Debbie Schlussel: Document Fraud Ring Gearing Up for Immigration Amnesty Law; ICE Ignores
A $300 million national document fraud ring that provides all types of fake ID to illegal aliens, criminals, terrorists, and sundry other malefactors, is gearing up to create fraudulent documents that meet requirements for a Z-Visa under the Immigration Amnesty Bill.
Members of the Mexican organization--based in and around Chicago's Little Village Discount Mall Little Village--were indicted in United States v. Julio Leija-Sanchez, et al., unsealed in late April. The violent ring engages in various kinds of fraud and theft in addition to the fake documents and has operations in 28 states, including Michigan and Indiana. That's in addition to murder of competitor document fraud rings.
Members of the ring said they are preparing phony documents to establish residency in America as of January 2007, a requirement of the Z-Visa immigration amnesty under the bill currently under U.S. Senate consideration. This would likely lead to millions of fraudulent instant citizens under the new immigration bill. And don't expect Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to investigate and enforce against this document fraud any better than they are currently doing, under the status quo. In fact many top ICE officials have allowed affiliates of the fraud ring to continue operation unfettered.
Although Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrested Julio Leija-Sanchez, the alleged Chicago cell leader, ICE has been unable to arrest Gerardo Salazar-Rodriguez, a fugitive believed to be in Mexico. And top ICE officials, such as Michigan/Ohio Special Agent in Charge Brian Moskowitz a/k/a "Abu Moskowitz," have been aware of branches of the operation in their jurisdictions, but have done nothing to shut them down. Moskowitz was made aware a couple of years ago of the Michigan branch of the fraud ring--whose members would gladly sell fake ID to terrorists. But he has sent no agents to shut it down or even to investigate it. Your tax dollars (not) at work.
A woman involved in the ring admits that they are looking forward to the passage of the Immigration Amnesty Bill, as it provides a new market to provide fake documentation that an alien has resided in the U.S. as of January 2007.
An April Justice Department Press Release states:
According to the complaint affidavit, the fraudulent document organization originated in Mexico and is affiliated with a Mexican family named Castorena-Ibarra. ICE agents around the country believe that the organization produces false documents in several U.S. cities, including Denver, Los Angeles and Chicago. Information developed during the investigation indicates that the organization generates millions of dollars in illegal proceeds each year in Chicago alone. Julio Leija-Sanchez allegedly assumed control of the organization in Chicago after his brother, Manuel Leija- Sanchez, 40, who also is among the 22 charged, was deported in May 2006. Manuel Leija-Sanchez allegedly still exercises leadership of the organization from Mexico.The organization allegedly recruits illegal aliens to come to Chicago and sell false documents on street corners in the Little Village neighborhood, where individuals solicit business for the organization overtly. These individuals sell all sorts of false identification documents - such as driver's licenses purportedly issued by a variety of states, immigration documents such as Resident Alien Cards (Green Cards), and other purportedly government-issued documents. In just one location in the area of Albany and 26th Street alone, there are as many as 15 to 20 illegal aliens at any one time selling false documents, the charges allege. When these sellers locate a customer, they obtain a photograph and personal information, such as name and address that the customer wants on a particular card. Once these sellers have accumulated such information from enough customers, one of the sellers will send that information to a document production facility where the false documents are made.
Members of the organization are primarily of Mexican descent, but the ethnicity of their customers varies, including American, Polish, Indian, Algerian, Arab, Mexican, Nigerian, Canadian, Haitian, Pakistani, and Asian. Law enforcement is unaware of any occasion in which the organization declined selling fraudulent identification documents to a customer who had sufficient money to purchase the documents, the complaint states. . . .
The complaint alleges that the organization is also involved in the smuggling of illegal aliens into the United States from Mexico. Once these individuals arrive in Chicago, the organization provides them false identification, and they then pay off their debt to those who smuggled them here by working for the organization. . . .
Based on undercover purchases and information obtained from cooperating sources, law enforcement believes the organization sells as many as 50 to 100 sets of fraudulent identification documents each day, charging customers approximately $200 to $300 cash per "set." A set consists of a Social Security card and either an Immigration "green card" or a State driver's license. Each vendor in the organization is obligated to provide approximately $140 cash per set of documents to the organization and keeps the remaining profit, the charges allege. According to an intercepted call from Julio Leija-Sanchez in February, he said: "I'm telling you, we've been here for 20 years, and a couple of times they have caught people. Not us."
If you expect this to change or get anything other than worse, with the immigration bill, then I have a bridge--no, make that some fake documents--to sell you.
Posted by Debbie on June 27, 2007 03:16 PM to Debbie Schlussel