Last Monday, the Howard County Council held a hearing to "debate" Bill 51-2020, which would effectively end Howard's cooperation with federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). You must appreciate that Howard's ongoing 20-year cooperation entails HOLDING suspected and convicted illegal alien criminals for ICE. That is all Howard does.
And they get paid for it too, $100 per day, per illegal or nearly $2 million a year. Cooperation helps increase the capacity utilization of the facility which is usually less than half full of citizen criminals, thus lowering overall taxpayer costs to run and maintain the facility.
But for County Council Vice Chair Liz Walsh, that cooperation is incredibly stressful to the immigrant community in Howard. Holding suspected and convicted illegal alien criminals (mostly Hispanic) is just too much to bear. Immigrants can't sleep or go shopping or to work or go to free health clinics or even collect welfare payments with feeling nervous that they could be the next ICE victim! Howard County has blood on their hands according to Walsh.
So, Walsh, with Bill 51-2020, is hot to trot to end all ICE cooperation, that is hold NO suspected or convicted illegal alien criminals in Howard County. Not surprisingly this bill has the lawless stench of CASA of Maryland on it.
Here is Help Save Maryland's testimony from last week. We were one of the few opposed to Walsh's pro-illegal alien/anti-citizen bill:
BEFORE THE HOWARD COUNTY COUNCIL
BILL CB51-2020
September 21, 2020
"Thank you for the opportunity to speak before the Howard County Council regarding CB 51-2020. My name is Margaret Montuori. I am representing Help Save Maryland (HSM), a multi-ethnic grass roots citizens' organization with members state-wide. Our goal is to educate the citizens in Maryland's counties, cities, and towns regarding the negative effects of illegal immigration. HSM research and education activities foster public awareness and facilitate effective engagement between the citizens of Maryland and the legislative process. We are an effective voice for Marylanders who are frustrated by our out of touch politicians.
Today I am here to speak in opposition to County Bill 51-2020 which would needlessly eliminate cooperation between Howard County and federal law enforcement authorities at Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
Howard County has had a 20 plus year contractual history with ICE from which the county is paid nearly $2 million dollars a year. The Howard County detention facility merely houses criminal detainees brought to the facility by ICE agents. Howard County does not participate in the pro-active federal illegal immigration enforcement activities such as the 287(g) program. The ICE detainees do not over burden the facility and the revenues received cover the costs of the facility that were previously paid by the Howard County taxpayer.
In the current coronavirus environment in which many Marylanders are in survival mode, we are vigilante regarding any county's increase in property taxes. Why would Howard County now wish to forfeit these funds from ICE?
Termination of the facility will have a statewide impact on safety. In 2018 Maryland was second only to California in cases against MS-13 gang members. I live in Montgomery County where numerous rapes of girls under the age of 13 by illegal aliens have occurred, as well as numerous horrific and heinous murders, forced prostitution, extortion and drug dealing by MS-13 gang members. ICE is actively making arrests in our state because of this perpetual crime.
Maryland has only three detention centers in our heavily populated state. ICE depends on having access to these detention centers, including the Howard County holding facility, to effectuate efficient removal of criminals.
A false narrative is being circulated in Howard County and elsewhere that cooperation with ICE makes illegal immigrants fearful of cooperating with law enforcement. Illegal immigrants, who are so often the targets of criminal gang activity, can apply for a federal "U" Visa which offers them protection in exchange for their cooperation with law enforcement. The visa can also be a path to legal resident status. CASA de Maryland and other illegal immigrant activist groups promote the U Visa and they also sensationalize the experiences of some ICE detainees.
But these groups do not address the mundane fear some illegal immigrants experience from harassment and theft. Here I cannot offer a statistic or a poll, but I do want to relay conversations I have had with illegal immigrants. These people have not suffered the substantial mental or physical abuse requisite for the U Visa. They live in fear and welcome the idea that those who cause trouble in their communities, their apartment buildings, their neighborhoods are apprehended and dealt with including deportation.
County Council Vice Chair Liz Walsh recently told the Baltimore Sun that after the 2020 "summer of love" protests she thinks prohibiting the Howard County Department of Corrections from accepting federal immigration detainees will be "beneficial". I am hard pressed to see any benefit from decoupling with federal ICE cooperation.
It is now the autumn of 2020 and Americans are well aware that many of the protestors are not from the communities in which they protest. Protests at the Howard facility were most likely contrived by CASA de Maryland, an organization with long ties to the illegal alien community and other radical groups promoting lawlessness. By promoting Bill 51-2020, does Liz Walsh truly represent her constituents, or the voices that wish to allow criminal illegal immigrants to operate freely in the county?
Illegal immigrant status has nothing to do with race. In addition to the economic gain Howard County receives from ICE, safety for all persons living in Howard County should trump the ideology of a handful of protestors at the Howard County facility. Illegal alien criminals must be detained and handled by the federal agency charged with their disposition and possible deportation to keep the public safe. Your job entails keeping the public safe as well. Please vote against Bill 51-2020."
PO BOX 5742, ROCKVILLE, MD 20855
The Howard County Department of Corrections decided to come up with their own solution to this faux immigrant issue to stop leftist Councilmember Liz Walsh from gutting all ICE cooperation. Jack Kavanagh, director of corrections announced a revised agreement with ICE late last week, but unfortunately it seems to follow in the footsteps of previous negotiation efforts that the weak-kneed Montgomery County Department of Corrections had with ICE.
The bottom line is that citizens in Howard, like those in Montgomery are less safe as illegal aliens continue to rule the roost.
Howard's brilliant, revised agreement allows the jail to ONLY host illegal aliens who have been CONVICTED, but not those ACCUSED of crimes. Remember the string of 12 underage girls who were raped in Montgomery County last year by primarily illegal alien creeps? ICE would not be able to hold those creeps in the Howard facility anymore since they were all just accused of raping 11, 12 and 13-year-old girls. How does this new agreement make "immigrants" feel safer"? Or citizens for that matter?
Howard is also not allowing illegal aliens accused of: murder, attempted murder, armed robbery, arson, racketeering, child abuse, aggravated cruelty to animals, handgun possession, conspiracy to murder a police officer, assault, false imprisonment, child pornography, kidnapping, manslaughter and carjacking from being held in the facility!
I don't know about you, but I feel great. Thank you Corrections director Kavanaugh for negotiating such a wonder deal with ICE!
Of course, CASA of Maryland is celebrating. "We claim victory for everyone who banded together to fight for immigrant families in Howard County. Now, this county, which has long been recognized as a place where diversity is embraced and celebrated, can truly live up to its reputation", said Guantanamo Torres, CASA director. "These policy changes mean that people won't be detained just for being immigrants. Howard is in line with other counties that welcome immigrants."
What? First off Torres could not have said that. Like Joe Biden, his female legal staff writes this pabulum as he is not capable of stringing so many words together. And Torres still abuses the words "immigrant" and "diversity" when he is talking strictly about "Hispanic criminal illegal aliens"!
County Joins Federal Lawsuit Against Naturalization Fee Increases
Montgomery County has joined a federal lawsuit to block the Department of Homeland Security from raising naturalization fees on October 2.
Once again Montgomery County spends our tax dollars on projects that have little if any benefit for the citizen taxpayer! If immigrants can't afford such a small cost increase in the federal immigration paperwork, you very well know these "New Americans" will be on welfare and other social services in no time. MoCo citizens need a PROPERTY TAX FREEZE to stop this waste our tax dollars.
No comments:
Post a Comment