Speech #970186877

In violation of U.S. law. he had remained in the United States from the date of arrival. March 10. 1972. until his arrest. on October 22. 1980. over 8 years later. He also provided a false name upon arrest. accompanying it with a social security card and an aliens "green card." both bearing the false name. The third brother had entered the United States on a "transit visa." valid for a period of 10 days. In violation of American law. he had remained in the country for nearly 1 month at the time of arrest. Upon arrest. the third brother also provided authorities with a phony name. In short. all three brothers. charged with major narcotics violations. appeared before the court as illegal aliens proffering false identification and fraudulent documents. Despite those facts. the magistrate refused to recognize the substantial risk of flight and set bail considerably lower than the Governments request. It is hardly surprising that all three brothers subsequently fled. given the circumstances detailed above. In hindsight. it is unfortunate that the magistrate did not have the benefit of a clear statement of congressional intent such as title II of the Crime Control Act of 1982. The bill provides that bail shall be denied to narcotics offenders in certain cases. including those of illegal aliens and individuals possessing falsified identification upon arrest. In other words. all three of the LoperaOchoa brothers would have been specifically covered by the provisions in title II of the Crime Control Act of 1982. Unfortunately. law enforcement may not have a second chance in the case of the LoperaOchoas.