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Dec. 1, 2008

Max Freidlander, as told to Jacklyn C. Wadler: India Inkings

Mark Steyn: Whodunit!?

Nov. 28, 2008

Rabbi Ahron Rapps: An evil seed that didn't have to be

Melanie Phillips: Carpe diem --- or can we all relax now?

Nov. 26, 2008

Michael Feldberg: Meet the Orthodox Jew who laid groundwork for scientific development of ordnance that undergirds America's current world leadership

Andrea Simantov: Shades of life

Nov. 25, 2008

The Jewish Ethicist by Rabbi Dr. Asher Meir : Getting Emotional For Influence

The Kosher Gourmet by Ethel G. Hofman : Thanksiving feast!

Nov. 24, 2008

Rabbi S. Binyomin Ginsberg: 'I just Became a grandchild!'

Barry Rubin: Don't flatter your enemies, protect your friends

Nov. 21, 2008

Rabbi A. Henach Leibowitz: Money matters?

Caroline B. Glick: Civilization walks the plank

Nov. 20, 2008

Rabbi Avi Shafran: Bronfman's blindness

The Kosher Gourmet By Linda Gassenheimer: Portobellos add a hearty flavor to pasta with pesto

Nov, 19, 2008

The Jewish Ethicist by Rabbi Dr. Asher Meir : Spread the wealth? Jewish tradition and income equality

Elliot B. Gertel: 'Mad Men': Tackling prejudices or reinforcing them?

Nov, 18, 2008

Dr. Debby Schwarz Hirschhorn: The End of the Age of Reason

Jonathan Tobin: Does Barack + Bibi = Disaster?

Nov, 17, 2008

Rabbi Yonason Goldson: The End of the Age of Reason

Diana West: Gulling Americans into making terror legit?

Nov, 14, 2008

Rabbi A. Henach Leibowitz: The Power of Spiritual Inertia

Caroline B. Glick: The perils ahead

Nov, 13, 2008

Stratfor Intelligence Briefing: How Bush and Obama together could change the Middle East dynamic

The Kosher Gourmet by JeanMarie Brownson: Sweet and savory, crispy and meltingly tender bestilla

Nov, 12, 2008

The Jewish Ethicist by Rabbi Dr. Asher Meir : Tyrannical Co-Workers

Michael Doyle: High Court to consider today donated monuments that may have religious messages in public parks

Nov, 11, 2008

Frank J. Gaffney, Jr.: Will Obama stop government officials considering institutionalizing financial jihad?

Jonathan Tobin: They Will Decide Their Own Fate

Nov, 10, 2008

Rabbi Avi Shafran: $8 billion, modern-day Tower of Babel being built?

Barry Rubin: A letter to the president-elect from a Middle East realist

Nov, 7, 2008

Rabbi Francis Nataf: Of Children and Immortality

Caroline B. Glick: Livni's Obama strategy

Nov, 6, 2008

Rabbi Yonason Goldson: How I tricked a classroom of apathetic students into grasping the fallacy of moral relativism

The Kosher Gourmet By Gina Kim: Tips for making the perfect soup --- includes recipes

Nov, 5, 2008

The Jewish Ethicist By Rabbi Dr. Asher Meir: Destitute Debtors

Bruce Weinstein: 'Religulos': Bad title,even worse movie

Nov, 4, 2008

Frank J. Gaffney, Jr.: Treasury Dept. submits to Shariah law

Frida Ghitis: A surprise for Obama in the Middle East

Nov, 3, 2008

Jonathan Rosenblum: Who says Jews are Smart?

Jonathan Tobin: Was He Wrong About Everything?

March 22, 2007

J-Rhythms with Avraham Rosenblum: JWR's cutting-edge music program showcasing performers -- singers, song writers, musicians, and bands -- who learn and live the Torah lifestyle (OUR NEWEST IGODCAST !)

Oct. 29, 2003
Mortimer B. Zuckerman: Graffiti On History's Walls (MUST-READ!)

Jewish World Review August 14, 2008 / 13 Menachem-Av 5768

‘Where You From?’

By Larry Elder


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http://www.JewishWorldReview.com | "Where you from?"


