Posted on 12/26/2007 8:20:13 AM PST by AuntB
Anxiety is rising among local undocumented immigrants who fear they could lose their cars and mobile homes.
Some fears may be unfounded.
It comes as Indiana's Bureau of Motor Vehicles checks its driver's license and state ID card records with a Social Security database.
In November, the bureau sent letters to 206,000 residents whose records didn't match -- a mix of races and situations that included native-born citizens and undocumented immigrants.
If the mismatches aren't resolved by Jan. 31, licenses and ID cards will be revoked.
And since Nov. 7, the BMV has been checking Social Security records before issuing any new driver's licenses, ID cards, permits or titles to cars and mobile homes. That enforces a rule that has been on Indiana's books since 2001.
But the existing titles to cars and mobile homes won't be affected, BMV spokesman Dennis Rosebrough said.
Then again, advocates ask, how do you drive without a license?
The rumors seem especially strong in the Goshen area, where many immigrants live in mobile homes.
"Every single customer that walks in here talks about it," says Sergio Guajardo, sales manager for the Mexicar used-car lots in Goshen and Ligonier.
The Goshen lot has gone two months without selling a single car to its mostly Latino customers. So Mexicar may decide to close the lot in a couple of months, even though the lot opened six years ago and had decent sales until now, Guajardo says.
Some folks return cars they'd bought there, thinking they won't be able to hold onto them, and he adds, "I've been trying to tell people they should try to wait."
Zulma Prieto, editor of the local Spanish language newspaper, El Puente, says people have been acting on incomplete information. She, too, has been looking for clarification as she raises awareness of the possible risks on the radio, in her paper and in a meeting on the issue last week in Goshen.
In South Bend, La Casa de Amistad Director Rebecca Ruvalcaba has spoken with parents who are ridden with anxiety, asking, "What am I going to do? My children are here and are born here."
"I'm encouraging people to remain calm, cool and collected," says the Rev. Christopher Cox, pastor of St. Adalbert Parish in South Bend, which has been trying to document what's happening with the BMV letters.
The fears seem to be compounded by other efforts to crack down on illegal immigration, from workplace raids to new federal policies. Indiana is the 48th state to check its motor vehicle records with a Social Security database.
Real estate agent Alex Lino, who works in Elkhart County, says three people asked him the week before last to put their houses on the market because they feared they would somehow lose the houses. One possible reason, he says, is that the undocumented homeowner could lose his or her driver's license. Without transportation, they rationalize, the owner can't work and pay bills.
Lino says he cautions them to take it easy.
You don't need a valid Social Security number to sign a mortgage. In its place, many lenders accept the federal Individual Taxpayer Identification Number, or ITIN, which enables people to pay taxes when they aren't eligible for a Social Security number.
Rocio Arevalo-Espinosa, who arranges home loans for clients at the nonprofit LaCasa in Goshen, says she has heard of people whose loans were in jeopardy when the bank found the owners used fake Social Security numbers. She also knows of banks that have tried to rework the loan under the client's ITIN instead.
These days, she says, banks want to avoid the foreclosures that have overwhelmed the market.
Some people worry about being deported.
Ruvalcaba said La Casa de Amistad has received a few extra calls from people to draft a letter in case they have to leave the country suddenly. The letter would give power of attorney to a designated friend or family member, who would make decisions about the other person's accounts, vehicles and properties.
At Heart and Hands in Plymouth, Director Rebecca Griffy says she's had more requests to write letters asking that a friend or family member be given guardianship of the person's children if he or she left the country suddenly.
Rafael Ramirez, an Indianapolis attorney who represents mostly Latino clients across the state, says he is researching two ways to gain legal relief for the people affected by the BMV's rules. He says he is looking into either a possible class-action lawsuit or a legal maneuver so people can keep their cars and mobile homes.
He argues that undocumented immigrants have gained local rights because they've bought so many things here -- things that cannot be taken away.
Staff writer Joseph Dits: jdits@sbtinfo.com
ALSO:
FAIR Releasing Major Study on Illegal Immigration Costs in Iowa
Previous State and Private Studies Over-Estimated Tax Receipts and Under-Estimated Costs
DES MOINES, Iowa, Dec. 26 /PRNewswire/ — All across Iowa, as ordinary citizens meet face-to-face with the people who are vying for the nation’s highest political office, the issue of illegal immigration is raised again and again. Polls indicate that illegal immigration is one of the key concerns on the minds of citizens, and that there is overwhelming public support for sensible enforcement of immigration laws.
The Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR) will introduce its timely cost study to the Iowa media at a news conference in Des Moines, in conjunction with the Iowa 2007 Talk Radio Row — a two day event at which 22 of the nation’s leading talk radio hosts will be broadcasting continuously from Des Moines and focusing on immigration.
What: Release of The Costs of Illegal Immigration to Iowans, a new
report detailing the growing burdens associated with illegal
immigration in Iowa.
When: Thursday December 27, 2007 at 11:30 AM CST.
Where: Des Moines Marriott Downtown, 700 Grand Avenue, Des Moines, IA.
Second Floor/Salon F.
Who: Julie Kirchner, Executive Director of FAIR (and an Iowa native)
Jack Martin, Special Projects Director of FAIR, an author of the
study
Iowa Congressman Steve King (R-IA)
Jan Mickelson, Talk Host WHO-AM Des Moines, IA
Contact: Ira Mehlman at 213-700-0407 or Bob Dane at 703-850-2435.
Website: http://www.fairus.org/
http://sev.prnewswire.com/entertainment/20071226/AQW01826122007-1.html
.you can have a job and be on welfare...with muti names
a super citizen
I’ve no sympathy for some one who came here by breaking our laws.
GO HOME to from where you came.
Come back legally and I’ll care about you and your problems.
Now get out/
“Some people worry about being deported.”
LOL
a super citizen A super citizen and a Super Voter...
AMEN Brother!!!
Maybe we should treat illegal immigrants like drug users.
If you lose your ass in the process, you deserve it.
Gee whiz, that’s soooo sad. Lots of native American born people of all races are scared to go into certain parts of their own city for fearing of losing their wallets, purses, bodily integrity, or even lives to these criminal invaders. Some have had to flee their own neighborhoods or have had to quit jobs because of threats made from illegal aliens. How my heart bleeds to hear of the plight of illegals !
shhhhh!
Don’t tell the news media or the worminator.
actually,they know. But live in fear too
They should have done this all over the nation from the get-go.
Or {American citizen} drunk drivers.
That does not make her a resident or citizen!
Undocumented homeowner???? With a driver license? WTF? Can we get any more pukey PC? This really yanks my chain.
When I bought my home in KY last year I had to sign 10 pages of documents swearing my legality and provide all kinds of proof that I am legit American. How in hell do these people get mortgages?? There absolutely has to be serious shenanigans by these institutions. We have people in the lending & real estate industries that ought to be in jail.
..your taking away OUR laws and taxes pinhead, no one ever mentions what citizens lose, what we pay,....and there is no such thing as "local rights"..oh by the way Raffie....dial #2 for ENGLISH
“That enforces a rule that has been on Indiana’s books since 2001.”
“The Goshen lot has gone two months without selling a single car to its mostly Latino customers. So Mexicar may decide to close the lot in a couple of months, even though the lot opened six years ago and had decent sales until now, Guajardo says.”
2 + 2 = 4? Still?
But they break into the house and start cleaning it, washing the dishes, tend the gardens, doing odd jobs and fixing up the place - we should hold them in higher regards than the native born meth-head and the six-child welfare queen just because they were “born here.”
If we got rid of all the illegal immigrants, we’d be begging them to come back in less than a month.
Total BS.
Deep, fresh, stinking BS.
..it's called FRAUD bimbo...what about the citizen who's ID gets all screwed up and has to cough up thousands to straighten out their lives because the "people" you know commit a crime.... what about those unfortunate people? People in cities where that happens should sue the local government for aiding and abetting a criminal activity...from the mayor to the police chief
No, you would be begging them to come back. I wash my own dishes and do my own yard. You should try it insead of volunteering to give my country away to your cheap labor.
No; we'd be INVITING them back, pointing out the rules, asking for ALLEGIANCE to what we believe in as a Country, and requiring that they obey ALL laws.
Not at all the same as "begging them to come back", IMHO.
If you think you’ll miss them that much, you could always go with them.......or you could learn to wash your own dishes or mow your own grass.
