Trend-Spotting: Correlating the Spread of Illegal Immigration and Identity Theft

When I covered the subject in one of my first posts in March 2005, it was fair to say that the vast majority of identity theft committed by illegal immigrants was concentrated in four states: California, Arizona, Texas, and Florida.

No more. Three stories obtained through Google News Alerts in the past week make it clear that illegal-immigrant identity theft has gone national.

2 + 2 = 4 People Illegally Here, Stealing Identities

From The Reno Gazette-Journal, let’s count the roundabout-identifed illegals:

State fraud investigators arrested four men this week on charges related to identity theft to obtain Nevada driver’s licenses, permits and credit cards.

One man, Juan Leon, 28, had been posing as a Texas man by using the man’s birth certificate and Social Security card that Leon said he bought on the Reno streets for $1,200, said Tom Jacobs, Nevada Department of Motor Vehicles spokesman.

(That’s one.)

Another man, Alfred Hipolito, 27, was using his cousin’s identity, Jacobs said. He was caught after DMV officials compared the photo of his cousin to Hipolito.

On Wednesday, Leon allegedly tried to get his Nevada driver’s license at the Reno DMV location. The Texas man had already filed an identity theft complaint, Jacobs said.

(That’s two.)

Also on Wednesday, Jose Camarillo-Brarragan was arrested in connection to a U.S. State Department investigation, Jacobs said.

Investigators found two credit cards at his home in the name of another person. He was arrested on suspicion of identity theft.

(Though it’s not directly inferable, because it’s a State Department investigation, I think it’s accurate to consider this number three.)

Also on Thursday, Raul Morales tried to get a temporary moving permit and gave clerks a fake Social Security card, Jacobs said.

Inside his wallet, investigators found fake immigration documents. Morales was arrested on suspicion of possession of fraudulent documents.

(Ding-ding! That’s four.)

All four men are being held in Washoe County Jail.

(Birds [illegals] of a feather …..)

Finally: Jose’s in a Gang…

From Chattanooga:

Illegal immigrant pleads to identity theft, faces federal charges

A Mexican national pleaded guilty in Hamilton County Criminal Court today to charges of identity theft.

Assistant District Attorney Neal Pinkston said Mr. Valerio-Muniz, who has a lengthy criminal history and has already been deported once, faces up to 20 years in federal court.

….. Mr. Pinkston said Mr. Valerio-Muniz attempted to obtain a driver’s license using someone elses identification information.

Federal court records show that the defendant has multiple drunk driving convictions, theft, endangering the life of a child while driving drunk, weapons violations and an aggravated assault conviction out of Whitfield County, Ga., in which Mr. Valerio-Muniz initially was charged with homicide.

Federal authorities said he has been identified as a gang member by several tattoos.
So how many of Mr. Valerio-Muniz’s fellow gang members are roaming the streets of Chattanooga freely?

Illegal Immigrant identity theft: The Impact on One Person

Although it’s a small indicator of how rampant the problem is, this letter to the editor in The Salem, Oregon Statesman Journal describes the hell one woman has endured not only as a result of the crime itself, but the lack of will to enforce the law (bolds are mine):

My daughter is the victim of identity theft. She learned about the theft from a city of Salem agency and received a copy of the earnings report almost two weeks later from this agency.

A suspected illegal immigrant, a Hispanic male, is using her Social Security number to work in reforestation jobs in Oregon and California. We now know his name and his birth date.

All of his former employers have been contacted and requested to change their records to reflect an unknown Social Security number for this man and to notify all government agencies they report earnings to that they gave them the wrong Social Security number. Employers are reluctant to do this until they learn Immigration has been notified along with the police and all the above-mentioned agencies!

My daughter is now at risk of prosecution for tax evasion, not to mention a host of other legal and financial problems.

Not one government agency was willing to tell her anything or share information reported under her number with her when notified. Employers who hire illegals and the government agencies who protect the identity of these companies are only aiding and abetting identity theft.

Why is this man not in jail?

The Southern Border-State Experience — Coming to the Heartland, and Partially Here Already

So maybe some readers think that ole Bizzy might descending into a dark pit of __________ (fill in the politically correct term of the moment). No, I am simply observing early signs of what California law enforcement officer Maggie Finneran wrote based on her experience in an op-ed piece in a local paper a year ago (original link has moved; link is a copy of the original at Americans for Legal Immigration; note the hostility towards politicians of BOTH parties in the comments; bolds are mine):

As a law enforcement officer, statistically, more than 50 percent of all cases I investigate involve illegals as either suspects or victims. Unfortunately this is not distinguishable on reported statistics because we can’t discriminate among those we help.

Most of these cases are child sex crimes and identity theft. Many convicted sex offenders are illegals that were not deported after conviction, or who have sneaked back across the border. And most of my rape and child sex cases are perpetrated by illegals.

Identity theft and financial crimes have become a nightmare to investigate.

….. In the last six months, in every single high-dollar fraud case I investigated, the suspect was an illegal alien.

….. Do the American, tax-paying citizens a favor by investigating and reporting the truth. Let them know how many man-hours are invested in illegals by law enforcement, fire, medical facilities, schools, etc. Forget the losses getting moneygrammed into Michoaca and Oaxaca … the big losses are right here.

We’re trying, Maggie. We’re trying.

_______________________________

UPDATE: USA today has an article and 50-state color-coded map confirming what those with eyes have known for several years:

Mexicans with little education and limited English skills are leading a wave of newly arrived immigrants who are increasingly fanning out from traditional gateway states, Census data released Tuesday indicate.

The dispersal of new immigrants to parts of the Southeast and Midwest that are unaccustomed to foreign-born populations in large numbers may be fueling national concerns about illegal immigration, some population analysts say.

You don’t say?