The Ridgewood Blog Brings a Free Market Laissez-faire Point of View to Local, New Jersey State and National Issues.
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Trenton NJ, Today the Democrat controlled New Jersey legislature will hold votes on six bills to support criminals and criminal behavior.
Continue reading It’s criminal Christmas in Trenton as Democrats shower rule breakers with privileges and sympathy
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Trenton NJ, U.S. Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, released the following statement on the New Jersey State Assembly’s passage today of a measure to reinstate voting rights for New Jerseyans on parole and probation:
Continue reading New Jersey Assembly Passes Bill to Restore Vote to People on Parole and Probation
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River Vale NJ, Assemblywoman Holly Schepisi (R-Bergen) rebukes Gov. Phil Murphy for appointing Derrick Green to his public bank implementation board and continuing to hire those who have been convicted of bribery, accused of fraud, and a whole host of other improprieties.
“It is beyond disturbing to see that for something as significant and sizeable as a state bank, with all of the talented and qualified people in New Jersey, that quite a few members of this proposed bank have had virtually no experience whatsoever in banking,” said Schepisi. “And out of the ones who have been put on, at least one has been accused of severe, significant financial irregularities and has been under investigation for corruption and fraud.’
Continue reading Holly Schepisi (R-Bergen) rebukes Gov. Phil Murphy for appointing Derrick Green to his public bank implementation board
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Trenton NJ, The vice-chair of the Legislative Select Oversight Committee to investigate the Murphy Administration’s hiring practices, Senator Kristin Corrado is calling for the panel to reconvene in light of questions surrounding the employment of a now-fired staff member of the governor.
“The committee left some glaring unfinished business,” Corrado said. “Summer is over. We need to get back to Trenton, sort out the mess and hold the administration accountable for what has become a long and growing list of hiring scandals.”
Continue reading Senator Kristin Corrado pushes investigation into the Murphy Administration’s hiring practices
photo by RH
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TRENTON NJ, Fulfilling its statutory mandate to keep the public informed about the operations of organized crime in New Jersey, the State Commission of Investigation today introduced a new project, “Organized Crime Spotlight,” that will periodically provide up‐to‐date profiles of significant criminal groups impacting the State and region. The inaugural report focuses on La Mara Salvatrucha, commonly referred to as MS‐13, a criminal street gang known for extreme violence.
The State Commission of Investigation is an independent New Jersey watchdog agency established in 1968 to investigate organized crime and corruption, waste of tax money and other abuses of the public trust. Copies of public reports are available at the Commission’s offices or via its Web site at www.state.nj.us/sci.index.shtm
The Commission found that while aggressive law enforcement efforts and prosecutions at the state and federal levels have been somewhat effective in suppressing MS‐13, it remains a persistent threat in New Jersey, preying primarily on immigrant communities through extortion, robbery and street‐level drug sales. With a ceaseless thirst to command respect through fear, its trademark ideology of advancing in rank through violence and its rivalries with other groups, murder is always just a spark away for MS‐13 members, the SCI found.
The most infamous example of MS‐13’s savagery in New Jersey was the slaying of three individuals – and the grave wounding of a fourth – in a Newark schoolyard on the night of Aug. 4, 2007. Six of the gang’s members, including the leader of the Newark clique, are serving long prison sentences for the grisly attack. Such vicious incidents of violence have been less frequent in recent years, and some policing experts believe elements of MS‐13 may be intentionally lying low to avoid law enforcement scrutiny.
Further, the Commission learned that New Jersey is a central command post for the gang’s operations on the East Coast. Over the past decade, an effort by MS‐13 leaders in El Salvador to exert greater control over U.S.‐based cliques, or sets, has taken root. These cliques take orders directly from compatriots in El Salvador for killings and pay tribute by wiring cash to leaders in the Central American nation. New Jersey has played a prominent role in this movement with leaders in Monmouth and Hudson counties directing operations along the East Coast.
