An Update on Jamiel's Law

A hat tip goes to L.A. area blog Mayor Sam for this story...

This coming Tuesday morning, Jamiel's parents are going to City Hall at 9:45 a.m. to ask the Los Angeles City Council to adopt Jamiel's Law. Set forth below is an e-mail from the Shaws to you, explaining how you can help by joining them at City Hall or contacting the City Council. For more information, go to www.JamielsLaw.com.

Jamiel's Law would again outlaw L.A.'s status as a sanctuary city. Jamiel's Law is named after Jamiel Shaw, a 17 year old high school student with a promising future. Shaw was shot by a gang member named Pedro Espinoza. Espinoza is a gang member with a long rap sheet, and he is also here illegally. Because L.A. had a sanctuary policy, a policy in which police were prohibited from finding the legal status of criminals they arrested, Espinoza was let back on the streets rather than being deported.

Jamiel's Law is being touted by L.A. mayoral candidate, Walter Moore. The city council meeting tomorrow should be a major step toward ending L.A.'s status as a sanctuary city. On the issue of illegal immigration, I firmly believe that liberal pols like Mayor Villaraigosa have totally overestimated the views of the public. Even in a liberal city like L.A. the folks are simply not going to stand for innocent people being killed so that pols can get in tight with open borders lobbyists. Here is how Mayor Sam blog put it...

Forget DWP or anything else going on. This is the number one political problem for Antonio Villaraigosa right now. The usual team will be going full force to put a stop to it. Let's hope that Walter Moore, the Shaws and their supporters go all the way. A move to help prevent the death of innocent teenagers is too important to let the usual LA politics quash it.

I hope firmly that Jamiel's Law becomes a nationwide campaign much like Jessica's Law did in the aftermath of Jessica Lunsford's death, however a good place to start is in L.A.

Jamiel's Law

Sometimes there is an event that affects the public so viscerally that it leads to change. In 2005, Jessica Lunsford was murdered by John Couey. Couey was a convicted child molestor out on parole after receiving a relatively light sentence. The death affected the public at large so viscerally that Jessica's Law was created in its aftermath. In 42 of 50 states, there is now a mandatory minimum sentence at or near 25 years for the first conviction of sexual assault against a child under 13.

The death of Jamiel Shaw maybe lead to the same sort of visceral reaction. I actually expected the murders of three college studnets last year in Newark, New Jersey to create this very visceral reaction.

The murder of three college students left residents of Newark shaken and angry Monday, prompting a march on City Hall and providing a major challenge for the city's new reform-minded mayor.

Mayor Cory Booker, 38, a Rhodes scholar and Yale-educated lawyer, was elected last year and promised to make public safety his top priority.

Crime has fallen during the last year, including a slight drop in the number of murders. But five killings over the weekend — including the execution-style slaying of the college students — jarred the mayor and the city. "This breaks the heart of our city," Booker said.

The murders took place around midnight Saturday behind Mount Vernon Elementary School in a middle-class neighborhood. The victims had no record of being in trouble and were seen as success stories for the city's school district.

In that case, the three college students were murdered by Jose Carranza, an illegal with a long rap sheet. Newark was known as a so called sanctuary city, a city where police were forbidden to ask for the legal status of any suspect. As such, the cops never found out that Carranza was an illegal and thus never handed him over to ICE for deportation.

Much like that case, Jamiel Shaw was killed in another senseless and random act of vicious violence. Also, like in that case, Shaw was also killed by an illegal with a long rap sheet. Just like in that case, Los Angeles is also another so called sanctuary city.

Enter, mayoral candidate Walter Moore...Moore is pushing for Jamiel's Law. The Law would end L.A.'s status as a sanctuary city. Last year, Senator David Vitter proposed an amendment that would cut off federal funding to any so called sanctuary city. The amendment failed on a largely party line vote. Maybe, just maybe, the death of Jamiel Shaw will produce the necessary visceral reaction to finally end the practice of sanctuary cities.

Depraved Indifference

That was the term that came to my mind when I finally heard the full details behind the murder of Jamiel Shaw by Pedro Espinoza.