Murderes fear getting caught.
Rapists fear getting caught.
Muggers fear getting caught.
Gee, if they also fear getting caught, maybe they should also get amnesty and afree ride. Why give a free ride to just one set of criminals?
. <-— See that? That’s the world’s smallest violin that I’m playing right now.
In other news...
Citizens worried about losing their identity due to Social Security fraud and identity theft by Illegal Aliens.
Details at 10.
Here is a very disturbing story of victims of illegal immigration I recieved by email.
Many of us have heard the often repeated phrase, “They are just looking for a better life” referring to the illegal aliens flooding into the U.S. That may be true for some — we don’t know — but for some it is absolutely false. Case in point — our family’s experience with an illegal alien.
The date: October 7, 2007. Place: 18th Ave. and Anson St., Marshalltown, Iowa . Event: An illegal alien with a fake driver’s license ran 2 stop signs, crossed 3 lanes, and broadsided us at a high rate of speed and rolled our van over. My Mother: Dead. My husband: Broken back, broken hand, 4 broken ribs, many lacerations including glass still embedded in his face. My Dad: Eight crushed ribs, abdominal injuries and surgery, dead spouse. Myself: Dead Mother, lacerations, broken ribs. Another passenger with us — lacerations.
Now for the consequences. For the illegal alien driving — a stop sign violation. The fine—$0 . Apparently when one is looking for a better life there is no money for fines! For the owner of the vehicle allowing someone to drive without a license — fines and court costs totaling $182. Apparently ICE (Immigration Customs Enforcement) took the driver and we assume she was deported. We have no closure as we don’t even know what happened to the woman who killed my mother. The court record states that she no longer requires supervised probation (for a prior charge) since she is out of the country. We do wonder if she is back in the US with new fake papers. We probably will never know. When others have been deported we hear wailing about families being separated. Our family was broken. In our case the illegal alien was into family disruption — our family. So we are left holding the bag — medically, emotionally and financially.
The consequences for our family have been somewhat higher! Already the medical costs are approaching a half million dollars. The amount of pain, both physical and emotional is beyond description. Family and friends have to deal with the loss of my mother — a very vibrant and active woman. My Dad has lost his soul mate and now lives with us as he recovers. Dad spent 2 weeks at the University of Iowa and endured surgery, ICU and unbelievable pain. My husband had surgery for his broken back, spent 2 weeks in the hospital and now 2 months after surgery is still working hard to recover. The lifelong implications are still unknown. I took a month off work and still provide care for my Dad and husband. As for the teen with us — who knows what the psychological consequences are? Plus the amount of paperwork for insurance is nearly a fulltime job. Another hidden cost is the disability that my husband’s employer pays while he can’t work.
So the next time you hear the phrase “they’re just looking for a better life”, you might just wonder at whose expense. We accessed the Iowa Court online public information. What a list of charges we found for the driver and the owner of the vehicle that hit us. There was a long list including but not limited to methamphetamine, OWI twice, assault causing bodily injury, child endangerment — multiple charges, passing a stopped school bus, disorderly conduct, failure to have a valid license — the driver of the vehicle (to solve that she got a fake license), failure to have a valid license (multiple charges for the owner of the vehicle), serious assault, no insurance, failure to have vehicle registration, etc. When illegal aliens break the law to get into the US why should anyone be surprised when they continue to break laws?
I do feel sorry for the families fleeing a totalitarian type of government. Our forefathers were there more than 200 years ago. Our answer was to throw off the yoke and make this country a good place to live. I suggest these illegal aliens use their energy to do the same in their home country.
At this point many yell the word “racist”. Not so. Our family understands how to legally bring someone to the US. We adopted 4 children from other countries. We followed all the rules — getting fingerprinted at the police station, filling out numerous documents, paying all fees — in other words, following the laws of the US. Our first international adoption was in 1974 and at that time all aliens had to report to the post office to show the alien registration card yearly. Of course, we did that as it was the law.
We also fostered children from other countries who came to the US for medical care. Paperwork was difficult, but again we did it. I can’t imagine trying to sneak them into the US even though some came for lifesaving open heart surgery. There is a process in place for coming to the US whether it’s for adoption, immigration or even a tourist visa.
