Mexican Smuggler Jailed . . . After 24 Prior Arrests For Smuggling and Illegal Entry

There is a story out this week that shows just how porous our borders have become and how relatively little is done against repeated offenders who smuggle people over the border. Efrain Delgado-Rosales, 35, was sentenced to five years in jail by a federal judge in San Diego for bringing an illegal alien into the U.S. for financial gain. However, the case reveals that Delgado-Rosales, an abusive and dangerous smuggler who is believed to have conspired to rob undocumented immigrants, had been arrested 24 times dating back to 1999. That’s right, 24 times.

Delgado-Rosales was arrested with a group of four undocumented immigrants in California. The immigrants had been robbed of their money and cell phones. Delgado-Rosales was described as indifferent and probably a co-conspirator in their robbery. He had to be convinced to go back to recover three of the people who had fallen behind.

Delgado-Rosales was first arrested on July 19, 1999. On 23 of the 24 occasions he was arrested, Delgado-Rosales was accompanied by smuggled individuals, including incidents were he was found with 46 or 61 illegal immigrants at a time. However, he was then simply returned to Mexico where he continued his smuggling operation.

None of this makes sense to me. Why would the government repeatedly return a recidivist smuggler who had, one at least one occasion, left one person dead in the effort to illegally enter the United States? Should it really take 24 arrests to finally secure a jail sentence in the United States?

Source: LA Times