Virginia Beach Sheriff says local cops questioning immigration status "ridiculous"

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Speaking to the Virginian-Pilot on Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli’s recent legal opinion that police officers across the state of Virginia can inquire into the immigration status of anyone they encounter during the course of an investigation, Virginia Beach Sheriff Ken Stolle said: “It's really a ridiculous issue.”

Sheriff Stolle continued: “Why would a police officer be asking that? And what does he do if they refuse to answer?”

Of course, for Virginia Beach law enforcement, immigration enforcement is quite a touchy issue.

The city’s de facto ‘sanctuary policy’ came to light in 2007, when two teenaged girls were killed by a drunk-driving illegal alien with a long arrest record.

In April 2007, in Virginia Beach, Va., a Mexican national named Alfredo Ramos slammed into the rear of a vehicle in which Allison Kuhnhardt and Tessa Tranchant were stopped while waiting at a traffic light. Ramos, 22 was traveling at a high rate of speed and was drunk at the time (he blew a .14 BAC). The two high school students had to be cut from their crumpled car and both later died after being taken to the hospital. Ramos suffered only a busted lip.

Though an illegal alien, Alfredo Ramos had been living in Virginia Beach for quite a while and worked at local a Mexican restaurant known as Mi Casita. Ramos had been previously convicted of three separate charges of public intoxication, identity theft, and even a DUI, but continued to live in the area. He speaks only Spanish and required an interpreter at all of his court proceedings.

The girls which Ramos killed were ages 16 and 17. Tessa Tranchant's brother Dylan had only been home from Iraq for two weeks, when his sister was killed. Dylan was tasked with identifying his little sister's body. The case gained national fame thanks to the reporting of Fox News' Bill O'Reilly, who helped expose Virginia Beach as a haven for illegal aliens.

O’Reilly placed the spotlight on that city's Mayor and Police Chief and characterized the resort town as a place where drunken Mexican invaders are allowed to roam freely.

Immediately after the case was reported on the O’Reilly Factor, Virginia Beach Police Chief Jake Jacocks went on the offensive and claimed that O'Reilly was wrong in focusing on the fact that Ramos was an illegal alien. He accused the Fox News commentator of turning the girls' deaths into a "political issue."

However, local ABC affiliate WVEC showed that the police chief was at least culpable in the tragedy when they reported that "Chief Jacocks says the policy of not reporting illegals until after three DUI charges was his idea. He hoped it would let illegal immigrants feel comfortable if they were involved in an accident."

Former Mayor Obendorf told reporters: "I never want anyone to miss the fact that someone who was drunk caused the death of two innocent young women, and it had nothing to do with nationality or anyone doing anything inappropriate as far as the government is concerned."

While the leadership of Virginia Beach has never formally declared the city to be a 'sanctuary' for illegal aliens, the way the leadership of Chicago or Tucson have done, it is every bit the haven to invaders that those two cities represent. Virginia Beach is dominated by hotels, restaurants, and housing developers, all of which hire tremendous numbers of illegal aliens.

Hotel owners often declare that they could simply not operate without the influx of Mexican and Central American nationals who can frequently be seen passed out drunk on the beach during the summer. The city has also seen thousands of over-priced cookie cutter homes built in the last several years, most of which have been constructed by illegal Mexican labor.

The building boom turned local convenience and home improvement store parking lots into gathering spots for groups of often drunken Latino men. While the city is very happy raking in huge profits in increased real estate taxes, they pass precious little of that revenue on to the citizens. While having a population of 450,000 residents, Virginia Beach still relies solely on a volunteer rescue squad for medical emergencies.

While city leaders bristled in 2007, at his accusations, Bill O'Reilly got it right. I live here and I am a daily witness to the unlawful transformation of this once beautiful city.

In December, 2009, two illegal aliens (Alberto Fuertes Loredo and Isidor Loredo Amaya) were charged with murder. When I initially called the Virginia Beach Correctional Facility and asked a deputy about the immigration status of Loredo and Amaya, I was put on hold for quite some time. When the young man came back on the line, he directed me to another deputy. When I called that number and received no answer, I started the process over again.

I was then told that whether or not ICE had placed a hold on the two was “privileged information” and he could not tell me. In fact, until I pressed him, he would not even tell me whether or not the Mexican nationals had been formally charged.

Despite the deputy’s insistence, the suspects’ immigration status is public information, but it was obvious he was only following orders from his superiors.

The rise in crime in Virginia Beach that can be attributed to illegal aliens is no doubt embarrassing to city officials. However, unless the city begins to take seriously the threat posed by the illegal aliens they have welcomed…They will continue to be asked uncomfortable questions as that city’s death toll rises.

I would invite Sheriff Stolle to tell Tessa’s parents, Ray and Collette Tranchant, that he thinks enforcing immigration laws is “ridiculous.”

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