Thread: Identities are for sale and aliens are buying

Brian McElwee
Scranton Immigration Policy Examiner
January 12, 2012


If you (an American citizen) need a passport or visa, you'll need acceptable proof of identification. If you're an illegal alien with money to burn, another person's identification is available better than your own.

“From Main Street to Wall Street, identity fraud exacts a devastating toll on American consumers and businesses.” It's doubtful anyone would argue with this statement from Chief Postal Inspector Guy Cottrell, taken from yesterday's I.C.E news release touting the arrest of 50 individuals charged with conspiracy to commit identification fraud. Allegedly, those apprehended acted as “identity brokers,” selling Social Security cards and corresponding Puerto Rico birth certificates to anyone interested in ponying up between $700 and $2500 dollars per set. The brokers operated in more than a dozen states, from small towns like Clewiston, Florida to the big City of Brotherly Love.

Oh, and did I mention Hazleton? Yes, Hazleton is in the news again.What interest would an identity broker, three identity brokers, have in setting up shop in such a tiny town on the southern tip of Luzerne County, you ask?

Well, to answer the question of why someone would want to sell his/her services in tiny Hazleton, one must first answer who would desire the service. Considering the service being provided is fraudulent Puerto Rican identities, allow me to risk being accused of profiling and suggest that pale guys of Celtic origin (like me) might not be the identity broker's target market. Look at my profile picture; no one would buy the name Juan Sanchez Castro on my driver's license. Likewise, blonde haired, blue eyed types might not have any use for the documents, either. In fact, most people in these parts would have no need for such services, since they were (largely) born here and have plenty of documentation and heritage to prove it.

So then, who? Just who in Luzerne County could use documents sporting an Hispanic name? Hmmmmmm. I'd say it's safe to conclude that people fitting the description of Hispanic might be most interested in such forms of identification. And, considering that Hispanic people who have entered this country legally have already proven their identity, the primary market of the identity broker must be people who are in this country illegally, or aliens. Next, considering that Luzerne County has the second fastest growing Hispanic population in the country (among counties with at least ten thousand ), it makes sense to guess that many, if not most, of our region's Hispanics are here illegally. Such a conclusion fits the need for such services as identity brokers who provide fraudulent documents as well as the Mobile Mexican Consulate, whose documents are worth little more than the material they're printed on.

According to the Times Leader, the names of the three arrested in the Hazleton area are Rafael Joaquin Beltre, Paulina Pilada-Castillo and Orlando Guzman Garcia. Of course, the name most associated with Hazleton is former mayor Lou Barletta, who offered this prepared statement, “Most of the illegal aliens we arrested for committing serious and violent crimes in Hazleton didn't cross the southern border – they came into an east coast airport or seaport using fraudulent documents.” In the same article, Barletta alsodetailed how illegal aliens travel to Puerto Rico, where they buy citizens' identities, then use the documents to obtain valid U.S. Driver's licenses and the like which allows them to access state and federal benefits.

Our other local paper, the Citizens' Voice, identified only Guzman Garcia as a broker, but offered a bit more detailed reporting than did the Times Leader. The two papers also differed in their reporting styles when covering the NEPA Forum on Illegal Immigration this past November, at which both Congressman Barletta and Michael Cutler spoke in agreement that out immigration crisis involves much more than our border with Mexico. While I agree with both, I also feel it's important to recognize the alien problem begins there, as should any solution to it.

Maybe now you'll accept why and how the Hispanic population in your county has grown to such levels. The question is, what will you do about it?

Identities are for sale and aliens are buying - Scranton Immigration Policy | Examiner.com

They do not want me to say that on here.