Posted on 01/31/2007 1:12:31 PM PST by primeval patriot
U.S. District Judge James Cohn has forced a Guatemalan dishwasher to surrender nearly all his life savings to the government because he didn't sign a declaration form before trying to board an airplane.
Pedro Zapeta of Stuart had $59,000 in his bag when Customs agents searched it and confiscated the money at the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport on Sept. 18, 2005. Mr. Zapeta, a 39-year-old Mayan whose native language is Quiche, has said that he was unaware of the requirement to disclose amounts greater than $10,000. On Monday, Judge Cohn ruled that the $10,000 was all that Mr. Zapeta could keep. He must forfeit the rest - $49,000. Mr. Zapeta has no real option for appealing, and is likely to be deported soon.
"It is unconscionable for the government to take that money," said Robert Gershman, Mr. Zapeta's attorney. "They do it because they can. That's the only reason. It's just not right. He could have left with all $59,000 if he had signed the form."
In his six-page ruling, Judge Cohn said that the government had dropped earlier claims that the cash was drug money, and that prosecutors were accusing Mr. Zapeta of a civil currency violation, not a criminal offense. Mr. Gershman argued that Mr. Zapeta should pay a fine of no more than $5,000 for being negligent; he never had flown on a plane. "There is no rule of thumb in these cases," the lawyer said. "They shouldn't just rubber-stamp them with a decision like this."
Mr. Zapeta entered the country illegally 11 years ago and worked as a dishwasher for numerous Stuart restaurants, often holding two jobs at a time for little more than minimum wage. He intended to start a business with relatives upon returning to Guatemala. Mr. Gershman believes that the dishwasher's immigration and social status worked against him: "If Mr. Zapeta were a professional man, or more intellectual, or more mainstream, there's no question that he would not have been treated this way."
This is the guest worker President Bush has in mind when he proposes immigration reform. Pedro Zapeta didn't come to stay. He came to make investment money he can't make back home. Having done so, he was ready to deport himself. Judge Cohn had a chance to make sense out of this bureaucratic bungling. Instead, he displayed little logic and even less compassion.
There are many isolated criminal cases where speakers of K'iché had interpretors provided for them at state expense. Time to pay up.
You go on and defend Illegal behavior while you complain about the government doing what you consider to be illegal behavior. It is fun to watch, are you John Kerry? for illegal behavior before you are against it......
Which Mayan dialect is Mel Gibson's movie "Apocalypto"? Not that I'm planning to brush up before I go to see it--or even that I plan to see it.
In some contexts it does bother me. I said I agree with your point in other contexts. But know this, if you want to fly you have rules to follow. Additionally, If cash is being taken out of the country in large amounts, it is prudent for our own nation to KNOW how much is leaving.
If I can demonstrate that money is mine, when questioned about it I would do so. Then I would tell them to stick their questions up their ass. See, that is what being honest and following the rules affords you.
Try this, go get that very amount out of a bank and just see if you don't have to fill out a piece of paper just the same way. Watch and learn as you would find yourself filling out that paper.
You are comparing a case of someone here legally -- and one supposes, paying his taxes each year -- to one here working illegally ?
That's apples and oranges.
We do not know whether this illegal had taxes -- Federal income taxes, SS, Medicare, State and local taxes, etc. -- withheld or not. If not, then failure to file, accumulated penalties and interest, and possible imprisonment (11 years of non-filing !) were due. The $49K "penalty" might mean he got off easy. Why should an illegal pay fewer penalties than you or I would ?
This article is a typical leftist it piece -- it doesn't include enough information to judge whether the $49K penalty was fair or not.
It doesn't matter. They are two separate issues. I don't care if he owes the whole $49K in taxes, penalties, fines, etc., due to his illegal status. Rack up the bill, present it to him, take that money and ship him off home with what's left, if any.
This money is being stolen from him using a manner of government abuse that has been used against countless Americans and legal immigrants.
Since July 31, 1789, when the First Congress passed a law saying that people and property can be searched without a warrant while entering the United States.
Well, I didn't know that.
I still don't see where government can seize cash because you're carrying $50 or more.
Let me dump some James Madison on you -
In the former sense, a man's land, or merchandize, or money is called his
property.
I don't think you can cite a law anywhere - unless you step into fascism or piracy - that allows government to legally seize your private paper dollars.
Give it a try -
If he can prove he filed income taxes and paid the amounts he was supposed to, I see no problem with a fine and letting him keep what is left. IF he didn't file returns or filed them under a (or multiple) stolen/fake identity(ies) then he needs to be prosecuted and money kept to repay the gubmint.
Don't you all know that ALL money belongs to the government, and they just let us borrow some of it from them for as long as they will allow it... Eventually, they take it all back.
Mark
Probably worked multiple jobs as well. When my Grandfather came to the US in the early 1930s (legally, of course) he was a shoemaker, and worked 2 jobs full time, as well as working as a laborer whenever he wasn't at the other jobs. Within 3 years he was able to open his own shoe and boot shop. And he learned english and got married and had a child. He was pretty busy.
Mark
Why I did not carry cash to buy my Vette since I crossed state lines to get the one I wanted.
Cash is pretty much dead anyway. I almost exclusively use credit cards for everything I do including paying all my bills online.
I almost never have more than 10$ on my person.
Have you ever heard any of the stories of skinny wealthy jews (I am a poor Jew) who came out of South Africa wearing heavy coats and if you put them on the scales they weighed 400 pounds.
Take that coat off and gold dangling and hanging everywhere. In SA you can only take a certain amount when you immigrate so smuugling gold and diamonds is massive.
Believe it or not, I think his lawyer has a legitimate case. Draconian punishments like this don't encourage people to obey the law. Yes, a $5000 fine is reasonable. But taking everything offends justice. These people work like dogs and save everything. I don't care if he was illegal. We can't take cash like that.
The key word you're overlooking is "illegally".
" I don't care if he was illegal"
I care.
Well said. A Venezuelan vice foreign minister or something was caught with $40,000 undeclared cash flying into Miami a couple years back and I think the US govt gave it all back to him. Why should Chavista thugs get their STOLEN cash back just because they have chavista ties, while truly poor people, seeking to go back to their home countries to create jobs for locals so they don't emigrate here, get the book thrown at them. This law isn't enforced evenly which is one good reason why it's a bad law. And cripe, no doggone chavista ought to ever be allowed here to shop in miami anyway!
Would the courts have taken his money if he had taken 49, 1,000.00 money orders out ?
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