Could E-Verify have prevented the death of a Florida snowbird?

As more details emerge about the circumstances surrounding the forklift operator arrested for the fatal death of a Canadian snowbird in a hit-and-run crash in Fort Lauderdale, a question that should really be asked is "could this death have been prevented if Florida had passed a mandatory E-Verify bill for businesses?"

Let's back up a few days.

Several South Florida media outlets including WSVN and Local10.com reported the November 17, 2019 arrest of a forklift operator accused with the fatal hit-and-run crash into a Mercedes in Fort Lauderdale.

Broward County public records reveal 30-year-old Ulises Alberto Mondragon Umanzor was arrested on charges of leaving the scene of a fatal crash, driving without a license and failure to stop at a stop sign.

From Local10.com (emphasis mine):

"A black Mercedes-Benz convertible was traveling south on Seabreeze Boulevard approaching Poinsetta Street when it crashed into a forklift being driven to a nearby construction site. 

Police said the driver of the convertible was struck by the forks as they protruded out into Seabreeze Boulevard. 

Witnesses said the operator of the forklift, identified as Ulises Alberto Mondragon Umanzor, drove away after the crash and headed towards the construction site where he was working. 

A police probable cause affidavit shows that Mondragon Umanzor had a suspended drivers' license and didn't have a license to operate heavy machinery."

WSVN in Miami reported the driver, James Zakos — a father of two and former restaurant owner from Canada– was a snowbird who loved to be in South Florida driving his convertible and enjoying the weather

Public records under Broward County case number 19013717CF10A  also reveal Mondragon Umanzor is subject to an ICE hold meaning he is not lawfully present in the United States.

To recap:

• Public records reveal the forklift operator is not lawfully present in the U.S.
• Law enforcement records show the forklift operator had a suspended drivers' license
• Law enforcement records reflect the forklift operator didn't have a license to operate the forklift

OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) imposes fines and penalties on forklift operators and employers.

According to Forkliftlicenseguide.com.

• In December 2010, OSHA penalized a freight carrier company in Rhode Island for $76,000 after an operator suffered foot injury. The authority determined many counts where the lift truck was being operated incorrectly, resulting in worker injury.

• In February 2013, OSHA imposed $91,000 fines against a Chicago-based company after a worker was injured in an accident involving company’s forklift. The case arose when an OSHA inspector found lapses in the company training of the operator and a check of its license.

• In October 2014, a transportation firm located in Michigan was cited for willful and repeated OSHA violations. The alleged violations ranged from simple non-provision of fall protection to defective and non-maintenance of lift trucks. The company faced $145,000 monetary fine.

• In April 2016, OSHA cited several citations against United States Postal Office in its Iowa center. The complaint started when a person exposed that lift truck operators are jeopardizing their safety when handling loads and driving the trucks without clear view or visual to the direction. Despite this, USPS failed to rectify the violations. There are three violations, two repeated and one serious. The facility is now facing $88,000 fines.

Do you see why these OSHA rules exist?

Any forklift in the hands of an untrained unskilled unlicensed operator should be considered a lethal weapon. According to mccue.com, it shouldn't come as a surprise that a forklift is a dangerous piece of machinery. There are some pretty grim accident statistics to back up the notion that, in reality forklifts account for 1% of all warehouse or factory accidents, however the accidents tend to be more serious than others accounting for 10% of all physical injuries in the workplace.

Five Accident Statistics

• Forklifts account for around 85 deaths every year.
• Forklift accidents that result in serious injury total 34,900 annually.
• Non serious injuries related to forklift accidents reached 61,800 each year.
• A forklift overturning is the most common accident, accounting for 24% of all forklift accidents.
• "If companies implemented more stringent training policies, the Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) estimates that about 70% of forklift accidents in the US could be prevented “

Then there's the matter of Umanzor being subject to an ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) hold, meaning he is not lawfully present in the U.S. Did Umanzors employer voluntarily use E-Verify to confirm his employment eligibility? It's certainly a legitimate question to ask. 


E-Verify, authorized by Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 (IIRIRA), is a web-based system through which employers electronically confirm the employment eligibility of their employees.

From USCIS website:

In the E-Verify process, employers create cases based on information taken from an employee’s Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification. E-Verify then electronically compares that information to records available to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Social Security Administration (SSA).

