However, Rep. Silvestre Reyes, Hispanic Congressional Caucus chairman, said Bush's pronouncement should have come sooner. The Legal Immigration and Family Equity Act allowed an estimated 640,000 illegal immigrants to apply for visas without first returning to their home countries and applying from there. That is significant because most illegal immigrants are barred from re-entering the United States once they leave. A visa allows an immigrant to stay in the country and reserves a place to later apply for a green card, which means permanent legal residency. Brandon Miller entered denials to the charges in Cuyahoga County Juvenile Court.
Denials are the equivalent of innocent pleas in adult court.
He was arrested Monday in the death of Diamond Miller, who died at a hospital a day earlier. Coroner Elizabeth Balraj said the infant died from massive head injuries and internal bleeding. Philadelphia Police Commissioner John Timoney ordered an investigation after seeing videotape on the news of an officer apparently kicking a car-theft suspect. The incident Monday night came after a vehicle chase that left another policeman injured. In a videotape taken by a WTXF-TV helicopter, one unidentified officer appeared to aim three kicks at the suspect after he was pulled from the car and was lying on the ground.