Sanctuary City Police Chief will be Head of 287g Program Under Obama

[Lady Liberty]

LIKE PUTTING THE RATS IN CHARGE OF GUARDING THE CHEESE.....

examiner.com

Sanctuary city police chief will be head of 287g program under Obama

June 26, 12:51 PM
Immigration Reform Examiner Dave Gibson


President Obama has appointed former Houston Police Chief Harold Hurtt to oversee the 287g program with Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

The 287g program helps local law enforcement identify illegal aliens, and begins the deportation process by allowing police to investigate a suspect’s immigration status after an arrest had been made.

The program has been extremely popular with communities inundated with illegal aliens.

Since 2006, more than 1,300 law-enforcement officers have been trained and certified by the federal government. Currently, about 80 local police departments across the country participate in 287g. Both Virginia (9) and North Carolina (8) lead the country in the number of local departments participating.

While Hurtt was police chief, he supported keeping Houston’s "sanctuary city" in place and resisted participation in 287g. He described the program as too much of a burden on local law enforcement, once saying that local police "don't want to be immigration officers."

One person who is outraged that Hurtt has been given this important position, is the widow of Houston Police Officer Rodney Johnson, who was killed by an illegal alien with a long criminal record.

On September 21, 2006, Officer Johnson, 40, was shot to death by Mexican national Juan Leonardo Quintero, during a routine traffic stop.

Quintero is a convicted child molester and DWI offender, and was deported to Mexico by U.S. immigration officials in 1999. He had been working for a Houston area landscaping company and despite the DWI conviction, was driving a company vehicle at the time Officer Johnson stopped him.

The illegal alien shot Officer Johnson in the head five times with a 9mm handgun he had concealed in his waistband.

Officer Johnson was a 12 year veteran of the Houston Police Department and a U.S. Army veteran. While serving on the HPD, Johnson received two Lifesaving Awards. He left behind his wife Joslyn (also a police officer) and five children.

Had Chief Hurtt decided to participate in the 287g program, Quintero would have been identified as an illegal alien, during one of his multiple arrests in Houston, and Officer Johnson would still be returning to his loving family every night.

Because Joslyn Johnson is still a Houston police officer, and is suing Hurtt for negligence in the death of her husband, she cannot comment on his appointment to the press directly. However her attorney, Ben Dominguez, told Fox News: “She was shocked at the irony.”

Dominguez continued: “If (his federal policy is) similar to Houston's policy, then it's going to continue to endanger private citizens and officers.”

Rep. Steve King (R-IA), has also criticized the Obama administration for choosing Hurtt for the ICE position. King said: “Here he is, he should be standing up for the letter of federal law. I don't know how he can do that given the record that he has. I think this is another piece in the puzzle to granting some type of de facto amnesty.”

Of course, the appointment simply reflects the current attitude towards illegal immigration by Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, who immediately upon taking office, ordered a review of the 287(g) program. Since then, she has made changes, weakening the local-federal partnership.

Perhaps, the program was seen as a little too effective by Napolitano, who as Governor of Arizona, was often and rightly criticized for her lack of enforcement when it came to illegal immigration, and who as head of the DHS, has basically become a lobbyist for amnesty.

Unfortunately, under Obama, we are likely to see an increase in serious crimes committed by illegal aliens.