not by tolerance but by hegemony. Without the dominance
> that once dictated ethnocentricity and what it meant to be an American,
> we are left with only tolerance and pluralism to hold us together.' Lamm
> said, "I would encourage all immigrants to keep their own language and
> culture. I would replace the melting pot metaphor with the salad bowl
> metaphor. It is important to ensure that we have various cultural
> subgroups living in America enforcing their differences rather than as
> Americans, emphasizing their similarities."
>
>
>
> "Fourth, I would make our fastest growing demographic group the least
> educated. I would add a second underclass, unassimilated, undereducated,
> and antagonistic to our population. I would have this second underclass
> have a 50% dropout rate from high school."
>
>
>
> "My fifth point for destroying America would be to get big foundations
> and busi ness to give these efforts lots of money. I would invest in
> ethnic identity, and I would establish the cult of 'Victimology.' I
> would get all minorities to think that their lack of success was the
> fault of the majority. I would start a grievance industry blaming all
> minority failure on the majority population."
>
>
>
> "My sixth plan for America's downfall would include dual citizenship,
> and promote divided loyalties. I would celebrate diversity over unity. I
> would stress differences rather than similarities. Diverse people
> worldwide are mostly engaged in hating each other - that is, when they
> are not killing each other. A diverse, peaceful, or stable society is
> against most historical precept. People undervalue the unity it takes to
> keep a nation together. Look at the ancient Greeks. The Greeks believed
> that they belonged to the same race; they possessed a common language
> and literature; and they worshipped the same gods. All Greece took part
> in the Olympic games. A common enemy, Persia , threatened their liberty.
> Yet all these bonds were not strong enough to overcome two factors:
> local patriotism and geographical conditions that nurtured political
> divisions. Greece fell. "E. Pluribus Unum" -- From many, one. In that
> historical reality, if we put the emphasis on the 'pluribus' instead of
> the 'Unum,' we will "Balkanize" America as surely as Kosovo.'
>
>
>
> "Next to last, I would place all subjects off limits. Make it taboo to
> talk about anything against the cult of 'diversity.' I would find a word
> similar to 'heretic' in the 16th century - that stopped discussion and
> paralyzed thinking. Words like 'racist' or 'xenophobe' halt discussion
> and debate. Having made America a bilingual/bicultural country, having
> established multi-culture, having the large foundations fund the
> doctrine of 'Victimology,' I would next make it impossible to enforce
> our immigration laws. I would develop a mantra: That because immigration
> has been good for A merica, it must always be good. I would make every
> individual immigrant symmetric and ignore the cumulative impact of
> millions of them."
>
>
>
> In the last minute of his speech, Governor Lamm wiped his brow.
> Profound
> silence followed. Finally he said, "Lastly, I would censor Victor Hanson
> Davis's book 'Mexifornia.' His book is dangerous. It exposes the plan to
> destroy America. If you feel America deserves to be destroyed, don't
> read that book."
>
>
>
> There was no applause. A chilling fear quietly rose like an ominous
> cloud above every attendee at the conference. Every American in that
> room knew that everything Lamm enumerated was proceeding methodically,
> quietly, darkly, yet pervasively across the United States today.
> Discussion is being suppressed. Over 100 languages are ripping the
> foundation of our educational system and national cohesiveness. Even
> barbaric cultures that practice female genital mutilation are growing as
> we celebrate 'diversity.' Am erican jobs are vanishing into the Third
> World as corporations create a Third World in America Take note of
> California and other states. To date, ten million illegal aliens and
> growing fast. It is reminiscent of George Orwell's book "1984." In that
> story, three slogans are engraved in the Ministry of Truth
> building: "War is peace," "Freedom is slavery," and "Ignorance is
> strength."
>
>
>
> Governor Lamm walked back to his seat. It dawned on everyone at the
> conference that our nation and the future of this great democracy is
> deeply in trouble and worsening fast. If we don't get this immigration
> monster stopped within three years, it will rage like a California
> wildfire and destroy everything in its path, especially The American
> Dream.
>
>
>
> If you care for and love our country as I do, take the time to pass
> this on just as I did for you.
#357738
The Keeper Mar 12 2008 17:53:16
Let's not forget our very own Utah RINO, Chris "no borders" Cannon, sellout of the American worker!

Cannon appears ready to thumb his nose at efforts to rally the GOP around the discharge petition to force a floor vote on the enforcement-only SAVE Act (H.R. 4088): To provide immigration reform by securing America's borders, clarifying and enforcing existing laws, and enabling a practical employer verification program. http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d110:h.r.04088:

A great victory was achieved when Rep. Thelma Drake (R-Va.), encouraged by House GOP Leadership, filed the discharge petition for the bill on March 11. House Republicans stand everything to gain by this action:

1. Republicans have a legitimate claim to championing the enforcement-only SAVE Act;

2. By forcing a vote, Republicans are taking away the political cover for Democrats who like to talk about enforcement, but are hesitant to actually vote for it; and

3. Republican efforts to force a vote could result in a historic enforcement-only bill passing the House of Representatives.

For some reason, Rep. Christopher Cannon (R-Utah) is refusing to help.

Thus far, he has defied the wishes of House Republican leaders (and Republican voters in his own state) and refused to sign the discharge petition. http://clerk.house.gov/110/lrc/pd/Petitions/Dis5.htm

Despite the GOP Leadership's desire to stop outlaw businesses from hiring illegal aliens, Cannon is thinking about supporting these businesses who continue to hire illegal workers and - therefore - encourage more illegal immigration.
#357743
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