Her son, Jamiel Shaw Jr., 17, was killed last Sunday when two men in a car pulled up next to him, asked if he belonged to a gang, then shot him when he didn't answer. He was three houses from home in the Mid-City area of Los Angeles.Police said Jamiel was not affiliated with a gang. He was a high school football star who hoped to earn a college scholarship and become a sports agent, family members said.

Espinoza was released from jail on March 1st. Two days later he killed Jamiel Shaw in a senseless drive by shooting. He was held at LA County jai for four months after brandishing a firearm and resisting arrest just prior to the shooting. He is also an illegal alien. This is something the authorities of LA would have known if they had asked. Unfortunately, LA, under the direction of Antonio R. Villaraigosa is a sanctuary city. In L.A., police don't ask criminals their legal status, even though criminal illegals can then be removed from their vicinity. Instead, these criminal illegal aliens are put back into their societies so they can commit more crimes there.

The most important responsibility for an elected official is to protect the citizens they represent. By letting Espinoza out on the streets rather than checking his legal status to determine if he can be deported, Espinoza failed in this duty. Keep in mind that this just the latest example of the tragic results of sanctuary policies on the safety of the citizens where they are practiced. In Virginia Beach, a chronic drunk driver that was also an illegal killed two teens.

Suspect in accident that killed two teens convicted of DUI two months ago
An illegal alien charged in connection with an acdcident that claimed the lives of two teenage girls was convicted of DUI two months ago in Chesapeake.

The accident occurred late Friday night when Alfredo Ramos crashed into the back of a vehicle at a red light. The rear-ending killed teenagers Allison Kuhnhardt and Tessa Tranchant

In Newark, a criminal illegal alien with a history of violent offenses killed three college students execution style.

An illegal immigrant in the execution-style killings of three students was to be arraigned on Friday morning after surrendering the day before to New Jersey Mayor Cory Booker…FOX News has learned Carranza, who has a fake Social Security number, had been arrested on charges of raping a 5-year-old and then threatening the child and parents. In that case he faced a 31-count indictment…

In another, he was arrested on assault charges stemming from a bar fight.

There is a very simple logic here. If police check the legal status of all the criminals they arrest, they will be able to remove those that are here illegally. This will increase the safety of the community they serve. Any community that insists on not doing this basic step they are putting their citizens in jeopardy.

I know that depraved indifference is a legal term and it has a meaning quite different than the one that I am assigning it however that is what sanctuary policies that lead to tragedy remind me of. It is to me, beyond debate, that allowing criminal illegals to continue in your neighborhood will eventually lead to tragedy in your neighborhood. Thus, when this sort of tragedy happens I see the city officials as showing depraved indifference to the crime.

In the case of Jamiel Shaw, I see the mayor's sanctuary city policy as showing a depraved indifference to that crime.

Illinois Moves to End Sanctuary Policies

A hat tip goes to the Illinois Minuteman Project for bringing me this information. There is a bill going through the Illinois legislature that would effectively end the sanctuary policy of such cities as Chicago. Here is an explanation of the bill.

Provides that upon admission of a committed person to a facility of the Department of Corrections or to a facility of the Department of Juvenile Justice and upon the discharge of such person from either such Department, each such Department, if it suspects that such person is an alien of the United States who is unlawfully present within the United States in violation of the federal Immigration and Nationality Act shall notify the Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) of the admission or discharge of such alien from the facility.

The bill is being sponsored by Rep. Bill Mitchell, Ron Stephens, Roger Eddy, and Rep Michael Tryon. I have written about the corrosive effect of sanctuary cities before, and I hope this is a good step in the right direction toward ending them.

Phoenix to End Its Sanctuary Status

This is a small but important victory in the battle for this country to get control of its borders. Phoenix, Arizona has announced that it is ending its policy as a sanctuary city. A sanctuary city doesn't ask for proof of legal status of any individual that its police force arrests. Thus, if an illegal alien is arrested, no one knows they are illegal and thus those illegals aren't deported after they serve their time.

The police in this city at the center of the immigration debate will soon ask all people arrested whether they are in the United States legally and will in certain cases report the information to the federal authorities, Mayor Phil Gordon announced on Friday.

