HILLSDALE, NJ COPS BUST ILLEGALS W LITTLE CHILDREN

7 charged in immigration smuggling case Saturday, March 15, 2008 BY ELIZABETH LLORENTESTAFF WRITER The way Hillsdale police saw it, the nationwide debate over whether local police should help catch illegal immigrants is a moot point when you find human smuggling that includes children.

It was a broken headlight and an unreadable temporary Arizona license plate that led Hillsdale police to pull over what turned out to be a carload of smuggled illegal immigrants from Mexico on Wednesday morning, authorities say.

And although all the adults in the vehicle ended up in custody of immigration authorities, Hillsdale police say that they did not press charges or arrest the immigrants because they encountered motor vehicle violations.

Hillsdale Detective Sgt. Robert Francaviglia said it was decided to refer the matter to the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, after the driver admitted transporting illegal immigrants — among them five children, ranging in age from 2 to 17.

"Everyone paid $2,000 to cross the border, then they could go anywhere they wanted to in the United States," Francaviglia said.

The Hillsdale incident comes amid a national debate about when local police should act on immigration issues, routinely considered federal matters. Advocates for immigrants argue that local police should not contact ICE about immigration issues unless a crime is involved. But those on the other side of the debate say all levels of law enforcement should address illegal immigration.

Caught in between are local police agencies, especially those in areas like North Jersey that are magnets for immigrants.

Fairview has cracked down on day laborers by ticketing them for minor violations. Passaic police assisted ICE out of a sense of duty during a recent raid at homes in which residents were arrested on immigration violations. Morristown's hard-line Mayor Donald Cresitello has unsuccessfully tried to enlist town police as federal immigration agents.

And in another regional example of the controversy, a Long Island police commissioner declared that Nassau County police would no longer join in federal raids after his officers ended up detaining day laborers wanted on civil warrants; ICE had led them to believe they were rounding up gang members.

Hillsdale police "had only motor vehicle violations," Francaviglia said. "But the driver admitted that everyone was illegal, and that they were being transported from Arizona and that he knew this was illegal."

When police pulled over the Ford Excursion at 1:30 a.m., they allegedly found a dozen people inside, all Mexican nationals, including the five children.

The passengers had recently been smuggled across the Southwest border. Two of the Mexicans, including the driver, apparently had been hired by the vehicle's owner — who possibly also ran a smuggling operation from Arizona — to drop off the immigrants around the country, police say.

Some of the five men and two women were sent to the Bergen County Jail under ICE custody, Francaviglia said.

Police said the five children were "committed to the care and custody" of the state Department of Children and Families. They said four were teenagers and here without parents, though one was the nephew of an adult in the vehicle.

Police said when the driver, Cristian Soto Estevez, 26, failed to produce a driver's license, and showed only Mexican government-issued identification, Emerson police, who were assisting, got Soto to admit transporting illegal immigrants. Then they decided to contact ICE.

Hillsdale police took the group in custody until ICE agents arrived, Francaviglia said.

An ICE complaint charges that Soto admitted knowing all the passengers were here illegally and that he expected to be paid $800 to $1,000 to drop them off. The other immigrants face charges on immigration violations.

ICE spokesman Michael Gilhooly said: "This appears to be good law enforcement work that interdicted a small smuggling load."

E-mail: llorente@northjersey.com

The way Hillsdale police saw it, the nationwide debate over whether local police should help catch illegal immigrants is a moot point when you find human smuggling that includes children.

It was a broken headlight and an unreadable temporary Arizona license plate that led Hillsdale police to pull over what turned out to be a carload of smuggled illegal immigrants from Mexico on Wednesday morning, authorities say.

And although all the adults in the vehicle ended up in custody of immigration authorities, Hillsdale police say that they did not press charges or arrest the immigrants because they encountered motor vehicle violations.

Hillsdale Detective Sgt. Robert Francaviglia said it was decided to refer the matter to the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, after the driver admitted transporting illegal immigrants — among them five children, ranging in age from 2 to 17.

"Everyone paid $2,000 to cross the border, then they could go anywhere they wanted to in the United States," Francaviglia said.

The Hillsdale incident comes amid a national debate about when local police should act on immigration issues, routinely considered federal matters. Advocates for immigrants argue that local police should not contact ICE about immigration issues unless a crime is involved. But those on the other side of the debate say all levels of law enforcement should address illegal immigration.

Caught in between are local police agencies, especially those in areas like North Jersey that are magnets for immigrants.

Fairview has cracked down on day laborers by ticketing them for minor violations. Passaic police assisted ICE out of a sense of duty during a recent raid at homes in which residents were arrested on immigration violations. Morristown's hard-line Mayor Donald Cresitello has unsuccessfully tried to enlist town police as federal immigration agents.

And in another regional example of the controversy, a Long Island police commissioner declared that Nassau County police would no longer join in federal raids after his officers ended up detaining day laborers wanted on civil warrants; ICE had led them to believe they were rounding up gang members.

Hillsdale police "had only motor vehicle violations," Francaviglia said. "But the driver admitted that everyone was illegal, and that they were being transported from Arizona and that he knew this was illegal."

When police pulled over the Ford Excursion at 1:30 a.m., they allegedly found a dozen people inside, all Mexican nationals, including the five children.

The passengers had recently been smuggled across the Southwest border. Two of the Mexicans, including the driver, apparently had been hired by the vehicle's owner — who possibly also ran a smuggling operation from Arizona — to drop off the immigrants around the country, police say.

Some of the five men and two women were sent to the Bergen County Jail under ICE custody, Francaviglia said.

Police said the five children were "committed to the care and custody" of the state Department of Children and Families. They said four were teenagers and here without parents, though one was the nephew of an adult in the vehicle.

Police said when the driver, Cristian Soto Estevez, 26, failed to produce a driver's license, and showed only Mexican government-issued identification, Emerson police, who were assisting, got Soto to admit transporting illegal immigrants. Then they decided to contact ICE.

Hillsdale police took the group in custody until ICE agents arrived, Francaviglia said.

An ICE complaint charges that Soto admitted knowing all the passengers were here illegally and that he expected to be paid $800 to $1,000 to drop them off. The other immigrants face charges on immigration violations.

ICE spokesman Michael Gilhooly said: "This appears to be good law enforcement work that interdicted a small smuggling load."

E-mail: llorente@northjersey.com