Thread: SC:Funeral director expert in identifying illegal immigrants

Funeral director becomes expert in identifying illegal immigrants
Saturday, July 21, 2007


GREENVILLE, S.C. - Funeral director Donna Harper has become an expert in identifying the bodies of dead illegal immigrants and helping them make their final journey to their home countries with something they never had in the United States _ proper documentation.

Harper opened her Taylors funeral parlor _ Harper's Memorial Chapel _ almost three years ago. within the first two months of being open, she says, she got three calls asking her to help identify the bodies of dead immigrants.

Since then, she has developed contacts in the Mexican, Guatemalan and Honduran consulates and with coroners across the state. So far this year, she has handled arrangements for 148 illegal immigrants.

Harper said contacting the home government of the deceased person is the most successful way to reach family members back home. She said features such as tattoos and birthmarks are often helpful in making a positive identification.

For $3,500, Harper embalms and clothes a body, buys an airline ticket and transports the remains to a plane. Sometimes consulates help families pay the expense of getting a loved one home.

But making that trip home requires something the immigrants have likely never had as they traveled, worked and lived in the United States _ documentation.

Governments require identification and certification that the body is not diseased before the body will be allowed in, Harper said. The entire process takes about seven days, she said.

Harper's skills and her bilingual staff members are helping with a burgeoning problem in the South Carolina Upstate.

The coroner's office handles 12 times more cases a year now than it did two years ago, said Greenville Coroner Parks Evans. "Nine out of every 10 (illegal immigrant) deaths, we have problems with identification," Evans said.

Last month, Deputy Coroner Karie Cane was faced with identifying a 49-year-old man who had two Mexican identification cards _ same photograph, different names _ and no family in Greenville.

Harper said she is working more with the coroner's office to handle those bodies after the office has identified them.

Information from: The Greenville News, http://www.greenvillenews.com

http://www.timesanddemocrat.com/article ... h6il00.txt

At least our cemeteries won't be overrun with illegals!

That is great and all but what is she and her staff doing for the American citizens and legal residents who were killed by illegal aliens?

I am sure we the US taxpayers are somehow footing the bill on this.

Since then, she has developed contacts in the Mexican, Guatemalan and Honduran consulates and with coroners across the state. So far this year, she has handled arrangements for 148 illegal immigrants.

If she can do this, why can't the federal government do the same thing??? Bunch of lames-asses!!!

What struck me is the requirement of proof that a body isn't diseased before it is permitted back into it's own country.

Talk about hypocrites: they're willing to send all of their living diseased here to spread it all over the damned place, but don't dare try to send it back there.

This sounds so strange.

Why is it her job to do this. This is something for the authorities - her job is to prepare the body.

Sounds odd -