The plot thickens in the torture case of Juana Villegas thanks to the NashvillePost; national embarrassment to Nashville grows

Kudos to the Nashville Post and reporter Amy Griffith for the following scoop:

Nashville Post
http://www.nashvillepost.com/news/2008/7/21/school_board_candidate_arresting_officer_in_controversial_287g_case
School board candidate arresting officer in controversial 287(g) case
Chief: Officer followed procedure
Email | Print By Amy Griffith


07-21-2008 11:48 AM —
A local school board candidate was the arresting officer in an 287(g)-related incident reported by The New York Times over the weekend.

Tim Coleman, who is running against incumbent Mark North in Madison’s District 3 race, is an officer for the Berry Hill Police Department. According to information provided by the department, Coleman on July 3 arrested Juana Villegas – an illegal immigrant who had been deported from the United States in 1996 – after pulling her over for careless driving.

“He followed proper procedure,” Berry Hill Police Chief Robert Bennett said this morning.

Villegas, who was nine months pregnant, was unable to produce a driver’s license at the time of the arrest. After being arrested by Coleman, she went on to deliver her baby in jail. The situation was the subject of a New York Times story printed on Sunday.

The 287(g) program is a portion of the U.S. Immigration and Nationality Act that was implemented here in March 2007 and is aimed at giving local governments the power to deport illegal immigrants.