Exploding Bus Driver Held On Immigration Charges

The Mexican driver of the bus that burned during the Hurricane Rita evacuation killing 23 was arrested Tuesday evening on immigration charges.

According to the Houston Chronicle, the driver was picked-up at the bus company's offices he lived in a travel trailer on company property. He is being detained for unlawful entry:

"Right now we are holding him on an administrative charge of entry without inspection, which means he snuck into the country and didn't come through a port of entry," said Alonzo Pena, Special Agent in Charge of the ICE [Immigration and Customs Enforcement] district in San Antonio.

That shouldn't be to hard to prove. The Chronicle quotes the driver's brother as saying the driver has been in the country without documents since last year and had worked for Global Limo since February. The driver lost his Border Crossing Card last year after it was seized by immigration agents at a port of entry.

The driver is also a defendant in the first lawsuit filed in the bus fire. The lawsuit accuses the driver, the bus company and the nursing-home company of negligence. The Dallas Morning News has more on the lawsuit .

Maybe Immigration and Customs Enforcement could actually enforce the law and fine the bus company. Could someone explain why the driver's Border Crossing Card was seized last year, but the driver wasn't.