The employer usually receives a response within a few seconds either confirming the employee’s employment eligibility or indicating that the employee needs to take further action to complete the case.

E-Verify is administered by SSA and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). USCIS facilitates compliance with U.S. immigration law by providing E-Verify program support, user support, training and outreach, and developing innovative technological solutions in employment eligibility verification.

A January 2011 GAO report on E-Verify acknowledged USCIS took multiple steps to improve the accuracy of of the E-Verify system, including expanding the number of databases queried through E-Verify. 

And in 2012; one year after the GAO report was made public in 2011, the State of Florida joined the Records and Information from DMVs for E-Verify (RIDE) for drivers licenses and ID cards.

Could the death of this Canadian snowbird have been prevented if Florida had passed a mandatory E-Verify for businesses bill? 

The Florida Legislature will have the opportunity to publicly debate that very topic of Mandatory E-Verify for business again once the 2020 Legislative session convenes in January.

SB 664 is the Verification of Employment Eligibility bill filed in the Florida Senate. Introduced by Senator Tom Lee and co-introduced by Senator Joe Gruters, if passed and signed into law, the Act would require employers to register with and use the E-Verify system beginning on a specified date to verify the employment eligibility of new employees.

The information related to forklift deaths and forklift accidents only represents a small concern for the overall number of individuals who are unskilled, untrained, and in many cases undocumented in our workforce.

We need to bring this practice to a halt and make companies realize that Mandatory E-Verify is a method for Florida employer’s to save money as opposed to spending money for injury, loss of life, fines, penalties, and other damages they incur by hiring undocumented immigrants.

President Trump remarks after touring Apple facilities in Austin, Texas

On November 20, 2019 President Donald J. Trump spoke to reporters after touring the Apple facility in Austin, Texas with CEO Tim Cook.

Courtesy of C-SPAN:

Office of the Press Secretary FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE November 20, 2019

REMARKS BY PRESIDENT TRUMP AFTER TOUR OF APPLE MANUFACTURING PLANT Flextronics International Ltd. Austin, Texas   3:52 P.M. CST THE PRESIDENT:  Well, thank you very much.  It's an honor to be here.  We're seeing the beginning of a very powerful and important plant.  And anybody that followed my campaign, I would always talk about Apple -- that I want to see Apple building plants in the United States.  And that’s what's happening.  And having -- Tim Cook is somebody that I greatly respect -- a great leader, a great businessman.  And it's a very special day.  For me, this is a very special day.      Our country is doing well, probably better than ever before, certainly from the standpoint of the economy.  And we're in a state that I love: Texas.

Texas among top states for individual DACA requestors with an arrest record

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) released data from 2012 through October 2019 regarding arrest data for requestors of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA). The report shows that 79,398 DACA requestors approved with a prior arrest comprise 10.38% of the 765,166 DACA requestors approved.

The states of California, Texas and Illinois top the list of  DACA requestors arrested by last known state of residence according to the analysis below:

Arizona, Colorado, Florida, North Carolina, New York and New Jersey comprise the secondary tier. 

77,833 DACA requestors were denied or terminated from the program; over 38% or 30,132 of them with an arrest.

The USCIS report identifies only arrests, not convictions.

Of nearly 770,500 DACA requestors 43,662 had more than one arrest or apprehension, including  7926 for theft/ larceny, 6729 for battery & assault, 3053 for obstruction & false claims and 974 arrests for weapons-related charges.

Read the report here, including the notes with additional detail on how arrests are defined and offenses categorized.

German national charged with felony death of Lee County pedestrian overstayed her visa

County Examiner has obtained more information more about the driver charged with the first degree felony death of a pedestrian on Colonial Boulevard in Fort Myers, Florida the evening of Wednesday September 19, 2019.

Public records reviewed by County Examiner reveal a Department of Homeland Security detective told the Traffic Homicide Investigator that Beatrix Lutz, a German national, entered the United States on July 19, 2008 and was supposed to return to Germany on January 18, 2009. 

Lutz failed to comply with her visa and remained in the United States illegally for the past ten years. The THI on the scene was also advised the German driver license provided by Lutz was not valid nor could Lutz obtain a Florida driver license due to her illegal status.

Court filings reveal Lutz retained private defense counsel.

