Carlos A. Martinelly Montano, a multiple DUI offender, has been charge with killing a nun and injuring two more in a drunk driving accident Sunday morning. (Provided by Prince William County Police)
"While grieving and dealing with the death and severe injuries of our sisters, we would like to refocus attention on the consequences of drinking and driving, and on Christ's command to forgive," the community's Aug. 3 message said.
"The young driver of the other car will experience the consequences of his decisions through our justice system," it added. "We sincerely hope this heartbreak will help him evaluate his decisions and give him motivation to make life-changing choices."
After the accident, Sister Denise, who had been asleep in the back seat, was pronounced dead at the scene. Sisters Charlotte and Connie were airlifted to Inova Fairfax Hospital in Falls Church, where they remained in critical condition Aug. 4.
The injuries to Sisters Charlotte and Connie were severe, according to school officials. Sister Charlotte lost some of her intestine and has internal bleeding.
Sister Connie, who was driving the car, has a fractured leg, ankle and wrist. Part of her thumb was amputated, and she suffered organ injuries and internal bleeding.
Father Charles W. Merkle III, Catholic chaplain for Inova Fairfax Hospital, was paged at the hospital when the sisters arrived. He alerted Arlington Bishop Paul S. Loverde, who said he went to be with the nuns immediately after the accident.
"Our faith gives us the knowledge that the Lord is with us in all things, even in this profound sorrow," Bishop Loverde said in a statement Aug. 2. "This devastating event is a reminder that we are pilgrims on this earthly journey. In remembering the many ways they have supported the faithful of the Diocese of Arlington, I pledge to the sisters that our entire diocesan family is likewise lifting them to the Lord in prayerful support."
The Virginia man suspected in a drunken-driving crash that killed a Catholic nun in Prince William County this weekend is an illegal immigrant and repeat offender who was awaiting deportation and whom federal immigration authorities had released pending further proceedings, police said Monday.
Carlos Montano, a county resident, has been charged with involuntary manslaughter and drunken driving. Mr. Montano had been arrested two other times on drunken-driving charges, and on at least one of those occasions county police reported him to federal authorities.
"We have determined that he is in the country illegally. He has been arrested by Prince William County Police in the past, said police spokesman Jonathan Perok.
He said U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement was notified at the time of one of those arrests. "At the time of this incident, the accident yesterday, he was in the deportation process and was out on his recognizance for court proceedings."
The crash at around 8:30 Sunday morning killed Sister Denise Mosier and injured two other nuns as they were driving to a retreat at the Benedictine Monastery in Bristow, Va. The two injured nuns were in critical but stable condition late Monday, according to St. Gertrude High School in Richmond run by the Benedictine Sisters of Virginia.
Mr. Montano was being treated for injuries he received in the crash and was expected to be released from the hospital into police custody as early as Monday evening.
Messages left with ICE and the Homeland Security Department were not returned, but the incident raises questions about the agency's policy of detaining only some illegal immigrants awaiting deportation.
"I have been saying for months now that this administration's new policy of concentrating almost solely on 'criminal aliens,' and not enforcing the laws by deporting known illegal aliens, would have devastating consequences. Now, we see the tragic results this 'virtual amnesty' policy of the Obama administration has caused," said Rep. Harold Rogers of Kentucky, the ranking Republican on the House Appropriations homeland security subcommittee.
"A life could have been saved had ICE just simply done their job to begin with," Mr. Rogers said. "By implementing selective amnesty one case at a time, the U.S. government is literally putting lives at risk."
The Obama administration has issued a policy of putting a higher priority on convicted criminals and suspected terrorists.
In a June 30 memo, John T. Morton, assistant secretary of homeland security for ICE, said agents should focus their capture and deportation efforts on illegal immigrants who were suspected of terrorism, had been convicted of violent crimes or were repeat offenders, gang members or "aliens who otherwise pose a serious risk to public safety." He did not define what rose to the level of serious risk.
The latest ICE statistics show that the agency has stepped up deportations of criminals, but has slowed deportation of other illegal immigrants. The agency also is holding fewer illegal immigrants at any one time than it did last year, according to the statistics.
Critics have long demanded that ICE increase its bed capacity. In the years after the Sept. 11 attacks, some proposals called for a capacity increase to 60,000 beds to try to keep illegal immigrants off the streets while awaiting deportation. The president and Congress, however, never funded that request, and so far in fiscal 2010 ICE is holding 30,349 people on an average day.
