Most illegal immigrants detained in Iowa since 2000
10/13/2005 12:57:28 PM
Posted: Thursday, October 13, 2005
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) -- Police say more illegal immigrants were detained while being smuggled through Iowa last year than anytime in the past five years.
Records show police detained 449 illegal immigrants during the 2005 fiscal year that ended Sept. 30. That was up from 351 in 2004 and the most since 2000, when 593 illegal immigrants were detained.
"I think it's a good thing we are taking more smugglers and more illegal aliens off the road," said Tim Counts, spokesman for the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. "The vehicles smuggling loads they are traveling in are often not safe. They are typically overloaded. Usually the drivers of the vans have been driving far longer than they should."
Counts said it's difficult to say why the numbers have increased after declines reported in the first few years of the decade. He said arrests are often triggered by a traffic accident and that federal investigators focus on charging smugglers in court.
Earlier this year, Mexican citizen Evelio Flores-Santos, 49, was sentenced to 18 months in federal prison after pleading guilty to transporting nine illegal residents into the United States.
"Smugglers care only about a profit," Counts said.
Information from: The Gazette, http://www.gazetteonline.com/
AP-CS-10-13-05 1353EDT
Records show police detained 449 illegal immigrants during the 2005 fiscal year that ended Sept. 30. That was up from 351 in 2004 and the most since 2000, when 593 illegal immigrants were detained.
"I think it's a good thing we are taking more smugglers and more illegal aliens off the road," said Tim Counts, spokesman for the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. "The vehicles smuggling loads they are traveling in are often not safe. They are typically overloaded. Usually the drivers of the vans have been driving far longer than they should."
Counts said it's difficult to say why the numbers have increased after declines reported in the first few years of the decade. He said arrests are often triggered by a traffic accident and that federal investigators focus on charging smugglers in court.
Earlier this year, Mexican citizen Evelio Flores-Santos, 49, was sentenced to 18 months in federal prison after pleading guilty to transporting nine illegal residents into the United States.
"Smugglers care only about a profit," Counts said.
Information from: The Gazette, http://www.gazetteonline.com/
AP-CS-10-13-05 1353EDT
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