Thread: Iraqis accused of sham marriages

Posted: 3:42 p.m. Sept. 4, 2009
Iraqis accused of sham marriages

BY TAMMY STABLES BATTAGLIA

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The Iraqi men would arrive at U.S. Customs with a wedding ring or photos from their engagement party, accompanied by an American bride.



The problem was Jesse Toma Babby, 46, had paid the American women between $3,000 and $10,000 to pose for the sham marriages to help the men get into the country, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Now, at least a half-dozen Iraqi men are in the process of being deported, two or three have received political asylum, and Babby’s headed to jail. He was sentenced in U.S. District Court in Detroit Thursday to 18 months in prison for arranging the marriages for at least 10 men, all except one under 40 years old.

“I would say that the practice of trying to get U.S. citizenship through a sham marriage is something we’ve seen with some frequency and with increasing numbers,â€

I'm sorry the poor US taxpayers must always foot the bill on this stuff. At least this is another favorable court decision. It always helps to have more of those no matterwhere in the constellation of immigration issues the case may be, because further precedents are established.