People stopped for civil traffic violations like speeding will not be questioned, nor will crime victims or witnesses.

All those arrested on criminal charges like drunken driving and murder will be asked by officers whether they are in the United States legally.

The police may decide to recommend checking by Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

While this is only one city, let's hope this becomes a trend and maybe one day soon my city, Chicago, will join Phoenix and end its own sanctuary city policy.

There is a school of thought that I subscribe to that the first order of business in getting control of the borders is identifying and rounding up the CRIMINAL illegal aliens among us. Whatever one's thought on the matter of illegal aliens, we should all be in favor of removing those with a criminal history. Sanctuary cities make that more difficult. By refusing to check the legal status of all those that are arrested and even convicted, the police don't identify those that are here illegally. Criminal illegal aliens are able to serve their time and walk out of jail to do more damage to our society. Criminals ranging from drunk drivers to murderers are counted among those that have taken advantage of many city's sanctuary policies to commit crimes with impugnity.

The most famous case is that of Jose Carranza who killed three college students execution style while he was out on bail after being charged with the rape of a five year old. Carranza was living in Newark, a sanctuary city.

This move by Phoenix is a welcomed step however what we really need is momentum to turn all sanctuary cities around. (There was incidentally last fall an amendment sponsored by Senator David Vitter that would have cut off public funding to sanctuary cities but it failed in a nearly party line vote with Democrats being against this amendment.)

E.N.D.A. To Move Through the Legislature?

A hat tip goes to Right March for bringing this story to my attention. The Employment Non Discrimination Act may find its way through the Congress soon. ENDA seeks to make gays, bisexuals, and transgenders a minority and treat their discrimination in the work place in the same manner that we currently treat age, sex, and skin color.Now, according to this gay publication here is what Nancy Pelosi promised their lobby.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi agreed Friday to fast-track a transgender-inclusive Employment Non-Discrimination Act once there are enough votes to pass it.

Although a version of the bill that protects only sexual orientation will be marked up by committee and move to a floor vote next week, the San Francisco Democrat has promised to hold a floor vote on a fully inclusive ENDA without delay as soon as the political support is there.

According to Right March, the bill is making its way through House Education and Labor Comittees. The problems with such a bill are plentiful. For instance, while it protects religious organizations, it does not protect groups like the Boy Scouts. If this bill passes the Scouts may very well be force to hire openly gay scouts or face sanctions. It also violates people's freedom of religion and freedom of speech. Finally, and most importantly, homosexuality is a behavior which is totally different from someone else's skin color, age, or sex.

Let's put aside the wisdom or lack thereof of this bill. I think most people that read this page will agree with me on my position.

Instead, I want to focus on two things related to this bill. First there is the political tone deafness and utter lack of competence that the Democratic leadership continues to show. This bill is another in a long line of bills that has either been handled poorly or is simply a total political loser for them. Whatever your beliefs on this particular bill, most Americans will reject it. In fact, short of SCHIP, I can't remember the last thing the Democrats did that works for them politically.

Let's look at some examples. The Democrats tried to pass a NON BINDING resolution that condemned an act from almost one hundred years ago. As a result, our ally, the Turks, took great offense and threatened all sorts of diplomatic retaliation. Fortunately, critical mass was reached when this story saw the light of day and the bill was withdrawn. Also, A high school student wanted to include the word God in a message to his grandfather that accompanied a flag that he wanted flown over the Capitol. Initially, Nancy Pelosi resisted allowing the word God accompany the flag, however once again critical mass was reached. Finally, the leadership backed down and they let the word God stay in the message that accompanied the flag.

In August, the Senate tried to play chicken with the President on the terrorist surveillance program (known as warrantless wiretaps to most of you). Again, the leadership backed down at the last minute and extended the program for six more months. Just this past week, a bill that would outlaw sanctuary cities, something that is popular overwhelmingly with Americans, was voted down 52-42 in the Senate. All but one Democrat voted against it. Even on Iraq, the Democrats have been totally politically tone deaf and incompetent.

