PLEASE VISIT THIS WEBSITE - SCOTT LOPER'S STORY OF TORTURE BY CANADA

Scott Loper - American Citizen, Canadian Torture Victim, Father of Missing Please read the story of Scott Loper. http://scottloperstory.com/index.html

In a nutshell: Mr. Loper, an American citizen and Sheriff in NJ, moved to Canada with his Canadian wife. They had one son together. Mr. Loper uncovered drug dealing within the local police department. One day, he was taken to a mental institution, then incarceration of a violation of a "court order." His wife and 3-year old son (at the time) are nowhere to be found. Mr. Loper was released from prison and dumped back on American soil.

His website gives all the information one could possibly want. Most interesting is the Notice of Deportation Hearing in Canada; however, Canada says they have no record of his presence in the country. Then why the deportation hearing?

I know this story sounds so bizarre that it could not be true. But, he has the documents and many politicians to support his case.

I look forward to helping Scott Loper find his wife and son.

www.xpunged.com and www.tamaraholder.com

AMERICA'S PROBLEM WITH UNDOCUMENTED MEXICANS IN OUR CRIMINAL SYSTEM

As you know, I am a criminal defense attorney in our largest criminal system in the country: Cook County, IL. Chicago is also home to many undocumented Mexicans. Because of my great exposure to crime and the Mexican population, I have seen my fair share of problems our country faces as America begins tackle a problem we have ignored for years.

Legal Representation in Proceedings

According to the Human Rights Watch, between 1997-2005, nearly 673,000 immigrants were deported for criminal convictions. Of those deported, well over 50% of them were not represented in immigration court. I do not have the numbers, but I suspect the around the same numbers represent those who do not have private criminal defense attorneys for their underlying criminal case. The criminal courts are flooded with Spanish-speaking, undocumented residents who are accused of committing a crime. Every day, I see this situation. Furthermore, I do not recall ever seeing an undocumented nationality other than Mexican. On one hand, the undocumented person is a burden on our judicial system because he/she cannot afford private counsel and so he is entitled to the public defender. On the other hand, our Constitution allows for due process and any person on our soil is entitled to a proper defense. All too often, I witness an undocumented Mexican get pushed through the criminal system and forced to plead guilty to a crime he may very well not have committed. On one hand, the question is: should this person be afforded all the rights of an American citizen if he is undocumented? But on the other hand, the question is: shouldn't this person be entitled to proper legal representation in both a criminal and deportation proceeding; i.e., isn't that proper due process?

Many Deported Have Prior Criminal Records

Also according to Human Rights Watch, between 1997-2005, nearly 500,000 undocumented Mexicans were deported for non-violent offenses (majority drug-related.) A recent article stated that between October 2007-November 2008, over 10,000 were deported from just three states: Alaska, Oregon & Washington. Of those 10,000, 33% had criminal backgrounds.

It's no surprise that many of those deported have criminal backgrounds. That essentially means these numbers reflect immigrants who have been deported at least once before. I have represented several Mexican drug dealers who pleaded guilty knowing they were going to be deported. They all say the same thing: "I'll be back." One client called me less than one week after pleading guilty to a drug offense to tell me he had been deported and had already made it back into the U.S. to Chicago. Shocking, right?

This is in poor taste but quite humorous. My apologies!Problems at Home Too

I find it interesting that the Mexico/U.S. drug problem is now, all of a sudden, a big issue. This is nothing new. Why have we not done anything sooner? Did you know Texas is #1 point of entry for cocaine? President Bush knew this when he was Governor of Texas!

But what about the killings at home? There has been recent talk about the majority of the guns seized in Mexico are from the U.S. I agree that we need to stop the exportation of guns into Mexico, but what about stopping the guns from flowing in our own streets? Why do Americans not understand that we are surrounded by war zones in our major cities? Did you know 29 Chicago Public School children have been killed this year alone? Do you remember that when Jennifer Hudson's family members were shot and killed inside the home NOBODY called the police because neighbors were so used to hearing gun fire? (It was not until a family member walked into the home and discovered the bodies that the police were called.)

Clearly, the Mexico drug problem is one of major importance. But let's not forget the innocent people who are killed on our home turf every day because of the drug trade and flow of weapons on our streets.

More to come on other issues surrounding the Mexico drug crisis...

www.xpunged.com and www.tamaraholder.com