Troy: Hi I'm actor Troy McClure. You might remember me from such self-help videos as "Smoke Yourself Thin" and "Get Some Confidence, Stupid!"
Posted on 01/31/2007 1:12:31 PM PST by primeval patriot
U.S. District Judge James Cohn has forced a Guatemalan dishwasher to surrender nearly all his life savings to the government because he didn't sign a declaration form before trying to board an airplane.
Pedro Zapeta of Stuart had $59,000 in his bag when Customs agents searched it and confiscated the money at the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport on Sept. 18, 2005. Mr. Zapeta, a 39-year-old Mayan whose native language is Quiche, has said that he was unaware of the requirement to disclose amounts greater than $10,000. On Monday, Judge Cohn ruled that the $10,000 was all that Mr. Zapeta could keep. He must forfeit the rest - $49,000. Mr. Zapeta has no real option for appealing, and is likely to be deported soon.
"It is unconscionable for the government to take that money," said Robert Gershman, Mr. Zapeta's attorney. "They do it because they can. That's the only reason. It's just not right. He could have left with all $59,000 if he had signed the form."
In his six-page ruling, Judge Cohn said that the government had dropped earlier claims that the cash was drug money, and that prosecutors were accusing Mr. Zapeta of a civil currency violation, not a criminal offense. Mr. Gershman argued that Mr. Zapeta should pay a fine of no more than $5,000 for being negligent; he never had flown on a plane. "There is no rule of thumb in these cases," the lawyer said. "They shouldn't just rubber-stamp them with a decision like this."
Mr. Zapeta entered the country illegally 11 years ago and worked as a dishwasher for numerous Stuart restaurants, often holding two jobs at a time for little more than minimum wage. He intended to start a business with relatives upon returning to Guatemala. Mr. Gershman believes that the dishwasher's immigration and social status worked against him: "If Mr. Zapeta were a professional man, or more intellectual, or more mainstream, there's no question that he would not have been treated this way."
This is the guest worker President Bush has in mind when he proposes immigration reform. Pedro Zapeta didn't come to stay. He came to make investment money he can't make back home. Having done so, he was ready to deport himself. Judge Cohn had a chance to make sense out of this bureaucratic bungling. Instead, he displayed little logic and even less compassion.
Ya, but I bet your kid spent more on soft drinks at the video arcade than this guy spent on food. ;~))
It's amazing how much hard working people can save if they are really thrifty and have never gotten into the spending habit.
Not a strawman in the slightest, apart from the fact that to some on FR, saying "strawman" means "I am incapable of addressing your point." I was responding directly to a comment that claims the law was correctly applied. So is it correctly applied to all of us, or not?
America, what a country!
Well, he didn't actually leave with the money...
OK, to rephrase, common among first generation immigrants.
"your kid"
Actually I meant myself. I used to choose cigarettes over food, so maybe not the best example! LOL
No, actually. I volunteer my time to teach ESL in the community. I spend money on it, but have never received a penny for it. No. I will not turn them into the ICE. They work in plain view--in all the restaurants and hotels in our city. If the ICE wants them, they're not hard to find.
Yeah--he's got a lawyer who has lots of 'splainin' to do. To get the cash back, he'll have to prove the money is actually his. For that, he needs things like tax returns and pay stubs, or sworn testimony from employers--LOL. Something tells me this lawyer is not getting his fee.
He's "illegal". FOr many here, that means he got off lucky -- he should have been shot in the back.
And people wonder where some get the idea that conservatives have no soul.
Not a good conservative among them to recognize that you shouldn't have to declare your personal possessions in order to get on an airplane, unless those posessions are dangerous.
Unless someone thinks he was going to hijack the plane by bribing the employees, the money was no danger.
BTW, the idea that "simply declaring the money" was an option is hilarious. The reason the law exists is to raise flags. If he declared $59,000 in cash, he would have been detained, and his life investigated.
The government has the power to take your stuff now, WITHOUT a trial. They can take your car by claiming you are driving slow to solicit prostitutes. They can take your house if your neighbor plants pot in your woods. They can take your money if you forget to tell them about it.
All without judicial review, or any trial. Punishment without justice.
I think we can separate THAT discussion from the discussion of whether a person here illegally should have to forfiet every dime he made while he was here.
Troy: Hi I'm actor Troy McClure. You might remember me from such self-help videos as "Smoke Yourself Thin" and "Get Some Confidence, Stupid!"
"correctly applied to all of us, or not?"
Yes. Whether I agree with the law is a whole 'nother thing.
The example here is an illegal immigrant, not a legal immigrant, with 59k in cash. I doubt said cash is all legal because of his criminality.
That's egg pie!
LOL. True dat.
So fine him, and send him on his merry way. (I really feel badly for this guy...)
Better yet pay the back income taxes due.
He can work hard enough to save $50k but it was too much work to apply for citizenship
I agree, deport him but they shouldn't have stolen his hard earned money. Thevin' bastards.
The second the ICE starts to enforce the law, I've got a long list of Nice White Ladies in golf attire for them. What fun it'd be to see them in the fresh air picking up trash along the Blue Ridge Parkway in natty orange suits.
When I lived in El Paso and Jimmy Carter was president, it was considered low-down and exploitative to keep a "slave" in your spare room. This was the liberal attitude of the day--you hire legal help for a legal wage, or be considered a lowlife exploiter. The Migra liked to stop Nice White Ladies when they drove their maids to and from the Rio Grande--they'd confiscate the cars.
#89 is a pretty good discussion of that law about cash.
Yes! I love "what if's".
What if he claimed married on his tax returns with 5 kids so was getting about $8k from the government free and clear every year?
DEPORT HIM NOW!(and keep all the money)
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