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  1. #1

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    An illegal alien who can legally sue

    Complete insanity.

    Sorry, the url is to long to post.


    Sunday, May 21, 2006

    By MIKE KELLY



    VICTOR MANUEL CABALLERO says he only wanted a decent job when he sneaked across the border from Mexico five years ago. Thanks to a ruling last week by the state Supreme Court, he has achieved a special American status even though he still lives here illegally:
    He can collect damages for being hurt in an auto accident.

    We hear much these days about illegal immigrants -- how desperate they are for good jobs here, how many risk their lives to slip across the border, how so many now hope to pursue their lives in America with some measure of forgiveness and amnesty even though they clearly violated immigration laws.

    The case of Victor Manuel Cabellero falls into a whole new zone of troubles. He not only lives here illegally; the state Supreme Court has now opened a legal door for him and other undocumented immigrants to collect from a special state fund set up to protect anyone hurt in a car accident with an uninsured driver.

    To put it another way: Victor Caballero may not have the legal right to actually live in New Jersey, but New Jersey says he has the legal right to receive generous benefits for being here.

    Go figure.

    If nothing else, Caballero's story illustrates how meaningless immigration laws are and how inept our government has become in dealing with this problem.

    He was 17 when he left his native Mexico and illegally crossed into the United States in early 2001. He went first to Los Angeles, then bought a ticket on a commercial flight to New Jersey and headed for the Shore town of Bradley Beach.

    This was hardly a haphazard trip. According to court papers, Caballero had carefully planned his travel itinerary – not unusual for illegal immigrants.

    Caballero's cousins lived in Bradley Beach. Indeed, Caballero's brother, Sandro, had already made the trek from Mexico to Bradley Beach in 1996, and his father followed – illegally -- three years later, settling in nearby Belmar. Caballero's mother arrived in 2003, also illegally, court papers say.

    When Victor arrived, he moved into an apartment with Sandro and two cousins. Victor quickly got a job in a restaurant. But after two months, he moved up to a computer repair job, earning around $400 a week.

    That may not seem like much, but in Mexico, Caballero was making only $6 a day. The computer job was not easy either. Caballero routinely worked up to 15 hours straight. His day began at 5 a.m., when he would be picked up by a co-worker, 19-year-old Ricardo Martinez.

    Only two weeks into the computer job, court papers say, Martinez fell asleep at the wheel one morning. The car veered off the road and struck a parked tractor trailer.

    Martinez was lucky -- he walked away from the accident with only cuts and bruises. Caballero was badly hurt, though.

    He was transported to the Jersey Shore Medical Center where surgeons repaired injuries to his abdomen and intestines. Caballero stayed a week at the hospital, then needed another six weeks to recover before he could return to work. The cost: $38,300 in medical bills and $1,482 in lost wages.

    Caballero had no medical insurance, nor did his family. But that wasn't the end of the problems.

    Police and hospital officials turned to Ricardo Martinez, the driver of the car. Would his insurance cover Caballero?

    Not a chance.

    Martinez was not only driving without car insurance when he hit the tractor-trailer, but his car registration – from Pennsylvania, police say – had expired. Instead of throwing him in jail, cops merely ticketed Martinez and let him go.

    And then, things got worse.

    Martinez disappeared. Authorities now believe he, too, was living illegally in New Jersey. The difference, of course, was that Caballero had some serious hospital bills to pay.

    Caballero's father did what most Americans would do when faced with having to pay bills for an auto accident they did not cause. He called a lawyer.

    Caballero's attorney, Victor Covelli of Belmar, says his client was worried that he would be deported when he filed suit against fellow illegal immigrant, Ricardo Martinez. Complicating the issue, Caballero was also suing to collect from a special New Jersey fund for anyone injured in an accident with an uninsured driver. But like those police who handled the accident and let Martinez go with only a traffic ticket, court officers looked the other way and did not arrest and deport Caballero when he testified in his lawsuit.

    Caballero lost twice, when courts ruled he was not a legal resident and therefore had no right to the special accident fund. But last week, the state Supreme Court ruled in his favor, declaring him a resident even though he was here illegally.