There were some good parts in the past few bleak months. The tremendous outpouring of love, support, and prayers from many friends and relatives was unbelievable. The local police have been fantastic — they are brilliant and caring. What a comfort Marshalltown Police Officer Rick Lang was at the Emergency Room. An off duty policeman (Officer Hanken) arrived soon after the accident and was a godsend to me as he took over attending to my Mom before the EMT’s arrived. That let me help others injured in our van. The firefighters came with the “jaws of life”. So many at MMSC and the University of Iowa Hospital were wonderful. After 2 weeks in the hospital, my husband needed medical equipment — walker, wheelchair, etc. We were so surprised that we could borrow the items from Hellberg’s Jewelry Store — they store and check out the items for the American Legion Post # 46. Friends brought food and offered to help in any way they could. Many put us on prayer chains. Ladies who didn’t even know me hand made a prayer shawl. Our children appeared to do all fall yard work, firewood for the winter, etc. Neighbors tended to our home while we were gone. The list goes on and on.
As for the rest of the story — we continue to heal and grieve. We count our blessings for what we still have. As for the people responsible for our grief — you may wonder if they ever contacted us to express any sorrow. The answer is no. Perhaps they were busy “looking for a better life”.
“Now if California would do it, oh, wait. Nobody will be left in the State.”
Perhaps the refugees from California that were driven out into surrounding states would return home?
Speak for yourself.
No one was clamoring for illegal aliens to clean our houses and tend our gardens, etc before they came here, so why should they be missed?
Besides, your scenario is completely theoretical. We aren’t going to “get rid of all the illegal immigrants” and everyone knows it, especially the immigrants themselves.
—”.....immigrants have gained local rights because they’ve bought so many things here — things that cannot be taken away.”—
Sorry Pedro, no dice. If those items were purchased with money from an illegal activity, they most certainly CAN be.
“But they break into the house and start cleaning it, washing the dishes, tend the gardens, doing odd jobs and fixing up the place - we should hold them in higher regards than the native born meth-head and the six-child welfare queen just because they were “born here.”
They still broke in, their still illegal, deport their stinkin’ carcasses back to whatever hell they invaded from!
>>>He argues that undocumented immigrants have gained local rights because they’ve bought so many things here — things that cannot be taken away.<<<
Tell me that sentence doesn’t make the hair on the back of your neck stand up.
The first thing that just packs a wallop is the notion that you can gain (or, presumably, lose) rights by simply buying stuff. I’ve always thought that rights were God-given to each individual at birth, and that government can only negate those rights by its actions.
What are “local rights” and how do they differ from rights mentioned in the Constitution? Is a driver’s license, a mortgage, buying a car (all purchases mentioned in the article) a local right?
The last clause, taken by itself, is a threat. The clause conveys the basic human tribal instinct - I’m here, and now it’s mine. The subtext here is that Mexicans can purchase more land for Mexico one subdivision lot at a time. We paid the French for the Mississippi valley and the Russians for Alaska, so as an instrument of taking new land, why not?
I also absolutely love the concept of an “undocumented” immigrant. I always get this image of Claude Raines coming up to me on a foggy street and telling me, “Your documents, monsieur.”
Sadly, it looks we’re really screwed if this stuff is going on in Indiana. I can’t see anyone making the argument that the Ohio River Valley is part of the Reconquista.
I live in Northern IN, and I can attest to the fact that there are some places I don’t even go to anymore. Goshen is one such town.
It has been overrun by illegals.
The Spanish held White Pigeon Michigan for a day once so I guess that means Mexico gets that too.
ping
If we got rid of all the illegal immigrants, we’d be begging them to come back in less than a month.
:::::::::::
You are a disgrace. A sack of used food.
Don't take this too far now. Next thing you'll be wanting us to let our "distinctly native American criminal class" off the hook.
“If we got rid of all the illegal immigrants, we’d be begging them to come back in less than a month.”
Perhaps not beg but we will notice.
First they will go home slowly over time. The trend will be a lot like the way they came.
One thing unspoken is how would the country behave if we had to face the truth of low non immigrant birthrates?
Many cities have increasing population but almost all of it is non white everywhere. Without the massive influx of Mexicans, at some point the “public” discussion might change to “How do we save our city.”