Founded by immigrants fleeing war‐torn El Salvador in the 1980s, MS‐13 originated on the streets of Los Angeles. New Jersey law enforcement officials identified the first MS‐13 members in Elizabeth, Union County, in the mid‐1990s. Today, MS‐13 members are scattered throughout the state from Union City to Morristown, Trenton to Red Bank, and Lindenwold to
Lakewood.
Along with outlining the gang’s origins, expansion, structure and activities, the report also highlights some of the obstacles facing law enforcement as well as approaches some officials have used to tamp down violence and to prevent vulnerable teenagers from bolstering MS‐13’s ranks.
Combating MS‐13 presents unique challenges to law enforcement due to the insular nature of the gang, which often targets immigrants from El Salvador as both victims and as potential recruits. In some municipalities, outreach is hampered by a lack of Spanish‐speaking officers. Law enforcement officials across the State told the Commission efforts are ongoing to build relationships with these communities but that many people, principally those who are undocumented, are fearful of deportation or of retaliation by the gang.
Notwithstanding these challenges, law enforcement in some jurisdictions, particularly in Hudson County, have adopted strategies that have successfully headed off potential violence and muted the gang’s predatory behavior. Most notably, law enforcement officials in Union City, Hudson County, told the Commission that while many MS‐13 members are present in the city, the gang does not conduct overt criminal activity there because of a zero‐tolerance approach that involves multiple city departments and the school system. Some measures taken in Union City include a midnight curfew on those under 18 and a requirement that building owners swiftly remove graffiti, such as gang‐related tags, or face significant financial penalties.
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NEWARK NJ, Four individuals in the country illegally who have Interpol warrants based on crimes they committed in their home countries were among 105 foreign nationals taken into custody during a five-day operation conducted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) last week in New Jersey. The operation, which was spearheaded by ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO), targeted at-large criminal aliens, illegal re-entrants and other immigration violators and was supported by ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s (CBP) New Jersey Field Office.
Of those arrested during the operation, 80 percent had prior criminal convictions and/or pending criminal charges.“These outstanding results, which were made possible by our officers and law enforcement partners, highlight the tremendous commitment that ICE ERO has to public safety throughout the state,” said John Tsoukaris, Field Office Director of ERO Newark. “Our focus has been and will continue to be on arrests of illegal aliens who have been convicted of serious crimes or those who pose a threat to public safety.”
These individuals will go through removal proceedings before an Immigration Judge or for those under a final order of removal, arrangements will be made to remove them from the U.S.
The individuals arrested throughout New Jersey were nationals of Brazil (6), Canada (1), Colombia (1), Costa Rica (1), Cuba (2), Dominican Republic (10), Ecuador (4), Egypt (1), El Salvador (8), Guatemala (13), Honduras (7), Jamaica (4), Korea (2), Mexico (28), Peru (4), Philippines (1), Poland (1), Russia (1), Serbia (1), Slovakia (2), Spain (1), Taiwan (1), Trinidad (1), and Venezuela (4).
These individuals were arrested in the following counties in New Jersey: Atlantic (1), Bergen (4), Burlington (1), Camden (1), Essex (6), Gloucester (2), Hudson (24), Hunterdon (1), Mercer (12), Middlesex (10), Monmouth (14), Morris (3), Ocean (2), Passaic (11), Somerset (1), and Union (10). Also, two (2) individuals were arrested in New York. They range from age 18 to 65 years old and most were previously convicted of a variety of offenses. Some of the convictions included sexual assault on a minor, child abuse, possession of narcotics, distribution of narcotics, extortion, DUI, fraud, domestic violence, theft, possession of a weapon, robbery, promoting prostitution, aggravated assault, resisting arrest, endangering the welfare of a child, credit card fraud, insurance fraud, shoplifting and illegal reentry.
