Illegal Immigrants Busted by San Diego Task Force on Gang-Related Charges
by James Lambert
March 20, 2006
(AgapePress) - - More than three dozen people in San Diego County were arrested late last week on violent gang-related charges, according to a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) statement. Virtually all those arrested were discovered to be illegal aliens. Arrests of 41 individuals took place in the cities of San Marcos (17), Escondido (16), and Oceanside (8). All three communities are part of north San Diego county. According to local CBS affiliate KFMB, "all of those arrested had criminal records and were in the country illegally." Forty of the arrested aliens were from Mexico; one was from Guatemala.
Debbie Beyer, a former national board member of Concerned Women for America who lives in the county, thinks "the recent bust of illegal gang members is alarming. These people are in our country with the intent to do us harm," Beyer says. Beyer, who is running to replace termed-out incumbent State Assemblyman Jay LaSuer (R-La Mesa) and is endorsed by him, believes "this is yet another instance that reinforces the absolute fact that we must take the issue of illegal immigration in our country very seriously."
Law enforcement reports that many of the 41 gang members who were arrested already had prior criminal records. Most of the immigrants came to the United States and joined already established North County (San Diego) gangs. Mr. Serge Duarte, the spokesman for ICE, told the public that "this is not an immigration issue -- this is a public safety issue."
Former State Assemblyman Howard Kaloogian feels it is both. "Why is anyone surprised at these arrests?" he wonders. "When over a million people are smuggled into the country illegally, how can anyone believe there isn't a criminal element, including drugs and gangs, that pour in with the migrant workers?
"Controlling our nation's border must become a national security priority that will impact crime, prison, over population, drug availability, infectious disease transmission, runaway hospital emergency room expenses, and many other issues unrelated to migrant work," Kaloogian says.
James L. Lambert, a frequent contributor to AgapePress, is the author of Porn in America (Huntington House), which can be purchased through the American Family Association. He is a licensed real-estate mortgage loan sales agent and can be contacted through his website.