Family size is one of the taboos that is not allowed to be spoken. If we don’t have any kids and have all the females work full time and never take the time to have more than one child, then will have to replace our population with immigrants.
In truth we need to have more children and abort none of the 10 million or so that we have to date.
I got one of those letters. My SS card didn’t match my DL (long story involving my mother changing my middle name without changing it on my SS card when I was a kid). Anyway, I had to go to court with all sorts of paperwork and $400 to get my name changed to the name I’ve been using for 20+ years. Then I had to go to the SS office (that was fun), then to the DMV (even more fun). And now I am finally who I am again! haha
It was a huge bother and expense, and I had to come up with a lot of paperwork to prove I was born here and am who I say I am. Heaven forbid that the illegal aliens have to play by the rules too.
I got a suggestion:
Start teaching 'em Spanish right now, and take 'em home to Mexico with you!
When illegals leave their trailers behind, who gets the old tires they put on the roofs?
The open borders kooks insist that the illegal immigration issue is nothing like the slavery issue, but the hotter it gets, the more it starts to look just like the slavery issue. Behind it all isn’t some fat, happy, ugly American wanting her lawn mowed. Sure, there are plenty of illegals running around with stolen lawn equipment, looking for work, and plenty of people willing to hire them, but that isn’t why the federal government lets this shame go on. Start arresting employers, and the ugly truth of the matter will come out. They don’t want to be held responsible for their criminal activity, and, most of all, they don’t want to lose their subsidized labor. School districts don’t want to lose the federal money they get for having children of illegals, and universities don’t want to lose the federal grant money they get. If it were just a matter of jobs getting done that Americans don’t want to do, a few pay and benefits changes would fix things, at a lot less cost to the American public than what is being paid now. ...Illegals are a real money maker for business owners who don’t care what kind of problems illegal immigration is causing, and they are a money maker for institutions that are part of the subsidy scam. Same game as slavery, the times, circumstances and beneficiaries are different. Fine and jail the employers, and illegals will run out of jobs and reasons to come. The criminals and drug dealers would still come. Dreamy Mexicans will still long for Aztlan, but the illegals who are searching for a better life could build Mexico’s seaport and work in factories making Chinese cars.
I hate to tell you guys but out in the real world illegal immigrants are the backbone of the Construction, Restaurant and meat/poultry/farm industry.
Without the illegals, construction will stop, restaurants will close down (and those that stay open will have to double their prices), prices in the supermarket will increase.
Finally remember, the GOP answers first and foremost to business. The GOP isn’t going to do a d@mn thing about unless the business world says it’s OK. So you all might just as well accept it and focus your energies someplace else.
Sell out your own. That is what you are. A sellout with a price on your head.
The Free Market has no loyalty to God or Country.
Illegal Immigrants come over here, offer to do a better job for less money. If Patel and Jose can do a better job than Jason or Chad, I’m going to hire Patel and Jose.
The easiest way to end illegal immigration is for the American “worker” to increase their quality.
You are a sell out and no American.
I would rather pay more for a room or meal than pick up something left behind by someone that is here illegally, and hired for slave wages.
When I travel, I feel safer if I sterilize anything I will touch in the hotel room. Eat out? Hardly ever, anymore - and then order soup - or something else that is served very hot. (IMHO, just a suggestion - stay away from the salads)
In CA, there is a place that makes only burgers and fries - all to order (Initials are I and O) and they do not hire anyone that is here illegally. (At least that is what I have read.) All employees are clean, young, fresh, and very good workers. And, guess what? There is always a line to place an order.
Like I said, No one is talking about “Getting rid of all the illegals”. Ain’t gonna happen, ever, not with the current crop of politicians we have now. So any talk of what will happen if ALL the illegals disappeared is pure speculation and hypothetical, with no basis in reality.
Beyond that, my issue is that you seem to not only not have any problem with illegals, you actually seem to support them. Do our immigration laws mean anything, or not?
Rebecca Ruvalcaba
Office/Property Manager (El Pajaro)
Rebecca has coordinated the daily life of El Pájaro CDC (Community Development Corporation) for more than five years. Fluent in Spanish and English, Rebecca is responsible for both the daily operations of the CDC and on-going management of Plaza Vigil. Rebecca is also in charge of managing the Kalich Building, a residential and commercial site located across the parking lot from Plaza Vigil.
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