Thread: Illegal Drivers Licenses Are Targeting Hispanics

I can't believe the editor of the newspaper thought that these drivers licenses were legal! There's a video at the link.

Illegal Drivers Licenses Are Targeting Hispanics

Posted: April 7, 2008 11:26 PM CDT

Updated: April 8, 2008 11:23 PM CDT

Illegal Drivers Licenses Are Targeting Hispanics

The Federal Trade Commission says the licenses are fake. The drivers licenses are selling for $200 in some states, and promise illegals they can drive, buy and sell cars.

The alleged creator of the drivers license scam was just in Grand Island last week, according to Oscar Erives, publisher of the Buenos Dias Nebraska. The man bought space in Erives' bi-weekly Spanish newspaper. Erives said he would never have run the spot if he knew it was fraud, and he's pulling the ads immediately. He said he would also run an article in Tuesday's paper warning Hispanics about the fraud. The G.I. Independent and Trade West both said they have never run the ads.

The Grand Island Police Department and the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement said they haven't come across any of these illegal licenses yet, but people will be arrested.

G.I. Police Sgt. Jim Duering said the scams are unfortunate. "There are a lot of case laws out there, but ignorance of law is not a valid offense. If they're found to be in posession of a forged document, even if they weren't aware, they will be charged," he said.

He said a fictitious document made to represent a state or fedreal document is considered a counterfeit, which is considered the same thing as counterfeit money in Nebraska. But after they arrest suspected illegals, the must first turn them over to U.S. Immigration and Customs.

Juana Lopez, a bi-lingual crisis counselor at the G.I. Crisis Center, said this type of fraud hurts the entire Hispanic community. "It's too bad, they take advantage of our people. It hurts the whole community because we're trying to protect people from these scams," she said.

"It sounds like a dream come true, but sometimes we don't realize how important these papers are to some people. They think they now have a chance to be here finally."

Reporter's Notes: Stacia Kalinoski

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement P.R. Spokesperson Tim Counts in Bloomington, MN said he received calls about this scam on Monday, but he hasn't seen any of the illegal licenses yet. He said the ad's promise of legal entitlement to drive, buy and sell cars should be a give-away that it's a scam. He said the ad seems misleading, but he can't say now if a federal law has been violated.

I tried calling the phone number listed on the ad five times throughout the day Monday. An answering machine picked up everytime. The number is 713-894-9300, the ad is in Spanish, and they claim to be 100 percent legal.

http://www.nebraska.tv/Global/story.asp?S=8132863

Related article from the same website:

G.I. Spanish Newspaper Publisher Pulls Illegal Advertisements

Posted: April 8, 2008 11:06 PM CDT

Updated: April 8, 2008 11:06 PM CDT

In addition to pulling the ad, Buenos Dias Nebraska Publisher Oscar Erives ran a front-page article to warn Hispanics of the scam. A Houston-based man is selling international drivers licenses that promise illegal immigrants they can drive, buy and sell cars. Erives bought the ad under the impression it was legal, but after news from the Mexican-American Commission and the Federal Trade Commission said they could be fake, he sent back the check for $1,050 to the man today. He talked to the man on the phone Tuesday, and the man said his practice was perfectly legal and he was only having problems in Nebraska. He was expected in Grand Island Tuesday morning, to sell the I.D's to local Hispanics, but Erives said the news and him cancelling the ad, "spoiled his party."

"Luckily we had that on our website since yesterday, that these supposed international licenses are basically bogus," Erives said.

Erives said he has to be careful. Misleading or illegal advertisers constantly want to place spots in his paper.

"It's unfortunate. We can't screen 100 percent of the ads that come through. I'm sure other media outlets go through this too," he said.

http://www.nebraska.tv/Global/story.asp?S=8139128

Everybody in the ENTIRE world, educated or not, knows that official documents like drivers licenses are issued by governmental authories and not through a newspaper. Claiming that illegal aliens don't know what they are doing is basically saying that they are not from this planet. and of course they teh difference, they all know they are scamming us! Period. No excuse - DEPORT the scammers!

ICE should run ads like that for a sting

Juana Lopez, a bi-lingual crisis counselor at the G.I. Crisis Center, said this type of fraud hurts the entire Hispanic community. "It's too bad, they take advantage of our people. It hurts the whole community because we're trying to protect people from these scams," she said.

I'm sick and tired of these people getting caught and then claiming they were just innocent victims! These people are cunning, manipulative, and they know exactly what they are doing!

This editor of this paper who sold the spots is no different! He knew what he was doing was illegal and was trying to help his people perpetrate a fraud!

I only have one question from this so called editior. Assuming he is a legal citizen of this country, did he purchase his drivers license from the classified section in the back of some cheap rag that caters to illegal invaders?