C.B.P. News Release

CBP Officers Arrest Citizen of Dominican Republic for False Claim to Citizenship

(Monday, May 25, 2009)

Lewiston, N.Y. – U.S. Customs and Border Protection announced the arrest of a citizen of the Dominican Republic who made a false claim to United States citizenship.

On May 25, CBP officers encountered a 27-year-old male claiming to be United States citizen from Puerto Rico, as he applied for admission into the United States at the Lewiston Bridge border crossing, Lewiston, New York. The subject presented a Puerto Rico driver’s license as proof of citizenship and identity. The subject advised the primary CBP officer that he was a U.S. citizen residing in Michigan.

He claimed he was borrowing a friend’s car and was attempting to travel to Michigan when his GPS led him across the Lewiston/Queenston Bridge into Canada. During the course of the primary inspection, close scrutiny of the presented driver’s license revealed documentary inconsistencies. The subject was then referred to CBP secondary inspection for verification of his immigration status.

During secondary inspection of the subject’s personal effects, an authentic Puerto Rican birth certificate and U.S. social security card were discovered however, he was not the true owner of the documents. After further questioning by CBP officers, the subject admitted that his true identity was Fabio Rafael Lopez Jiminian, a citizen of the Dominican Republic.

The subject stated that he traveled from the Dominican Republic to Puerto Rico by boat in August 2003. He claimed he stayed in Puerto Rico for two years and then traveled to Detroit where he remained for one year. Since December 2008, the subject claims to have been in Connecticut working in construction. The subject was attempting to return to Michigan when he accidentally entered Canada.

As Lopez Jiminian, willfully represented himself as a citizen of the United States, he was arrested by CBP officers for fraud and misuse of a travel document. Lopez Jiminian is being held at the Genesee County Jail in Batavia, N.Y., pending prosecution by the U.S. Attorney’s Western District of New York Office.

“The full implementation of the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative will commence June 1, 2009, whereby travelers will be required to present one of a small number of designated documents that prove both citizenship and identity,â€