Feb 26, 2008 3:47 pm US/Central
Bachmann Writes To ICE About Bus Crash Suspect
WILLMAR, Minn. (AP) ―
U.S. Representative Michele Bachmann has written to U.S. immigration officials to determine how an illegal immigrant allegedly was able to cause last week's fatal school bus crash in Cottonwood.
Bachmann asks the assistant secretary of Homeland Security in charge of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Julie Myers, how federal and local law enforcement can ensure such a thing never happens again.
Bachmann also raises questions with ICE about the suspect, Olga Marina Franco, who had gone by the alias Alianiss Morales. A woman using that name was ticketed for driving without a license in Montevideo in 2006.
Bachmann says she wants to know what measures ICE has in place to "foster greater cooperation with local law enforcement authorities."
ICE spokesman Carl Rusnok says the agency responds directly to members of Congress when they make inquiries.
He says ICE works closely with law enforcement agencies on every level. But he says ICE routinely is not notified by local law enforcement when traffic tickets are issued to suspected illegal aliens.
He says the incident in Cottonwood is tragic, and ICE continues to work with law enforcement agencies to help minimize the possibility of future incidents.
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