The incident comes at a thorny time for the Obama administration and the immigration issue.
Early last week, a judge halted key parts of Arizona's new immigration law, delivering a partial victory to the Justice Department, which had argued that the law intruded on federal jurisdiction.
But late last week, a draft memo obtained by Sen. Charles E. Grassley, Iowa Republican, showed that the administration has pondered ways to work around Congress and use its authority to extend legal status to many illegal immigrants. The memo called one of the methods it explored "a non-legislative version of 'amnesty.' "
In the days since, Republicans have demanded that the administration rule out an end run around Congress.
Administration officials have said they won't use the powers to offer blanket legal status.
Napolitano seeks review of illegal immigrant's release
Man charged with manslaughter
"This administration believes that the only way to deal with immigration is to do it comprehensively, to do it through Congress with Democrats and Republicans working together," White House press secretary Robert Gibbs told Fox News in an interview last week after the memo surfaced.The Virginia man suspected in a drunken-driving crash that killed a Catholic nun in Prince William County this weekend is an illegal immigrant and repeat offender who was awaiting deportation and who federal immigration authorities had released pending further proceedings, police said Monday.
Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano has demanded a review of why federal immigration authorities released an illegal immigrant after a drunken-driving arrest in 2008 and who now has been charged with manslaughter stemming for a suspected drunken-driving crash that killed a Catholic nun this weekend.
The suspect, Carlos Montano, was first picked up by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in October 2008 after Prince William County police arrested him and accused him of drunken driving, but ICE said he was released on his own recognizance and is still awaiting final deportation proceedings.
"Secretary Napolitano has ordered an immediate review into the circumstances leading to this individual being released in 2008," said Matthew Chandler, a spokesman for Miss Napolitano, adding that the department "regrets the tragic loss of life in Prince William County."
Meanwhile, the Benedictine Sisters of Virginia, the slain nun's order, issued a statement Tuesday decrying the focus on Mr. Montano's immigration status.
"The Benedictine Sisters are dismayed and saddened that this tragedy has been politicized and become an apparent forum for the illegal immigration agenda," the order said. "While grieving and dealing with the death and severe injuries of our sisters, we would like to re-focus attention on the consequences of drinking and driving, and on Christ's command to forgive."
Sister Denise Mosier was sleeping in the back seat of a car Sunday morning when it was struck by a vehicle driven by Mr. Montano. She was killed and the two other nuns riding with her were critically injured.
Police said they had twice arrested Mr. Montano for drunken driving and on one of those arrests turned him over to ICE. An ICE spokeswoman said he was given a Notice to Appear, was released on his own recognizance and has checked in every time the agency requested.
But the fact that the agency, under both President George W. Bush and President Obama, did not detain him and never pushed to have deportation proceedings sped up has angered lawmakers.
"As the facts surrounding this tragic case continue to come to light, I think it demonstrates the need for ICE to be more efficient and effective in their deportation duties," said Rep. Harold Rogers of Kentucky, the ranking Republican on the homeland security appropriations subcommittee. "This appalling case illustrates why deferred action doesn't work. It underscores why immigration enforcement matters and why this administration's policy of selective amnesty is flawed and potentially dangerous."
Mr. Chandler defended the administration's record, saying under Mr. Obama they have focused "on identifying and removing criminal aliens who pose a threat to public safety." He said they have deported a record number of criminal aliens.
Statistics released last week by ICE show the administration has stepped up removals of illegal immigrants with criminal records, but has slowed deportation of other illegal immigrants.
And ICE is detaining fewer illegal immigrants on an average day than the agency did a year ago, the statistics show.
Part of the problem is the government has not lived up to its promise after the Sept. 11 attacks to build more detention space.
In 2004, the agency had about 20,000 detention beds, but the intelligence overhaul bill passed late that year called for 8,000 more beds a year for five years, meaning the total should have reached 60,000 beds in 2010. But on any given day this year, ICE is detaining only slightly more than 30,000 illegal immigrants.
Drunken-driving arrests don't necessarily rise to the level of seriousness needed for the immigration authorities to detain someone or expedite deportation.
Mr. Montano now faces charges of involuntary manslaughter and a third drunk-driving arrest in a five-year period. He was still being treated at a hospital Tuesday afternoon.
The two surviving nuns were still in critical condition Tuesday, according to their order.
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