Posted on 05/13/2006 8:07:04 PM PDT by SwinneySwitch
PENDLETON, ORE. - Out of ideas and low on cash one cold morning, the man with the biggest badge in town put his meaty fingers on a keyboard and tapped out a letter to the leader of Mexico.
"Dear Precidente (sic) Fox," it began.
"My name is John Trumbo. I am Sheriff of Umatilla County in northeastern Oregon." Illegal immigrants "from your country" who committed crimes here, the letter said, cost Americans lots of money.
Last year, more than 360 of "your citizens" spent time in jail "at a cost of $63 a day which equates to a request for payment of $318,843," the letter concluded. "At this time, you will not be billed for medical, dental and transportation costs. Your prompt attention to this request will be very much appreciated."
Three months later, Trumbo reports, Vicente Fox still has not paid up. The Mexican president has issued no response.
The silence has reverberated at the Umatilla County Justice Center. Here, the influx of Mexican immigrants — many of them illegal and a portion criminal — has become an increasingly prickly issue.
To anyone who asked, Trumbo explained:
The county has a daily jail capacity of 252 inmates but can afford staff and services for only 135 inmates. The sheriff's office should have a minimum of 27 patrol officers but can fund only nine. Between 2 a.m. and 8 a.m., no patrol officer is on duty.
"When people call the police, they expect to see the police," Trumbo says. "They see it on TV all the time. But there are times when I can't send anybody, because I don't have anybody because I don't have the money."
One reason, he says: The department spends much of its $6.5 million annual budget on apprehending and jailing illegal immigrants.
He has no problem with Hispanics personally, he says. "Some of my best friends," Trumbo says, "are Hispanic." He just wanted to tell someone, anyone, about the situation.
In the past 16 years, the Hispanic population in 20 of Oregon's 36 counties has as much as tripled.
Many of them end up in places like Umatilla County, where they take the hardest farming jobs or work in food-processing factories.
The population increase has led to a corresponding rise in the number of undocumented immigrants who commit crimes. Trumbo says between nine and 15 of his jail beds are occupied each day by illegal immigrants from Mexico.
The majority of jailed illegal immigrants are in for property crimes. One man arrested on burglary charges, Juan Flores-Romero, has been in the Umatilla County jail 20 times. Flores-Romero, 62, was deported in almost every instance.
Says Trumbo: "The old joke among the immigration agents who shuttled these guys back to Mexico was, 'I hope we make it back to Pendleton before they do.' "
Some found the sheriff's letter disturbing. Shelley Latin, an attorney who represents mostly low-income Hispanics, says Trumbo's letter hinted at a type of racism pervasive within local law enforcement.
"The implication is that Hispanics are the cause of the crime problems here," Latin says. "It suggests that if Hispanics were all taken away, we would suddenly be crime-free. That's just silly."
The Mexican consul general for Oregon, Fernando Sanchez Ugarte, who received a copy of the letter, says he doesn't know whether Fox will respond.
The IRS has 9 million SS numbers and IDs that don't match come in every year. Not only does the govt know which employers are hiring, but how many, and for how long.
...you forgot to mention that Republicans are just mean to call them illegal and criminals...or maybe you did and I was laughing too hard to notice...very nice.
L
You all HAVE to see post 12. TOOOO funny.
Lurker - that is perfection but since you asked if you forgot anything :) ... there is that bit about how we "all" speed and speeding (even 1 mph over) = the same as breaking into the country. That was the big talking point handed down to the open border types about two or three months ago.
I hope people have as much fun reading it as I did writing it.
Just don't try to do the whole thing without taking a breath. I did that once and I got real wooooozy.
Regards,
L
Bravo Lurker...very well put!! I needed a good laugh!
Knowing Sheriff Joe, if hears of this he's very likely to deliver the bill personally to the Mexican Consulate in Phoenix.
I can also gleefully imagine what he might consider doing when they refuse payment-hehehehehehehehehe.
Cheap b@st@rd.
Too funny. You might wanna throw in there how Lou Dobbs is a leftist hack and how we need a compassionate and a comprehensive package.
LOL!
Now that would be funny.
L
You think Sheriff Joe and Andrew Thomas could get a theft charge to stick in this state?AWB
I hope Trumbo tells Latin what's what. This "you're a racist" stuff in reference to illegal immigrants has got to be slapped down, hard and fast. It shouldn't be allowed to stand -- not for one second. Trumbo should keep after Latin until she apologizes.
Thank you for the best laugh!!
Could you elucidate on that a little more? I'm still undecided.
Bravo... that was fun!!
Reminds me of Denis Leary when he was still raw.
Oh, a deadbeat!
THAT is going to pop up a lot of places around here from now on....
and I have moah : )
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