An illegal alien from Mexico, Pedro Espinoza, allegedly asked that of Jamiel Shaw Jr., 17 — before Espinoza shot and killed him.


Shaw, a promising high-school student athlete wooed by Stanford and Rutgers, was gunned down at 8:40 p.m. just three doors from his Los Angeles home, where his father, Jamiel Shaw Sr., awaited his arrival from the mall. Shaw's mother, Anita, learned the news of her son's March 2 shooting death while serving as an Army sergeant in Iraq.


Edwin Ramos, an illegal alien from El Salvador, on June 22 allegedly gunned down and killed Tony Bologna and his sons Michael, 20, and Matthew, 16. The Bologna family, coming back from a barbecue in their SUV, apparently blocked Ramos' car in a San Francisco intersection. According to reports, after the Bologna vehicle backed up and let the Ramos car pass by, Ramos allegedly opened fire on the family.


The common factor in these killings, as with so many others: The alleged killers came to the country illegally. Federal officials estimate that 40,000 of the 170,000 inmates held in Los Angeles County jails each year are illegal immigrants. And in the cases of Espinoza and Ramos, the police had previously arrested each and — for reasons that remain unclear — the authorities either never referred the arrested alien to Immigration and Customs Enforcement for deportation or ICE failed to institute deportation proceedings.


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Before Shaw's murder, Espinoza had been arrested by Culver City police and served time in a Los Angeles County jail for assault with a deadly weapon. Jamiel Shaw was killed the day after Espinoza's release from jail.


Five years ago, 17-year-old Ramos was convicted and sent to a juvenile shelter for severely beating a suspected rival gang member. After serving a few months, Ramos was released to his mother for probation. Four days after that, he attempted to mug a pregnant woman. Ramos was convicted of attempted robbery and sent to a juvenile camp.


After Ramos turned 18, federal authorities learned of his illegal status when he applied — and was rejected — for legal residency. The illegal alien then married a U.S. citizen and applied for permanent residency — the case still pending when the Bolognas were killed.


Three months before the Bologna murders, Ramos was stopped in the notorious Tenderloin district, and his passenger tried to dispose of a handgun that had been used in a double murder the day before. Ramos was arrested on felony weapons charges, as well as membership in a criminal street gang. Three days after his arrest, Ramos was freed when city prosecutors declined to file charges against him. And ICE did not ask about Ramos' immigration status until after he was released.


Retired San Francisco Police Capt. Tim Hettrich says San Francisco Police Chief Heather Fong told him, "You are not to work with these (federal) people," and it was "common knowledge" in the department that "you were not to do anything with ICE or immigration and illegals, whether or not they committed a crime — even to arrest them — because there will be the perception we are harassing illegals."


I recently interviewed Brian DeMore, field office director for ICE detention and removal operations in Los Angeles. DeMore declined to speculate about why the alleged killer of the Bolognas, Ramos, remained on the streets. But he agreed that Shaw's killer, Pedro Espinoza, should have remained in custody and referred to ICE.


Elder: It seems to me what's supposed to happen is as follows: Someone gets arrested. There's an inquiry made by local law enforcement — police or county — about this person's immigration status. The immigration status is not clarified to the satisfaction of the local law enforcement. Therefore, this person should remain in jail until such time as the local law enforcement is satisfied that this person is — or is not — an illegal alien.


DeMore: Absolutely. … At that point, that local police department would call ICE, or we would make contact with them under Secure Communities because we would receive an electronic notification that they've got someone in custody. … We have an incredibly large task ahead of us. We could always use more individuals. But we are leveraging technology to overcome some of those shortfalls. … The interoperability — where our data will seamlessly integrate with the FBI's, and anyone who makes a query with biometric data or through fingerprints is going to be identified — will be revolutionary and groundbreaking. … We are claiming that within 3 1/2 years, we will be able to interview, detain and remove 100 percent of the Level 1 violators (those convicted of major drug or violent offenses), with Levels 2 (minor drug or property offenses) and 3 (other offenses) falling into line shortly thereafter.


Small comfort to the families of Jamiel Shaw and Tony, Michael and Matthew Bologna.

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JWR contributor Larry Elder is the author of, most recently, "Stupid Black Men: How to Play the Race Card--and Lose." (Proceeds from sales help fund JWR)

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