Posted on 01/02/2003 9:55:48 PM PST by kattracks
If you thought the New Year's Eve FBI manhunt for illegal aliens with fake passports was a disturbing sign of homeland insecurity, wait until you hear about who's been working on President George W. Bush's front lawn.
While the Secret Service has now instituted criminal and citizenship screening procedures for all tourists (including children) who visit the White House, federal agents failed to detect an illegal alien who used a false identity and fraudulent documents and was employed for at least two years as a supervisor of tent installation for White House social events.
This illegal alien had been ordered kicked out of the country by the Immigration and Naturalization Service in February 2000, but was able to evade the law and fool both his employer and the Secret Service through petty identity fraud. He was finally caught at the U.S.-Mexico border last month, but it was no thanks to the law enforcement agents in Washington who are assigned to protect the White House from unknown intruders.
Posing as "Kelvin Rodriguez," a Mexican citizen named Salvador Martinez-Gonzalez worked for HDO Productions Inc., which bills itself as "the nation's most respected provider of special event tent and accessory rentals." The company designs elaborate outdoor settings for galas, weddings and government functions.
Martinez-Gonzalez had access to the White House grounds, the Pentagon and NASA, and rubbed elbows with Washington's most powerful officials -- from former President Bill Clinton to current Vice President Dick Cheney and his wife, Lynne. Martinez-Gonzalez kept festive photos of himself with Clinton and the Cheneys as souvenirs to show off his insider access.
On Dec. 2, 2002, according to a Justice Department intelligence report I obtained, Martinez-Gonzalez tried to return to the U.S. from a trip to Mexico. He showed up at the Laredo, Texas, port of entry claiming to be a U.S. citizen and provided inspectors with the photos of himself with Clinton and the Cheneys. A routine fingerprint and immigration database check showed that he had been apprehended in Brownsville, Texas, two years ago, and at that time was ordered to leave the country. He should have been immediately detained for fraudulent entry and kicked out.
But Martinez-Gonzalez was neither detained nor removed from the U.S., as required by federal law. Instead, immigration officials learned, Martinez-Gonzalez was freed and purchased a birth certificate from the real Kelvin Rodriguez, a Puerto Rican national who lent his identity to Martinez-Gonzalez. According to the intelligence report, Rodriguez helped Martinez-Gonzalez obtain a U.S. Social Security card, Maryland driver's license and a U.S. passport.
According to the report, Martinez-Gonzalez/"Rodriguez" moved to the Maryland suburbs and began to work for HDO Productions. An Associated Press article shows that the company had past problems with illegal labor at the White House. In the summer of 1998, immigration officials arrested two Mexican nationals who worked for HDO Productions and were trying to gain access to the White House grounds using fake alien registration cards. Secret Service officers detained them after they presented the fake documents. The U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia authorized prosecution for possession of fraudulent documents, and the two workers were reportedly deported.
As for Martinez-Gonzalez/"Rodriguez," he left HDO Productions sometime in the fall. Company president Jerry O'Connell said he was not aware of any immigration problems and that Martinez-Gonzalez/"Rodriguez's" departure had nothing to do with immigration-related fraud.
According to the DOJ intelligence report, the FBI and Secret Service were both contacted by immigration investigators for further interviewing of this illegal alien impostor. But an FBI spokesman in Washington, D.C., said he was unfamiliar with the case. My calls to the White House were unreturned. The Secret Service refused to comment.
Hopefully, President Bush will have better luck getting answers. For if his own guardians can't keep low-level, illegal border-crossing identity impostors out of the White House backyard, how in the world can we count on his administration to keep far more sophisticated, illegal alien evildoers -- like the five that President Bush personally ordered hunted down last week -- out of ours?
©2002 Creators Syndicate, Inc.
Inspector Clousseau
Okay...so the guy had legitimate documents, they just weren't his. Given the documents (U.S. Social Security card, Maryland driver's license and a U.S. passport) were issued on the basis of a valid birth certificate, how are the people that issued these documents or the company that hired him supposed to know these documents were not his? And if the company could not identify these documents as fraudulent, then the claims that this was somehow the fault of Bush or the Secret Service for allowing this guy on the grounds has no basis in fact. Malkin is great for bringing the immigration problem to the forefront, but I think she needs to tone down her emotions a little.
I agree .. which is way I said in my post that the SS and the INS needs to do a better job ..
The Indian reservation along the border wants the state of AZ to reimburse them for cleanup of trash on their lands.
Sens. McCain and Kyl and a handful of democrats made a token tour of the area and all we heard was, "tsk, tsk, what a shame ... something should be done about that." or words to that effect.
It's petty bad down there.
g
Hmmmm...
Biometrics are automated methods of recognizing a person based on a physiological or behavioral characteristic. Among the features measured are; face, fingerprints, hand geometry, handwriting, iris, retinal, vein, and voice.
Based on this info and considering he had a valid birth certificate, although it was not his, unless they took these "measurements" at birth, how could one determine that he is not who he says he is? If they took these "measurements" at the time he received additional documentation based on the valid birth certificate, then it would just confirm that he is who the birth certificate says he is. So, while a biometric system may work in most cases for those entering legally under a visa of some type, it would not work for those that enter illegally under the radar and then purchase false ID such as this guy did. If I am somehow wrong on this, please clarify how biometrics would have prevented this incident.
Secret Service should be in the habit of scanning the fingerprints of all workers allowed on the White House grounds since 9/11. It takes only seconds to scan a person's fingerprints, now.
Yep..part of the plan..if you are looking for 1 in a 1000 you MIGHT just find him...so you look for 1 in 250 million and you KNOW for sure you never will
So fat old white ladies like me get frisked and her shoes checked and a Islam Mullah just walks on the jet..
They do not want to find them..
I do not believe that the 5 mystery men even exist..I think it is the White House way to keep Americans focused on the terrorism and keep their eyes off the selling of America..
It will backfire however because we will get so used to the alerts no one will watch or care much ..THEY they will hit again
But if they are lucky it will be after 1/4 of America is Mexican </ scarasm>
Madfly they do not care about America, all they care about is the New World Order..
They do not want to find anyone..that is the reason..so if they look they may have to do something..Can you imagine just telling a law breaker he has to stop and considering it a done deal? "Go Home" so it was over to them..
yea no reason to get emotionally involved ..This is only a country they HER parents came to LEGALLY..and like many LEGAL immigrants she love the land her parents chose
.Most born here do not give a crap..and the White House knows that they will sell it for a cheap gardner
Hoo boy, you're a bright one aren't you? I guess you missed this part of the article?
"...But Martinez-Gonzalez was neither detained nor removed from the U.S., as required by federal law."
Yeah, and in a suit that just screams, 'Arrest me!'
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