Among those arrested during this operation include:
This operation was pre-planned and not as a result of the New Jersey Attorney General’s Directive last week limiting local and state law enforcement cooperation with ICE. ICE will of necessity have to conduct additional enforcement operations, if local police departments and county jails do not refer criminals and gang members they encounter to ICE for review and possible arrest on immigration violations.
file photo by Boyd Loving
Enjoy the new Banana Republic state of NJ. Thank you Murphy and especially the well educated voters of Ridgewood who overwhelmingly voted for a sanctuary state. I am so curious to know if this criminal hurt one of their family members how would they feel about these policies and ICE now. Anyone here cares to chip in? I myself and family would never vote for someone (be it left or right) who would impose policies that put my family and other people at risk just to be politically correct. Illegals and especially the violent ones need to be punished for their crime and then deported. I also believe that these policies are emboldening criminals to commit burglaries anywhere including the latest rush in our town.
June 18,2018
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Trenton NJ, just days after Governor Phil Murphy signed six new major gun control measures into law, giving the the Garden State the strictest gun control in America , a dispute between rival gang members may have led to a shooting that erupted in the early-morning hours of a popular all-night arts festival in Trenton, killing one, injuring 22. None of those laws stopped a mass shooting this weekend at a Trenton, or saved a single person .
Just four days ago Governor Phil Murphy on Twitter outlined some of the changes that would take place following the enactment of what he called “landmark legislation,” including requiring background checks on private gun sales, the reduction of magazine capacity, a ban on armor-piercing bullets, and keeping “guns out of the wrong hands.”
According to Mercer County Prosecutor Angelo Onofri the deceased suspect has been identified as Tahaij Wells, 33. Wells was released from prison and on parole since February on homicide-related charges.
The one man in custody is Amir Armstrong, 23, who has been charged with a weapons offense. Armstrong remained hospitalized in stable condition.
A third unidentified suspect was hospitalized in critical condition.
March 6,2018
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Trenton NJ, Senator Gerry Cardinale, the ranking Republican member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, issued the following statement opposing legislation that would allow incarcerated prisoners, as well as those on parole and probation, to vote.
Sen. Gerry Cardinale opposes legislation that would allow incarcerated prisoners, as well as those on parole and probation, to vote.
“People who are serving prison sentences for breaking the law are subject to a loss of certain freedoms.
“That’s part of the risk they assume when they break the law, and part of the incentive structure for people to follow the law.
“Do we really believe that murderers and rapists who are serving prison sentences should be allowed to influence elections and public policy?
“We shouldn’t trust people who have demonstrated such bad judgment that they are removed from society with the responsibility that comes with voting.
“Let’s not forget that we restore voting rights once a person has paid their debt to society and proven themselves to be trustworthy following parole or probation.
“Our current system is reasonable, and it works.”
December 21, 2017
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WASHINGTON DC, President Trump’s Executive Order on Enhancing Public Safety in the Interior of the United States requires the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Department of Justice (DOJ) to collect relevant data and provide quarterly reports on data collection efforts. On December 18, 2017, DHS and DOJ released the FY 2017 4th Quarter Alien Incarceration Report, complying with this order.[1] The report found that more than one-in-five of all persons in Bureau of Prisons custody were foreign born, and that 94 percent of confirmed aliens in custody were unlawfully present.
“While the administration is working diligently to remove dangerous criminal aliens from our streets, this report highlights the fact that more must be done,” said Secretary of Homeland Security Kirstjen M. Nielsen. “We will continue to pursue President Trump’s immigration priorities, including securing the border, enhancing interior enforcement, and pursuing a merit-based immigration system, but Congress must act immediately to adopt obvious solutions to strengthen DHS and DOJ efforts to confront dangerous criminal aliens.”
“The American people deserve a lawful system of immigration that serves the national interest,” Attorney General Sessions said. “But at the border and in communities across America, our citizens are being victimized by illegal aliens who commit crimes. Nearly 95 percent of confirmed aliens in our federal prisons are here illegally. We know based on sentencing data that non-citizens commit a substantially disproportionate number of drug-related offenses, which contributes to our national drug abuse crisis. The simple fact is that any offense committed by a criminal alien is ultimately preventable. One victim is too many. It’s time for Congress to enact the President’s immigration reform agenda so that we start welcoming the best and brightest while turning away drug dealers, gang members, and other criminals.”
