Desertdog
Member
I wonder if they will be sent to Sheriff Arpio's tent lockup if found guityy.
Testimony begins in trial for illegal immigrants jailed under Arizona law
http://kvoa.com/Global/story.asp?S=5135657
A sheriff's deputy who helped develop the first smuggling conspiracy cases against illegal immigrants under an Arizona law testified Monday that two drivers' suspicious behavior led him to stop vans that turned out to be packed with illegal immigrants.
Sheriff's Deputy George Burke said he was patrolling a remote desert road used mostly by farmers and electric utility workers in Arizona's sprawling Maricopa County when he saw the vans heading in his direction. The vans abruptly turned off the road and went down a trail.
One van had an American furniture store decal on its side but Mexican license plates, Burke told a Superior Court jury. "My training and experience indicated to me that something was going on," Burke said.
Burke's testimony came during the first trial for migrants charged with conspiracy under a prosecutor's interpretation of the 2005 law, which was intended to help local authorities crack down on migrant smuggling.
Two of the defendants, Gustavo G. Unbalejo, 29, and Antonio Hernandez, 21, are foreign nationals who were among the first 48 customers of smugglers to be prosecuted under Arizona's 10-month-old law.
The other illegal immigrant on trial, 33-year-old Javier Ruiz, is accused of working as their smuggler. The three men are from Mexico.
Prosecutors said the illegal immigrants formed a group to sneak themselves into the country and that items found inside the vehicles, such as carpet scraps that can be tied to shoes to reduce foot tracks in the desert, are evidence of smuggling.
Defense attorneys said prosecutors can't prove that the illegal immigrants arranged to be smuggled into Arizona.
Not having legal papers and being found with a large group of immigrants isn't evidence of the crime, the defense attorneys said.
While there is evidence that human smuggling was committed, no evidence has been shown on whether a conspiracy violation had occurred in the case of the two alleged conspirators, Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Thomas O'Toole said outside the presence of the jury.
While defense attorneys questioned whether the case can move forward, prosecutors continued to pursue their case through testimony from law enforcement officers. The trial for the three illegal immigrants was set to continue Tuesday morning.
The law makes it a midlevel felony punishable by up to 2 1/2 years in prison to smuggle illegal immigrants.
Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas has drawn criticism from illegal-immigration advocates for using the law to target not only smugglers, but also to charge their customers as conspirators to the crime.
While one of the law's authors has said it was never intended for use against the customers of smugglers, Thomas has maintained his interpretation is necessary for holding rank-and-file illegal immigrants accountable for breaking the law.
The interpretation was upheld a month ago by a trial court judge, and lawyers for one of the immigrants said he intends to appeal the decision.
The smuggling law has been used mostly in Maricopa County, which includes Phoenix, a hub for smugglers transporting illegal workers across the country.
Authorities elsewhere in the state have said they don't have enough money or employees to enforce the law on a wide scale.
Twenty-eight of the original 48 to be charged under Thomas' interpretation of the law have pleaded guilty to the lower-tier felony of solicitation to commit immigrant smuggling.
They were sentenced to one or two years of supervised probation and expected to face deportation proceedings. Five cases were dismissed. Fifteen others were set for trial, according to the latest figures provided by prosecutors.
Testimony begins in trial for illegal immigrants jailed under Arizona law
http://kvoa.com/Global/story.asp?S=5135657
A sheriff's deputy who helped develop the first smuggling conspiracy cases against illegal immigrants under an Arizona law testified Monday that two drivers' suspicious behavior led him to stop vans that turned out to be packed with illegal immigrants.
Sheriff's Deputy George Burke said he was patrolling a remote desert road used mostly by farmers and electric utility workers in Arizona's sprawling Maricopa County when he saw the vans heading in his direction. The vans abruptly turned off the road and went down a trail.
One van had an American furniture store decal on its side but Mexican license plates, Burke told a Superior Court jury. "My training and experience indicated to me that something was going on," Burke said.
Burke's testimony came during the first trial for migrants charged with conspiracy under a prosecutor's interpretation of the 2005 law, which was intended to help local authorities crack down on migrant smuggling.
Two of the defendants, Gustavo G. Unbalejo, 29, and Antonio Hernandez, 21, are foreign nationals who were among the first 48 customers of smugglers to be prosecuted under Arizona's 10-month-old law.
The other illegal immigrant on trial, 33-year-old Javier Ruiz, is accused of working as their smuggler. The three men are from Mexico.
Prosecutors said the illegal immigrants formed a group to sneak themselves into the country and that items found inside the vehicles, such as carpet scraps that can be tied to shoes to reduce foot tracks in the desert, are evidence of smuggling.
Defense attorneys said prosecutors can't prove that the illegal immigrants arranged to be smuggled into Arizona.
Not having legal papers and being found with a large group of immigrants isn't evidence of the crime, the defense attorneys said.
While there is evidence that human smuggling was committed, no evidence has been shown on whether a conspiracy violation had occurred in the case of the two alleged conspirators, Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Thomas O'Toole said outside the presence of the jury.
While defense attorneys questioned whether the case can move forward, prosecutors continued to pursue their case through testimony from law enforcement officers. The trial for the three illegal immigrants was set to continue Tuesday morning.
The law makes it a midlevel felony punishable by up to 2 1/2 years in prison to smuggle illegal immigrants.
Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas has drawn criticism from illegal-immigration advocates for using the law to target not only smugglers, but also to charge their customers as conspirators to the crime.
While one of the law's authors has said it was never intended for use against the customers of smugglers, Thomas has maintained his interpretation is necessary for holding rank-and-file illegal immigrants accountable for breaking the law.
The interpretation was upheld a month ago by a trial court judge, and lawyers for one of the immigrants said he intends to appeal the decision.
The smuggling law has been used mostly in Maricopa County, which includes Phoenix, a hub for smugglers transporting illegal workers across the country.
Authorities elsewhere in the state have said they don't have enough money or employees to enforce the law on a wide scale.
Twenty-eight of the original 48 to be charged under Thomas' interpretation of the law have pleaded guilty to the lower-tier felony of solicitation to commit immigrant smuggling.
They were sentenced to one or two years of supervised probation and expected to face deportation proceedings. Five cases were dismissed. Fifteen others were set for trial, according to the latest figures provided by prosecutors.