NWV News - Whistleblowers not illegal aliens face criminal charges

WHISTLEBLOWERS NOT ILLEGAL ALIENS FACE CRIMINAL CHARGES

By NWV News writer Jim Kouri
Posted 1:00 AM Eastern
August 3, 2010
© 2010 NewsWithViews.com

"We live in a topsy-turvey nation and this story should anger all Americans. Suddenly our nation is prosecuting patriots while protecting lawbreakers," said a former NYPD police officer and private security firm owner.

The Utah state employees, suspected of blowing the whistle on more than a thousand illegal immigrants living in the state, have been placed on administrative leave and will likely be criminally charged, according to attorneys from a non-partisan, public-interest group.

Last week a list of 1,300 suspected illegal aliens was circulated anonymously to various state and federal agencies as well as media outlets, according to a statement from the Washington, DC-based Judicial Watch.

A letter was enclosed with the 29-page list that included the illegal aliens’ phone numbers, addresses and birth dates. The letter, signed "Concerned Citizens of the United States," alleged that they "observed these individuals in our neighborhoods, driving on our streets, working in our stores, attending our schools and entering our public welfare buildings."

Copies of the list and letter were sent to law enforcement agencies, news media outlets and Utah state lawmakers by the group, who demanded that those named be deported.

Calling it the “deplorable” work of a “small rogue group,” Utah Governor Gary Herbert quickly launched an investigation and vowed to punish any public employees responsible for participating in blowing the whistle.

So far two workers with the Utah Department of Workforce Services have been suspended and at least eight others are under investigation. All face criminal charges for violating state and federal privacy laws, according to the governor.

"We live in a topsy-turvey nation and this story should anger all Americans. Suddenly our nation is prosecuting patriots while protecting lawbreakers," said former NYPD police officer and private security firm owner Bill Fitzgerald.

Latino Project director Tony Yapias told Reuters that his Utah office was "inundated with calls from concerned Hispanics asking if they were on the list."

Utah Democrat Party officials are proud of their protecting illegal immigrants and providing them with endless public benefits, including discounted tuition at public colleges and universities as well as other perks not afforded under federal law.

Two of the state’s largest cities -- Salt Lake City and Provo -- have official sanctuary policies that forbid public employees or law enforcement officers from inquiring about a resident’s immigration status.

Earlier this year Utah proudly became the nation’s first state to offer a special class of driver’s licenses for illegal aliens who won’t be ineligible to obtain the cards when new federal security standards kick in. For years, Utah was one of only a handful of states to offer illegal immigrants driver’s license.

However, some Utah lawmakers plan to introduce legislation similar to the new law in Arizona, which requires state and local police to determine the immigration status of anyone they encounter in the course of their police work whom they reasonably suspect of being in the country illegally.

A majority of voters say the federal government should take legal action against cities that provide safe havens to illegal aliens, according to the Washington Times.

Meanwhile, hundreds of protesters marched in front of the Arizona state Capitol yesterday to display their opposition to that state's quest to enforce illegal immigration laws. After holding a prayer vigil at a church, hundreds of protesters demonstrated in front of the federal courthouse. According to law enforcement officials, the protesters are being bused into Arizona from California.

These out-of-state demonstrators are being directed by labor unions such as the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), according to police sources.

Protesters also engaged in a sit-in at the office of Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio. Those protesters who became violent and disruptive were arrested, and the popular sheriff vowed to go ahead with a crime sweep targeting illegal immigrants.

"My deputies will arrest them and put them in pink underwear," Arpaio said in a news release. "Count on it."

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Paul Senseman, a spokesman for Governor Brewer, said Arizona requested the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco to lift Bolton's preliminary injunction and to expedite its consideration of the state's appeal.

Every scientific poll has revealed overwhelming support for Arizona and it's law, with even some Democrat governors voicing their support for Arizona and its governor.