Section 16 of the Executive Order directs the Secretary of Homeland Security and the Attorney General to collect relevant data and provide quarterly reports regarding: (a) the immigration status of all aliens incarcerated under the supervision of the Federal Bureau of Prisons; (b) the immigration status of all aliens incarcerated as federal pretrial detainees under the supervision of the United States Marshals Service; and (c) the immigration status of all convicted aliens in state prisons and local detention centers throughout the United States.
A total of 58,766 known or suspected aliens were in in DOJ custody at the end of FY 2017, including 39,455 persons in BOP custody and 19,311 in USMS custody. Of this total, 37,557 people had been confirmed by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to be aliens (i.e., non-citizens and non-nationals), while 21,209 foreign-born people were still under investigation by ICE to determine alienage and/or removability.
Among the 37,557 confirmed aliens, 35,334 people (94 percent) were unlawfully present. These numbers include a 92 percent unlawful rate among 24,476 confirmed aliens in BOP custody and a 97 percent unlawful rate among 13,081 confirmed aliens in USMS custody.
This report does not include data on the foreign-born or alien populations in state prisons and local jails because state and local facilities do not routinely provide DHS or DOJ with comprehensive information about their inmates and detainees—which account for approximately 90 percent of the total U.S. incarcerated population.
Information Regarding Immigration Status of Aliens Incarcerated Under the Supervision of the Federal Bureau of Prisons
The Department of Justice’s Bureau of Prisons (BOP) has an operational process for maintaining data regarding foreign-born inmates in its custody. On a quarterly basis, BOP supplies this information to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). ICE, in turn, analyzes that information to determine the immigration status of each inmate and provides that information back to BOP.
Out of the 185,507 inmates in BOP custody, 39,455 (21%) were reported by BOP as foreign-born. Further details regarding these 39,455 foreign-born inmates are as follows:
20,240 (51%) were unauthorized aliens who are subject to a final order of removal;
14,979 (38%) remain under ICE investigation;
2,374 (6%) were unlawfully present and now in removal proceedings;
1,852 (less than 5%) were lawfully present aliens but are now in removal proceedings; and
10 were aliens who have been granted relief or protection from removal.
Information Regarding the Immigration Status of Aliens Incarcerated as Federal Pretrial Detainees
USMS identified 19,311 aliens and foreign-born inmates under ICE investigation detained at USMS facilities. Further details regarding these 19,311 foreign-born inmates are as follows:
11,459 (59%) were aliens who are subject to a final order of removal;
6,230 (32%) remain under ICE investigation;
1,261 (6.5%) were unlawfully present and now in removal proceedings;
358 (less than 2%) were lawfully present but are now in removal proceedings; and
3 were aliens who have been granted relief or protection from removal.
Immigration Status of All Convicted Aliens Incarcerated in State Prisons and Local Detention Centers Throughout the United States
The Departments continue to progress towards establishing data collection of the immigration status of convicted aliens incarcerated in state prisons and local detention centers through the Department of Justice’s Office of Justice Programs, Bureau of Justice Statistics and the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Immigration Statistics.
“The White House and President Obama himself were more than willing to comment on the particular, local cases of Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown and Freddie Gray, even before all of the facts were known. Apparently, Kathryn Steinle doesn’t look enough like one of his daughters for Obama to give a damn.”
Katie Pavlich: Barack Obama’s sanctuary country for criminal aliens
By Katie Pavlich – 07/13/15 05:22 PM EDT
The debate over illegal immigration erupted again recently after 32-year-old Kathryn Steinle was shot and killed allegedly by seven-time felon and five-time deportee criminal alien Juan Francisco Lopez-Sanchez in San Francisco. During a jailhouse interview, Lopez-Sanchez said he chose San Francisco to take advantage of sanctuary city policies in order to avoid Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Before Steinle’s killing, ICE issued an arrest detainer for Lopez-Sanchez to the San Francisco Sheriff’s Department. That detainer was refused and Lopez-Sanchez was released.