On October 18, 2019 the Lee County Sheriff's Office was provided notice of an immigration detainer filed on Lutz, required pursuant to Florida Statute Chapter 908.

Lutz is due back in court for a bond hearing on Monday November 25 at 9 a.m.

The case is 19-CF-000466.

Judge rules blood test results of driver charged in 2017 Palm Beach County ambulance crash that killed two paramedics cannot be suppressed

A Palm Beach County judge denied a defense request to prevent the results of a blood test taken on the driver charged with the June 2017 driving while intoxicated second degree felony death of two paramedics in Jupiter, Florida from being entered into evidence

Palm Beach County public records dated November 8, 2019 reveal the attorney defending Guatemala native Genaro Delacruz Ajqui in the death of paramedics Paul Besaw and Lahiri Garcia was unsuccessful in his effort to claim an illegal blood draw. 

While the Fourth Amendment clearly provides all searches of persons and property are unreasonable absent a warrant or exception, in the State of Florida all licensed drivers consent to give breath or blood in exchange for the privilege to drive under Florida State Statute 316.1932 (1) (c).

The process of attempting to find Delacruz Ajqui mentally deficient to proceed to trial and waving his right to a speedy trial has also slowed the day of reckoning in this case.

Having been declared indigent after his June 2017 arrest and citing traumatic brain injury in addition to anxiety disorder, Ajqui was found mentally incompetent to proceed almost one year after his June 2017 arrest  when in May 2018 he was remanded to a Florida Department of Children and Families mental health facility for six months. Court records reveal defendant Ajqui was subsequently found competent to proceed to trial in a December 2018 status check.

Although this WPTV news report cited a spokesperson for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) statement that: 

"ICE lodged a detainer on Genaro De La Cruz , a citizen of Guatemala, with the Palm Beach County Jail after he was arrested on local charges.", 

the arrest report on file with other court documents does not nor does the arrest & bond section of the county website indicate if Ajqui is lawfully present in the United States.

Nearly two and one-half years after his arrest Ajqui has been order to appear in court again on January 3, 2020.

Florida's "Better Safe Than Sorry" Legal Standard for Confiscating Your Property---and other cases on the radar screen

A number of intriguing cases are percolating within several county and district courts in Florida. As is my practise I've included court names, case numbers and styles to assist any of you legal wonks who enjoy researching these cases.

Here's a summary of the legal actions we're following:

Photography is not a crime

Case No.: 2:19-cv-0484 in United States District Court, Middle District of Florida: On October 31, 2019 the City of Punta Gorda responded to the plaintiffs motion for preliminary injunction to a lawsuit in federal court pertaining to a recording prohibition contained within Chapter 15 of the City Code. 

In court filings reviewed by County Examiner, the City asserts only persons who engage in legitimate public business with city officers or employees are authorized to access certain public properties,therefore someone who is a non-resident wouldn't and doesn't have a constitutional right to use public spaces at all times and under all circumstances.

Non-US Citizens Can't Get their Story Straight at U.S, Port of Entry

Miami Dade County, cases F-19-020143 through 146 involve four flight attendants arrested at Miami International Airport in October 2019 on charges of money laundering and unauthorized money transfer. Court records reveal all four are subject to immigration holds and are due back in court for arraignment on November 20, 2019.

Was it terrorism?

Case 1:19-cr-20603 in United States District Court, Southern District of Florida: a jury trial date is set for December 9, 2019 before Judge Marcia Cooke for Abdul Majeed Marouf Ahmed Alani. The former American Airlines mechanic was charged with sabotaging an airplane in July 2019. Few news outlets other than County Examiner reported on and published court documents revealing the presence of an Arabic translator during courtroom proceedings. 

Florida's "Better Safe Than Sorry" Legal Standard for Confiscating Your Property

Florida's Second District Court of Appeals heard oral arguments in case number 18-4631 styled DTM v Grady Judd, Sheriff of Polk County challenging the states' risk protection order act section of SB 7026. 

In her brief and arguments before the court, Orlando attorney Kendra Parris makes public the Constitutional concerns set forth in this firearm confiscation act, specifically the due process and vagueness concerns, the selective application and unlawful delegation of legislative and prosecutorial authority in violation of the Florida Constitution.

