In many ways, the case of Francis Hernandez illustrates the challenges police face on a daily basis when it comes to immigration enforcement.
Arrested by eight different jurisdictions in the past five years. Twenty-nine warrants for failing to appear. Twelve aliases.
Yet Hernandez, 23, repeatedly claimed he was born in California. He was actually born in Guatemala, was never flagged as an illegal immigrant and never faced deportation. When he was arrested last month after a triple-fatal car crash in Aurora, his case became a rallying cry for immigration reform.
And Gov. Bill Ritter ordered a systemic review of how state, local and federal law enforcement handle immigration enforcement in Colorado.
A 31-member working group met for the first time Tuesday. And Hernandez was a topic of discussion.
"We had no indication that this person was an illegal immigrant," Aurora police Chief Dan Oates said. "There's no place to call, there's no button to push, there's no query that automatically tells you if somebody is or is not a U.S. citizen."
Police say illegal immigrants are sapping resources from already strapped departments, and during a more than three-hour meeting Tuesday afternoon, they told the working group about the challenges they face enforcing immigration laws.
Fatal Aurora wreck illustrates illegal immigration challenge : Local News : The Rocky Mountain News
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