Thread: Documenting illegal immigration, detecting fake papers

http://www.newsok.com/article/2977606

Oklahomans Arber Wheaton and Ken Miller combat illegal immigration daily.

They don't build fences, engage in political banter or even patrol the border with Oklahoma National Guardsmen.

They study documents.

Wheaton and Miller are veteran document examiners assigned in August to head the state Public Safety Department's new Identity Verification Unit. Their job is to educate the more than 100 document examiners statewide how to detect fraudulent documents such as birth certificates, Social Security cards, driver's licenses, passports and immigration work visas.

Document examiners work at the state's 60 testing sites where Oklahoma driver's licenses and identification cards are issued. Last year, under the umbrella of the Oklahoma Highway Patrol, a combined 437,000 transactions were recorded at these sites.

Of those, more than 2,000 fraudulent documents were discovered and investigated.

"The highway patrol's special investigation unit was handling documents along with everything else they investigate," said Karen Gentry, director of the Driver License Examining Division. "They have a lot to handle, but there needed to be more of a focus on fraudulent documents. ... That's why Ms. Wheaton and Mr. Miller were brought in. They have experience dealing with these types of cases on a daily basis."

Wheaton and Miller have worked on the front line of document fraud for the past 16 years. With increased concerns about illegal immigration in Oklahoma, their expertise promises to be used like never before.

They will personally review every fraudulent document confiscated by examiners.

In doing so, they hope to prevent illegal immigrants from obtaining the proper identification needed for access to state services or the simple legitimacy entitled to legal residents. Both feel they are fighting a never-ending battle.

"It's a growing problem," said Miller, who is based in Tulsa. "I'd say every day at every testing site, people are seeing a fraudulent document. Of course, if you can get a driver's license or an ID card, then you can get just about anything after that — open a bank account, apply for a credit card, you name it.

"Prior to 2003, if we discovered a fraudulent document, by law, we had to give that document back to the individual and watch them walk out the door. That was frustrating because you knew they would go right down the road to the next testing site with the same illegal document."

State examiners now have the authority to confiscate documents and call authorities to make an arrest on site.

"If you try to pawn off a fraudulent document, you're committing a felony," Miller said. "Arrests are rare, though, because so much is at stake if you make a mistake. But at the very least we've taken that document out of circulation."

Tricks of the trade
Wheaton empties a manila folder stuffed with confiscated documents onto an office table. And then another.

"These are the most recent documents sent to us for investigation," said Wheaton, staring down at hundreds of driver's licenses, Social Security cards, immigration cards and birth certificates from different parts of the country and world.

At a glance, they appear authentic. Yet each has been flagged as bogus for one reason or another.

"Look at this birth certificate," said Jeff Hankins, an investigator with 18 years experience. "It looks good, right? Even printed on security paper. But check out the seal.

"That's not the state of Oklahoma seal."

Document examiners are trained to look for red flags — the print type, a bogus seal or the feel of a document. They also must be familiar with documents issued in other states and countries.

Wheaton even keeps a notebook handy at her desk with information she has compiled throughout her career.

"Recently, I was looking at a birth certificate from New Mexico," Wheaton said. "Everything looked legitimate — the name, the feel, everything. Everything except the seal. It had a Nebraska seal.

"People will try just about anything."

And illegal immigrants will pay. Authorities have learned there are flourishing underground markets in Oklahoma, especially at flea markets.

Lt. Ronnie Hampton, chief of the Oklahoma Highway Patrol's Investigation Division, discovered fake Social Security cards can sell for as little as $100.

Investigations into these documents have led police to places like Guymon and Hugo, where Hispanic populations have risen rapidly in the past decade.

More than 20 criminal cases are under investigation.

Life in the shadows
Asalia, a Mexican national who asked that her last name not be used, understands the importance of obtaining proper documentation — and the risks.

She has lived illegally in southwest Oklahoma for 13 years and always has been fearful of trying to obtain a driver's license or birth certificate. She doesn't want to be deported.

Asalia's husband and two children live here legally.

Life as an illegal immigrant presents her with another heartache. All her relatives live in a small village outside Mexico City. This spring, she risked everything to visit them. She traveled into Mexico without her husband and children.

"I hadn't seen my family in 10 years," Asalia said through an interpreter. "That's a long time. It was good to see them, but I was afraid to come back. A friend let me borrow her documents, and that's what I used at the border.

"I remember my heart pounding. I thought, ‘What if I get caught?' I was so nervous and scared. Then, suddenly, they waved us through. I was so relieved."

Investigators think the odds of someone like Asalia eventually trying to legitimize her residency here in Oklahoma are high.

"We're not ever going to stop illegals from obtaining fraudulent documents," Hampton said. "We can only slow them down."

Asala

In those 13 years have you built your family an economic base with funds dedicated to a warehouse, a factory shell or a barn?

Are they still monetizing their own free time and saving money by growing food instead of buying it?

Is your idea of planning for their future based on hiring coyotes, amnesty and family reuniification?