    How did the Supreme Court reach such a conclusion? Well, consider this line of reasoning from the opinion authored by Supreme Court Justice James Zazzali:

    "We recognize the apparent paradox that exists when an undocumented alien intends to remain in this state but that alien, because of his or her illegal status, is subject to deportation at any time ... The fact that an undocumented alien may some day be forced to return to his or her homeland does not necessarily defeat the intent to remain. That is especially true in light of the uncertain nature of deportation."

    In other words, the fact that Caballero reached New Jersey makes him a resident, even though he broke the law to get here. Maybe Justice Zazzali and the entire Supreme Court should consider a class in remedial logic.

    Victor Manuel Caballero is now 23. His lawyer will not divulge his address, only saying that that Caballero now lives with his girlfriend and their baby "in the Lakewood area" and still works at the computer repair shop. Because of the auto accident, Caballero cannot lift heavy computers, cannot run, has trouble sleeping, and cannot eat "some foods that he enjoyed before the accident," the Supreme Court ruled.

    The $38,300 bill from the medical bill was paid by a special hospital charity fund. So why is Caballero suing?

    His lawyer says the Supreme Court ruling makes him eligible to collect up to $15,000 -- for pain and suffering.

    Welcome to America.
    It's true I am only one, but I am one. And the fact that I can't do everything will not prevent me from doing what I can do

    Edward Everett Hale

  2. #2
    Senior Member jp_48504's Avatar
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    BARTH,
    Thanks for posting. Please provide a link to the article.

    Thanks
    I stay current on Americans for Legal Immigration PAC's fight to Secure Our Border and Send Illegals Home via E-mail Alerts (CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP)

  3. #3
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    I saw this. It is really great. I get to pay for an illegal who hits me with no drivers licence or insurance and the we get to pay for his pain and suffering. What a deal.

  4. #4
    Senior Member crazybird's Avatar
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    Gee....I wanna be an ILLEGAL ALIEN too!!!!! Forget this American citizen stuff!!
    Join our efforts to Secure America's Borders and End Illegal Immigration by Joining ALIPAC's E-Mail Alerts network (CLICK HERE)

  5. #5
    Senior Member Mamie's Avatar
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    petition the New Jersey state legislature to have the Supreme Court judges impeached
    "Those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it" George Santayana "Deo Vindice"

  6. #6
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    From Newsday.com

    Court: Fund can pay medical bills for illegal aliens in accidents
    By JEFFREY GOLD
    Associated Press Writer

    May 18, 2006, 4:14 PM EDT

    NEWARK, N.J. -- New Jersey's Supreme Court on Thursday unanimously ruled that illegal immigrants injured by uninsured drivers can have medical costs covered by a fund whose money comes from insurance fees.

    The 7-0 decision by New Jersey highest court, which reverses two lower court rulings, comes as lawmakers in Washington and Trenton consider how to deal with illegal immigration.

    "It's a victory for a lot of injured people who were being denied benefits because they are not legal residents," said Victor M. Covelli, a lawyer for Victor Manuel Caballero, a Mexican who was a car passenger when hurt in 2001, five months after he came to live with family members in Bradley Beach.

    The decision could have statewide financial impact. Covelli said he had 20 clients who might now qualify for benefits. New Jersey has about 360,000 illegal immigrants, or about 4 percent of the population, according to the Pew Hispanic Center.

    Caballero, now 22 and still living at the Jersey Shore, sought compensation from the Unsatisfied Claim and Judgment Fund. He was denied when a trial judge and an appellate panel found he did not satisfy the fund's residency requirement.

    The trial judge, state Superior Court Judge Jamie S. Perri, said Caballero's "tenuous ties to the state of New Jersey during the five months before the accident, coupled with his status as an illegal immigrant, evidence a relationship with the state that falls short of those of a bona fide resident."

    The judge added that "without the legal ability or authority to remain in the state, plaintiff was incapable of reasonably forming the requisite intent to remain for any length of time in New Jersey."