Which brings me back to the ENDA bill. This is another in a long line of political disasters for the Democrats. Once critical mass reaches on this bill, they will be forced to back down the way they have on everything else.

This brings me to my second point. It is now nothing less than shocking just how much the Democrat's agenda mirrors that of George Soros. This ENDA bill is right down his gay friendly secular progressive agenda, and it follows a long line of bills and maneuvers that are very friendly to his agenda.

Several months ago, The Supreme Court ruled to uphold a ban on partial birth abortion. All the Democratic candidates came out against this ruling and some even swore to impose a litmus test of only pro abortion Supreme Court Justices.

At their last debate, the Democratic candidates agreed that teaching second graders a story about a gay couple was perfectly acceptable. Half the candidates refused to even acknowledge that the war on terror is really a war. Here is what Soros said vis a vis the GWOT.

Unfortunately, the "war on terror" metaphor was uncritically accepted by the American public as the obvious response to 9/11. It is now widely admitted that the invasion of Iraq was a blunder. But the war on terror remains the frame into which American policy has to fit. Most Democratic politicians subscribe to it for fear of being tagged as weak on defense.

In fact, this statement is eerily similar to one made by John Edwards who called the war on terror...

"bumper sticker slogan" used to justify the war in Iraq and "bludgeon political opponents."

The two leading Presidential said they'd each negotiate with Iran with no conditions. What did Soros say about such matters?

The two leading Presidential candidates said they'd each negotiate with Iran with no conditions. What did Soros say about such matters?

President Bush's global war on terror prevents us from differentiating between them and dealing with them accordingly. It inhibits much-needed negotiations with Iran and Syria because they are states that support terrorist groups.

In fact, when Senator Clinton voted to designate the Iranian Revolutionary Guards( responsible for among other things hijacking British sailors in international water) a terrorist organization, the rest of the Democratic Presidential contender pounced on her.

Even on the economy, the Democrats are marching in lock step with Soros. We are all well aware of the plethora of big government, quasi socialist, government giveaways. Including the granddaddy of them all, universal health care. How does this jive with Soros' view of the world? He believes in a "mixed economy". That is defined as such.

A mixed economy is an economic system that incorporates the characteristics of several different economic systems. This usually means an economy that contains both private-owned and state-owned enterprises[1] or that combines elements of capitalism and socialism, or a mix of market economy and planned economy characteristics.

Of course, it should be pointed out which part of the mixed economy he fears.

Most of all, George believed even then in a mixed economy, one with a strong central international government to correct for the excesses of self-interest.

Thus, anything that takes the decisions away from the market and puts it into the government's hands is something that Soros approves of.

Finally, as I mentioned earlier, in unison with Soros open borders policy, the Democrats just this week killed a bill that would have outlawed so called sanctuary cities. Now, we have the Democrats, through ENDA, pandering to another of Soros' favorite groups, the homosexuals. The overlapping agendas of the Democrats and George Soros can be found just about anywhere you look.

Time To End Sanctuary Cities

A big hat tip goes to Numbers USA as well as the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps. Now, we must act and act quickly because time is running short. Senator David Vitter has proposed an amendment to end federal funding to ALL sanctuary cities. A sanctuary city, as we know, is a city in which the police are prohibited from asking for and identifying the immigration status of suspects and convicted criminals. Furthermore, they are prohibited from reporting illegal aliens to the Feds. My city, Chicago, is unfortunately one of those that is considered a sanctuary city.

Several high profile cases have put the topic of sanctuary cities in the spotlight. For instance in Virginia Beach 17 year old Allison Kunhardt and 16 year old Tessa Tanchant were killed when their car was struck by drunk driver Alfredo Ramos. Ramos was an illegal alien with multiple prior convictions for drunk driving. Had the Virginia Beach authorities reported him to I.C.E. after any of his prior arrests and convictions the two teenagers would still be alive.