In Jefferson Eugene Davis v Gilchrist County Sheriff's Office, case 1D18-3938 Florida's First District Court of Appeals upheld the statutes constitutionality, finding no abuse of discretion or denial of due process. I'm forecasting the ERPO Act will eventually end up in front of the Florida Supreme Court.

Visa Overstay charged with First Degree murder of Fort Myers Police Officer

A competency hearing is scheduled for December 19, 2019 in case 2018-CF-017498 styled The State of Florida v Wisner Desmaret. 

Lee County Court records reveal an ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) hold placed on the man facing first degree premeditated homicide of a Fort Myers police officer in 2018. Desmaret is also charged with first degree robbery with a firearm, battery on an officer - firefighter - EMT, aggravated assault on an officer - firefighter- EMT and grand theft. 

 

Texas State Senator Bettencourt after reading TEA report calling for State takeover of the Houston Independent School District.

Houston, TX - Texas State Senator Paul Bettencourt made the following statement on Friday November 1 after reading the Texas Education Agency report calling for a State takeover of the Houston Independent School District.

From his press release:

The report highlights a wide range of ongoing issues, including flagrant violations of the Open Meetings Act, HISD Trustees intentionally misleading TEA investigators, and ongoing procurement problems as major reasons for the State to step in. The TEA Special Investigative Unit reported to the Commissioner for the accreditation status of HISD to be lowered, a conservator to be appointed, and a Board of Managers to replace the existing HISD Board of Trustees.

"This is a real recognition of the obvious, and what I have been saying for well over a year,” said Senator Bettencourt (R-Houston). “When a school district Board of Trustees continues to have chronically failing schools and board members that are unable to function together under the laws of Texas, the State has an obligation to step in on behalf of the 200,000 students, families, and the Houston community.”

The TEA Report highlighted several particularly troublesome issues that took place at HISD:

1) Board Member Davila threatened a Senior Administrator with their job unless they removed a contract from consideration after the procurement process, because they wanted a Dallas firm to get the work.

2) Board Member Davila met with a Senior HISD Administrator to strategize a way to have bond contracts cancelled and rebid, to steer it to her preferred choice. "Again trustee Davila demonstrates clearly out of bounds behavior, as documented in this report," Senator Bettencourt added.

3) HISD manipulated contract procurement rules through the abuse of Job Order Contracts and multiple change orders. The district not only intentionally split Job Order Contracts to avoid the $500,000 limit, in violation of the law, they approved multiple change orders to projects subsequently increasing the cost of projects showing fraudulent behavior that contributes to a lack of transparency. (see attached)

4) The Board of Trustees violated the Open Meetings Act by meeting in secret to replace the acting Superintendent. (See October 2018 Bettencourt press release: https://bit.ly/34iAhbJ)

5) Some Board Members made deceptive statements to the TEA investigators as part of this investigation through omission or by making inconsistent statements.

6) A Trustee gave non-public information to an HISD vendor in violation of district policy.

Senator Bettencourt continued, “This reported list of gross violations of law and board policy by the HISD Board of Trustees is quite shocking! It is the actions of the Board of Trustees whose secret meetings have made a mockery of the Open Meetings Act, routinely violated ethics rules and procurement procedures, and then doubled down by making misleading statements to the TEA investigators. There are multiple reasons for the TEA Commissioner to replace the Board of Trustees with a Board of Managers.”

Report: Miami top locale for calls requesting services from ICE VOICE Office

A report published by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) reveals 304 requests for service by victims and families impacted by crimes committed by removable criminal aliens were handled by the VOICE (Victims Of Immigration Crime Enforcement) Office in Q4 2018. Callers in the ICE Areas of Responsibility (AOR) of Miami, San Francisco and Los Angeles comprised approximately 34% of the total calls handles by the office.

The ICE AORs of Los Angeles, New York City and Miami comprised approximately 35% of the 295 calls handled by the office in Q3 2018.

Established by Executive Order 13768 titled Enhancing Public Safety in the Interior of the United States, the VOICE office serves the needs of crime victims and their families who have been impacted by crimes committed by removable criminal aliens. With the creation of the VOICE Office, victims of crimes committed by individuals with a nexus to immigration now have a government resource that can provide timely information on their cases.

The 2017 Executive Order also directed the Director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to produce quarterly reports studying the effects of the victimization by criminal aliens present in the United States.

The 4th quarter 2018 report discloses fifteen case studies of victim engagement which include the following: