Posted on 10/31/2002 9:15:37 AM PST by madfly
| INDIANAPOLIS TV journalist Bill O’Reilly blasted federal immigration officials for releasing juvenile sniper suspect John Lee Malvo last year instead of deporting him back to Jamaica. In a speech Wednesday, O’Reilly reiterated allegations he aired on his FOX News program this week: that an Immigration and Naturalization Service agent altered an arrest report, allowing Malvo to be released after the Border Patrol had arrested him last year as an illegal alien. Malvo, 17, is the alleged accomplice of D.C. sniper suspect John Allen Muhammad. The pair has been arrested and charged with 13 shootings and 10 deaths in Maryland and Virginia earlier this month. Last year, Malvo and his mother fled Jamaica and illegally slipped into Washington state as stowaways on a ship. They were arrested by Border Patrol agents. But the INS bureau chief in Seattle took the Border Patrol arrest report and changed the charges against Malvo, O’Reilly alleged. The result was that Malvo was not deported — and then joined up with Muhammad on their alleged killing spree. The INS agent’s actions “allowed John Malvo to get out of detention and run around this country — and you know what he did,” O’Reilly asserted. O’Reilly is the blunt and outspoken host of “The O’Reilly Factor” on FOX News Channel. He’s known for his confrontational interview style and for tackling topics other media outlets won’t touch. Although usually described as a conservative, O’Reilly denounced U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft — a Republican — for refusing to comment or to announce an investigation. Both the INS and the Border Patrol are under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Justice Department, which the attorney general heads. “The reason is, he’s arrogant,” O’Reilly fumed. “They (politicians) don’t want anybody — you or me — telling them what to do. They lose sight of the fact that we are their bosses. They work for us; we don’t work for them. Their duty is to protect us.” Speaking to a packed house Wednesday at Hilbert Circle Theatre in Indianapolis, O’Reilly argued that the INS needs a complete reorganization. He suggested the U.S. military be deployed to secure America’s borders with Canada and Mexico. “We have (U.S.) troops guarding South Korea from North Korea on the border. We have troops in Bosnia keeping the Croats from the Serbs. We’ve got troops in Kosovo keeping the Albanians from the Serbs. Why can’t we guard our borders?” Such measures would stop illegal immigration and greatly diminish narcotics trafficking, he contended. O’Reilly — who often hearkens back to his Irish-Catholic roots in New York — was quick to add that the vast majority of undocumented aliens “are the nicest people on earth, who you’d love to have living next door to you.” But a small portion is criminal, he said. “What if the sniper had been in Indiana instead of Maryland, Virginia and D.C.? What if your family — what if you — had gone out to work that day or gone to Ponderosa and – bang – you got a bullet in the head from a guy who should have been deported — who (the INS) had?” O’Reilly said. “And then you find out that the INS agent on his own falsified this (Border Patrol arrest) report — and then you find out the attorney general won’t even investigate it. How would you feel?” A Border Patrol agent appeared on “The O’Reilly Factor” Tuesday and leveled the allegations about the INS agent setting Malvo free last year. Having criticized Attorney General Ashcroft on the air, O’Reilly expected harsh reaction from his viewers. But of 10,000 e-mails sent to FOX News Channel since the show, only about 100 chided O’Reilly for blasting Ashcroft, O’Reilly said. O’Reilly defended his program as a watchdog on government. “On ‘The Factor,’ we have to keep these people in line — and embarrass them sometimes,” he explained. O’Reilly’s speech was sponsored by American United Life Insurance Co. and the Indianapolis-Marion County Public Library Foundation. |
Having criticized Attorney General Ashcroft on the air, O’Reilly expected harsh reaction from his viewers. But of 10,000 e-mails sent to FOX News Channel since the show, only about 100 chided O’Reilly for blasting Ashcroft, O’Reilly said.Go Bill, Go!
This is the core issue with Homeland Security legislation. Bush wants to have the control to prevent this, but the Dem-RATS will have none of it.
The INS guy can't be fired because of the unions. Sure beat the one in charge when his hands are tied...O'Reily is purely scum. I can only wish him zero ratings and the boot.
Ditto on that.
My hat's off to the James Carvilles and Paul Begalas: They've convinced you that black = white.
I'd still feel dead, I think. ;^)
Sorry I missed this Indy event, though!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.