In Newark, New Jersey college students, Terrance Aerial, Dashon Harvey and Iofemi Hightower were shot execution style by Jose Lachira Carranza. Carranza was out on bail awaiting trial on two separate felonies. He was also in this country illegally. Had the Newark authorities alerted I.C.E. Carranza could have been picked up and detained and the three college students would still be alive.Look at what happens in Los Angeles

Some of the most violent criminals at large today are illegal aliens. Yet in cities where the crime these aliens commit is highest, the police cannot use the most obvious tool to apprehend them: their immigration status. In Los Angeles, for example, dozens of members of a ruthless Salvadoran prison gang have sneaked back into town after having been deported for such crimes as murder, assault with a deadly weapon, and drug trafficking. Police officers know who they are and know that their mere presence in the country is a felony. Yet should a cop arrest an illegal gangbanger for felonious reentry, it is he who will be treated as a criminal, for violating the LAPD’s rule against enforcing immigration law

.Unfortunately, unlike the amnesty bill of this past summer, talk radio has not been leading with this story. We only have a few days. Everyone needs to mobilize and make their voices heard. Here are the talking points as enumerated by Numbers USA

I am calling about H.R. 3093, the CJS spending bill.I am urging a YES vote on
Sen. Vitter's amendment to prohibit "COPS" money to cities that support
policies. (COPS is a federal grant program to state and local law enforcement agencies to advance community policing.)THAT IS ALL YOU HAVE TO SAY AND THEN SAY 'THANK YOU.' OR YOU CAN CHOOSE TO PICK ONE TO THREE OF THE FOLLOWING ITEMS TO MENTION:Only Senators who seek to protect illegal aliens and promote illegal immigration would vote against the Vitter amendment. I am counting on Sen. xmxmxmx to vote YES.Sanctuary policies have been against
federal law since the 1996 federal immigration law required local governments to
cooperate with Department of Homeland Security's Immigration and Customs
Enforcement. But many cities have refused to do so, adopting so-called "sanctuary policies." Unfortunately, the Clinton and Bush Justice Departments have refused to bring suit against these cities.The Vitter amendment would seek to eliminate sanctuary policies in local municipalities, whereby law enforcement officials are barred from asking suspects about their immigration status or reporting them to Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE).The amendment would ensure that existing law is enforced uniformly across the country by withholding COPS federal funding for cities that choose to violate section 642(a) of the 1996 Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act (IIRIRA).It is highly unlikely that any sanctuary cities in our state will lose funding because nearly all of them will end up ending their sanctuary policies once they see they will lose federal funding by keeping them

.here is the link to find your Senator. Please post your emails to each Senator or if you made a phone call please let us know their responses. Here is how the rest of the blogosphere sees it.

UPDATE:

Here is a copy of my email to Senator Obama

Senator Obama,

There is an amendment that may reach the floor of the Senate this week sponsored by Senator David Vitter. This amendment will end so called sanctuary cities. As you should know, Chicago, my fair city, is one of these sanctuary cities. That means criminals that are also here illegally are not reported by local law enforcement to ICE. This is unacceptable and dangerous. These criminals are not merely poor people looking for a better life, but rather murderers, rapists, drunk drivers, and thieves. They are not only criminals by nature, but they are not here in this country legally. This amendment would cut off all federal funding to any city that refuses to reportcriminal illegals to the feds. This is proper because any city that refuses to follow our own federal laws does not deserve federal money.

We can all differ on how to handle the 20 million illegals currently in this country,however there should be no debate about what to do with illegals who are criminals outside of their status. These people absolutely must be rounded up and deported immediately after, of course, they serve their sentence for whatever crime they have committed.

As you should know, tragic tales from such cities as Virginia Beach, Newark, and Los Angeles happen because criminal illegal aliens were not reported to federal authorities. Americans are dead because localities refused to do their part in fighting against illegal immigration.

Senator, your record on illegal immigration is spotty at best. This past summer you voted against an amendment that would bar criminals, gang members and terrorists from entering this country. Only you know why it is acceptable to you to allow these groups to enter this country. You also spoke in front of La Raza, an open borders group, and said you stood shoulder to shoulder with them at their demonstrations. It appears you have more sympathy for illegals than you have for the rule of law. That is unacceptable, and if you upset Hillary, that will haunt you unless of course you show a more firm stance for the rule of law and against law breaking, and you have that opportunity by voting for the Vitter Amendment. I hope you take it.

Now, it is your turn.