Janet Jarman for The New York Times
Spurred by the chance to make extra money, Gerardo Luviano lent his Social Security number to his brother's friend. "I kept almost all the income tax refund," he said.
NY Times front page!
Posted on 06/07/2005 7:08:24 PM PDT by neverdem
TLALCHAPA, Mexico - Gerardo Luviano is looking for somebody to rent his Social Security number.
Mr. Luviano, 39, obtained legal residence in the United States almost 20 years ago. But these days, back in Mexico, teaching beekeeping at the local high school in this hot, dusty town in the southwestern part of the country, Mr. Luviano is not using his Social Security number. So he is looking for an illegal immigrant in the United States to use it for him - providing a little cash along the way.
"I've almost managed to contact somebody to lend my number to," Mr. Luviano said. "My brother in California has a friend who has crops and has people that need one."
Mr. Luviano's pending transaction is merely a blip in a shadowy yet vibrant underground market. Virtually undetected by American authorities, operating below the radar in immigrant communities from coast to coast, a secondary trade in identities has emerged straddling both sides of the Mexico-United States border.
"It is seen as a normal thing to do," said Luis Magaña, an immigrant-rights activist assisting farm workers in the agriculture-rich San Joaquin Valley of California.
The number of people participating in the illegal deals is impossible to determine accurately. But it is clearly significant, flourishing despite efforts to combat identity fraud.
Hundreds of thousands of immigrants who cross the border from Mexico illegally each year need to procure a legal identity that will allow them to work in the United States. Many legal immigrants, whether living in the United States or back in Mexico, are happy to provide them: as they pad their earnings by letting illegal immigrants work under their name and number, they also enhance their own unemployment and pension benefits. And sometimes they charge for the favor.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
Janet Jarman for The New York Times
Spurred by the chance to make extra money, Gerardo Luviano lent his Social Security number to his brother's friend. "I kept almost all the income tax refund," he said.
NY Times front page!
"It is seen as a normal thing to do," said Luis Magaña, an immigrant-rights activist assisting farm workers in the agriculture-rich San Joaquin Valley of California.Cool. I'd like a piece of that action myself. Maybe I can find some richly deserving turbo-jihadi, or Russian mafiosi flesh-peddler, or narco-terrorist enforcer who has cash to launder and needs an identity or two.
Always a scam, They dont miss a trick.
This should give a real boost to our Social Security problem. Wonder if GW considers this while ignoring the Illegal problem?
before I get flamed, I support GW in virtually every cause, but his completely ignoring the illegal immigration issue will only cause him and the country problems now and moreso in the future.
Nah, the Times changed its title. "Some Immigrants Are Offering Social Security Numbers for Rent"
I can't type. I'm not going to become obsessive compulsive about it. It should have been posted as front page news.
According to a speech that Howard Dean gave in San Francisco yesterday, the illegal immgrants haven't broken any laws, so they should be on a path to citizenship!!!
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