Thread: Illegal immigrants wary of using U.S. banks

Illegal immigrants wary of using U.S. banks
Undocumented workers risk theft, confiscation



Guatemalan dishwasher Pedro Zapeta's life savings were confiscated by a customs agent when he attempted to fly home to Guatemala with the money in his luggage. Zapeta is shown at his home in Stuart. (Sun-Sentinel/Ruth Morris / October 19, 2007)


Ruth Morris |
South Florida Sun-Sentinel
rmorris@sun-sentinel.com
November 19, 2007

http://www.sun-sentinel.com

Stuffed in the bottom of a sock, or between the folds of clean clothes, or in the back of a drawer: There are dozens of places undocumented immigrants find to stash their savings. Surprisingly few of them, however, involve a bank.

There is no regulation that requires proof of legal status to open a bank account in the United States, and an increasing number of small banks are pursuing immigrant and Hispanic customers. Yet finance professionals and immigrant advocates say millions of undocumented men and women still opt to keep their cash on hand, or else wire it home a little at a time, paying for each transaction as they go.

Advocates say the problem largely lies in gaping cultural divides, and fear among the undocumented that bank accounts would make them more visible to authorities. The result is an increased risk of theft, especially on payday, when workers head home with their money in their pockets. As an undocumented Guatemalan dishwasher recently found out, cash also can be confiscated by customs officials for violations of currency laws.

What you need to open a bank account
"We know immigrants have low rates of participation in the financial sector," said Anna Paulson, an economist with the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago who has studied Hispanic and immigrant banking trends. "A lot of immigrants come from countries where the banking systems aren't that safe, or where ordinary people don't have a lot of experience with putting their money in a bank."

The phenomenon came to the forefront in South Florida with the case of Pedro Zapeta, a Mayan man forced to forfeit $49,000 of his savings after customs agents found the cash in his luggage as he tried to fly home from Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport. His case grabbed national headlines and highlighted the disconnect between some low-wage immigrant communities and the banking system.

"People think of these people as illegals, and they don't see the vulnerabilities they live under," said Marisol Zequeira, a lawyer representing Zapeta as he fights to get his money back. "This case is teaching people the do's and don'ts."

Had Zapeta transferred his money through a bank account, he could have held on to it, Zequeira noted. His crime was to try to return to Guatemala without declaring he carried more than $10,000 in cash.

Zapeta, 39, is appealing a judge's decision in January that confiscated the bulk of his savings — money he earned over 10 years on dishwashers' wages and put aside in a canvas bag, zipped shut and stuffed beneath clothes in his closet.

Asked why he didn't open an account, Zapeta said he had no knowledge of financial institutions and that they confused him. He couldn't find a bank in his Stuart neighborhood with a name he recognized and he felt safer keeping his money close at hand.

"I am poor. I didn't have a bank account in Guatemala," said Zapeta, who has four years' schooling and feared immigration agents. "I thought at any moment they could grab me, and my money would stay here."

Wire transfers also fell outside Zapeta's comfort zone. He says he worried that his mother, who speaks Mayan and doesn't know how to sign her name, would have problems collecting the funds. The nearest bank where she could have collected a transfer is about five miles from her country home.

Guatemala's consul general in Miami, Beatriz Illescas, said immigrants from remote areas of underdeveloped countries are especially intimidated by financial institutions. She began an education drive for local Guatemalans after hearing about Zapeta, and also about Guatemalan laborers targeted across the state by thieves who assumed they would be carrying cash.

"Most of the Guatemalan immigrants in Florida are indigenous. They come from little villages. They don't have anything that can be compared to what our world is," she said.

The heated debate over immigration has forced larger banks to proceed cautiously when courting illegal immigrants, although some already offer credit cards to the undocumented. Smaller institutions also are pursuing undocumented immigrants as customers, even helping them to acquire taxpayer ID numbers.

For its part, the Guatemalan consulate dispatches a van, or "mobile consulate," to register Guatemalans in the Southeast for tamper-proof consular ID cards. Many banks accept the card, known as a matricula consular, to open an account.

Supporters of a tougher stance on illegal immigration say the cards accommodate scofflaws and that authorities should focus instead on reducing incentives for undocumented immigrants to stay here. Demand for the cards is high, however. An August visit by the mobile consulate to Palm Beach County drew 1,300 people.

In the meantime, Zapeta has finally acquired an account, by default. Barraged by well-wishers, his lawyers have opened a trust account to deposit more than $10,000 in donations.

Funny, they don't seem at all wary about using our job market, housing, school system, roadways, hospitals, and social services.

My bank seems very welcoming. All of the signage and deposit slips are in dual languages. The tellers seem to make a visual judgement whether they should speak English or Spanish as one approaches. Last month I was in line, I saw this guy approach and gamely struggle in English. The teller kept responding in Spanish. He kept trying and finally gave up.