    The Supreme Court disagreed, asserting that the meaning of "resident" is not constant under New Jersey law, but depends on the context.

    "A person may be a `resident' even if the intent to remain ultimately is not realized," Justice James R. Zazzali wrote for the court, adding, "Other jurisdictions have determined that illegal aliens can qualify as residents under various state statutes."

    The high court determined that Caballero's intention to remain in New Jersey satisfied the fund's residency requirement and sent the case back to the trial judge. His lawyer said they would seek a jury trial on how much benefits he could collect.

    The fund's administrator, the nonprofit New Jersey Guaranty Association, is unlikely to have an appeal, since the issue deals with state law.

    "Since it's worked its way through the courts, we'll follow the court's ruling," association chief executive Joseph DellaFera said.

    The UCJF is funded by companies that write vehicle insurance policies and paid more than $30 million in 2005. DellaFera said he did not know how much the ruling would cost the companies, and ultimately motorists.

    The court's opinion gave this account of the case:

    Caballero was hospitalized for a week, having surgery to his abdomen and intestines, after a co-worker giving him a ride to work fell asleep and struck a parked tractor-trailer. The co-worker was driving an uninsured and unregistered vehicle. None of Caballero's family has insurance.

    Caballero incurred about $38,300 in medical bills and $1,482 in lost wages. He made about $400 a week repairing computers, working 14-15 hours a day. He has returned to that job, but cannot work as many hours or lift heavy computers, and still has pain and trouble sleeping.

    He has stated he will remain in New Jersey for as long as he can, "as long as they don't deport me," the court opinion said.

    Since the accident, Caballero has married and had a child, but probably has not gained legal residency, said his lawyer.

    "I'm sure, like all of the other foreign-born people, he is watching the news closely and would like to change his status," Covelli said.

    Ironically, although the decision opens the door for injured illegal immigrants to seek compensation for medical bills, that will not apply to Caballero, his lawyer said.

    Because the co-worker's car was from Pennsylvania, the fund will not cover medical costs, he said. As a result, Caballero's medical costs _ like those of other patients who cannot pay _ are handled by a taxpayer-supported fund for charity care.

    However, Caballero will seek compensation for pain and suffering, which is capped at $15,000, Covelli said.

    ___P>

  7. #7
    Senior Member Mamie's Avatar
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    "Other jurisdictions have determined that illegal aliens can qualify as residents under various state statutes."
    if that's true, then the "various state statutes" are in violation of the laws of the United States and the Constitution -- it is a felony to "aid and abet" an illegal alien and "whoever" does not exclude the judges of any court
    "Those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it" George Santayana "Deo Vindice"

  8. #8
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    Because the co-worker's car was from Pennsylvania, the fund will not cover medical costs, he said. As a result, Caballero's medical costs _ like those of other patients who cannot pay _ are handled by a taxpayer-supported fund for charity care.

    However, Caballero will seek compensation for pain and suffering, which is capped at $15,000, Covelli said.
    Our tax dollars at work. It is a great thing.

  9. #9
    Senior Member NoIllegalsAllowed's Avatar
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    Assemblyman Christopher Connors, R-Lacey Township, has reintroduced a bill to prohibit the state from granting any license, contract, loan or tax abatement to New Jerseyans who cannot prove they are legal residents.
    from http://www.alipac.us/article1072.html

    The bill still hasn't come up in the NJ State Assembly yet. That would solve all of this.
    Free Ramos and Compean NOW!

  10. #10
    Senior Member Mamie's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by NoIllegalsAllowed
    Assemblyman Christopher Connors, R-Lacey Township, has reintroduced a bill to prohibit the state from granting any license, contract, loan or tax abatement to New Jerseyans who cannot prove they are legal residents.
    from http://www.alipac.us/article1072.html

    The bill still hasn't come up in the NJ State Assembly yet. That would solve all of this.
    sounds like a good bill, hopefully it will pass.

    A bill was introduced in the Alabama legislature to penalize employers that hire illegals -- it didn't pass.
    "Those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it" George Santayana "Deo Vindice"

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