More evidence of the protected class

The story is all too familiar. Hispanic male, no license, driving drunk. He slams into another car and takes a life.

And we wonder if he’s illegal or not.

This happened way back in March but the story is still unfolding.

His name was Alejandro Antonio Rivas, age 46.
He lived in Newton Grove, North Carolina.
He had “bottles” (plural) of open liquor in the car.
He crossed the center line and struck a minivan driven by a college professor, Dr. Lewis M. Fetterman Jr, age 57. Fetterman’s wife was in the car. Her life was spared because Dr. Fetterman swerved abruptly to the right just before impact and took the brunt of the collision himself.
Rivas had no license.
His insurance was not valid.
Toxicology reports on Rivas came in with a BAC of 0.29.
Rivas also died in the crash.

The highway patrol and county sheriff approached Immigration to determine if Rivas was in the United States legally.

Well, they got an answer (sort of) 3 ½ months later.

I quote from the story in The Sampson Independent newspaper:
Barbara Gonzalez, national spokeswoman for Immigration and Customs Enforcement, said only that Rivas’ name was a common one. She could not speak to his status, and cited problems and privacy issues in dealing with individuals who are deceased.“That’s not something we confirm,” said Gonzalez.

Sorry folks, we’ll never know the answer to that one.

Gonzalez went through the motions of explaining that had Rivas survived he could have been deported after serving his time in the United States. But she knows better than that. A DUI raises little interest with Immigration.

Maybe if the feds actually picked up the identified illegals, local police would be more likely to call.