The White House is refusing to comment on the case, despite the national debate surrounding the issue and the federal implications of Steinle’s death.
“For this particular case I’d refer you to [the Department of Homeland Security]. I can’t speak to the particulars of this specific case,” White House press secretary Josh Earnest said at a press briefing last week.
The White House and President Obama himself were more than willing to comment on the particular, local cases of Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown and Freddie Gray, even before all of the facts were known. Apparently, Kathryn Steinle doesn’t look enough like one of his daughters for Obama to give a damn.
Instead, the White House is focused on blaming Republicans for failing to comply with the president’s open-border, lawless illegal immigration agenda.
Jimmy Carter’s disastrous DREAM ACT: the Mariel boat lift
Gil Guignat
Phoenix Conservative Examiner
There are some 500,000 illegal immigrants plowing through Arizona every year. The damage to the environment is staggering. The crime from the drug trade is appalling. President Obama in his infinite wisdom now has enacted a policy to let anyone who can drive, walk or fly into the United States stay indefinitely and apply for a work permit and welfare benefits.
It is amazing that President Obama is competing with PresidentJimmy Carter for who has the most stupid and disastrous DREAM ACT and who will have had the most destructive administration to the country’s wellbeing in the history of the United States.
The year was 1980 and the economy in Cuba was in shambleswhere the Cuban GDP shrank by 35%. Our genius president at the time was Jimmy Carter. He agreed along with Cuban dictator Fidel Castro to allow whoever wanted to leave Cuba to come and immigrate to the United States with no pre-conditions. The departure of these Cuban immigrants occurred from the Mariel Harbor in Cuba between April 15 and October 31 1980.
Not surprisingly, Obama’s DREAM ACT policies now allow anyone on the planet to walk, drive or fly to the United States with no pre-conditions. The new arrivals will also be allowed to apply for work permits and all welfare benefits.
Over 125,000 Cuban immigrants came into Florida and unemployment went up a whopping 50%. What do you think will happen to unemployment now that President Obama has announced to the whole planet that anyone can come and stay in the United States?
Criminals and the mentally ill
The Mariel boatlift started going badly when it was discovered that Castro emptied his prisons and asylums. He put the inmates on boats and sent them to Florida. Basically, President Carter created the necessary conditions so that the United States would be viewed as a dumping ground for the worst of the worst in society.
“Fidel Castro declared that those who were leaving the country were Lumpens (or undesirables) and the escoria (or scum) of Cuban society. America had been tricked into receiving Cuba’s undesirables among the refugees. Base-level cells of the Cuban Communist Party staged meetings at the homes of those known to be leaving the country. People were intimidated by these “repudiation meetings” (mitines de repudio) where the participants screamed obscenities and defiled the facades of the homes, throwing eggs and garbage, for hours. Those who opposed the intimidation became victims of the attacks themselves and lost their jobs or their seats at the college or university that they had been attending.Towards the end of the crisis, the repudiation meetings were forbidden, but the damage had already been done.
With no diplomatic ties or methods to distinguish refugee from inmate, many released inmates were eventually jailed in Florida for crimes they committed after their arrival.” More
Notice the last two lines of the above quote. The criminals that came from Castro’s emptied jails ended up in American jails.Homeland Security SecretaryJanet Napolitano recently said that granting work permits and essentially permanent status to illegal aliens would allow DHS to focus on the criminal elements. How exactly are they going to know what is criminal and what is not as millions of immigrants start flooding the borders? How exactly are they going to know which ones have criminal records in their respective countries and which ones do not? The answer is that they simply do not know. Arizona alone gets 500,000 illegal immigrants per year passing through the state.
https://www.examiner.com/article/jimmy-carter-s-disastrous-dream-act-the-mariel-boat-lift
Is NJ among the most corrupt states? Political reporters think so
New Jersey ranks among the most corrupt states in the nation, according to a new study, which surveyed political reporters for their view on the subject. (O’Neill/NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)
