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Fake documents swamp Houston
Houston Chronicle ^ | May 6, 2008 | JAMES PINKERTON

Posted on 05/06/2008 8:10:08 AM PDT by SwinneySwitch

ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION

Rise in demand is putting pressure on authorities

Illegal immigrants fearful of being caught in stepped-up workplace raids are fueling a growing market in Houston for phony immigration and work documents.

The result, experts say, is a glut of false, altered and counterfeit documents that are easily obtained at Houston-area flea markets, businesses and clandestine printing shops set up in homes and apartments. The bogus documents include counterfeit Texas driver's licenses, fake Social Security and "green cards," and even worthless international driver's licenses sold here and in other states.

"You could put all of HPD full time on this thing, and I don't think we could put a dent in it," said Lt. Robert Sells, with the Texas Department of Public Safety's driver's license fraud unit.

The demand has been so strong that law enforcement officers in Texas have been bribed in recent years to sell the valuable documents, and several dozen have been caught.

An ex-federal prosecutor said heightened enforcement has not only boosted demand for counterfeit documents, but increased the price and quality of the fakes.

"You're seeing stepped-up law enforcement of the worksite, and that leads to more identity theft and false document prosecution," said Kevin Lachus, a former Immigration and Customs Enforcement attorney now with the Tindall & Foster immigration firm in Houston. "That results in more training for human resource officials, which makes them more expert in spotting documents, and results in even more sophisticated counterfeit identity documents."

On Houston streets, a top-quality counterfeit green card proving legal residency commands $500, federal agents say. Even shabby green cards bring $15 to $100 while a good-quality package — a driver's license, green card and Social Security card — can cost $350.

Immigrants sometimes resort to buying real documents from corrupt officials at steep prices.

(Excerpt) Read more at chron.com ...


TOPICS: Crime/Corruption; Foreign Affairs; News/Current Events; US: Texas
KEYWORDS: aliens; immigrantlist; immigration; india; southkorea; trinidadandtobago
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To: Oldexpat
"You could put all of HPD full time on this thing, and I don't think we could put a dent in it," said Lt. Robert Sells, with the Texas Department of Public Safety's driver's license fraud unit.

I wonder what they would say if tax non-compliance became such a problem they couldn't put a dent in it.

21 posted on 05/06/2008 9:43:03 AM PDT by Vigilanteman ((Are there any men left in Washington? Or are there only cowards? Ahmad Shah Massoud))
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To: FewsOrange

Only if it could be proven that the employer unknowingly accepted a false ID.


22 posted on 05/06/2008 10:03:21 AM PDT by elfman2 ("As goes Fallujah, so goes Central Iraq and so goes the entire country" -Col Coleman, USMC ,4/2004)
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To: CDHart

“The prisons are already full -
Carolyn “

It probably wouldn’t take many convictions before the IDs lost their appeal.


23 posted on 05/06/2008 10:04:41 AM PDT by elfman2 ("As goes Fallujah, so goes Central Iraq and so goes the entire country" -Col Coleman, USMC ,4/2004)
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To: VeniVidiVici

“Never happen. La Raza and the Democrat Party would scream how racist such an act would be as obviously it was meant to target Hispanics.”

Marry it with carrots: migrant worker expansion, amnesty for specific professions, greater employer penalties etc... But you’re probably right. The Congress and the presidential candidates are in no mood to sell even that to Americans.


24 posted on 05/06/2008 10:12:20 AM PDT by elfman2 ("As goes Fallujah, so goes Central Iraq and so goes the entire country" -Col Coleman, USMC ,4/2004)
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To: SwinneySwitch

This is what happens when you have a sanctuary city like Houston look the other way. It not only effects Houston, but the entire country.


25 posted on 05/06/2008 1:37:41 PM PDT by devane617
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To: SwinneySwitch

why can’t these people just use their real ID instead of stealing others - perfectly legal in the US


26 posted on 05/06/2008 1:52:10 PM PDT by Republicus2001
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To: SwinneySwitch
Fake documents swamp Houston

Fake documents swamp a large part of the country, including Mason, Ohio.

27 posted on 05/07/2008 5:50:09 AM PDT by muggs (No matter who wins, America loses)
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To: SwinneySwitch
SINCE G.W. WON'T LISTEN I AM STARTING A CAMPAIGN TO SEND COPIES OF ALL ARTICLES OF ILLEGAL CRIMINALS AND PICTURES WHERE EVER POSSIBLE TO LAURA BUSH - LETS STUFF HER EMAIL, FAX AND MAIL BOX

first.lady@whitehouse.gov

HER WEBSITE

1600 PENNSYLVANIA AVENUE N.W.
WASHINGTON DC, 20500

PHONE 202 456-1414
FAX 202 456-2461

28 posted on 05/08/2008 1:59:02 PM PDT by abigail2
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To: abigail2

The Irony is that Texas became part of the US at the urging of the Democratic Party, in support of the slave power. Now they want to divest Texas, in support of the slave power. The goals never change, just the means.


29 posted on 05/17/2008 11:18:04 AM PDT by donmeaker (You may not be interested in War but War is interested in you.)
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To: Diogenesis

I caught a cab in LA last year. The driver claimed to be the cousin of the Prime Minister of Afghanistan. He has been here for 20 years.


30 posted on 05/17/2008 11:19:37 AM PDT by donmeaker (You may not be interested in War but War is interested in you.)
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