Do you consider people who aid and abet or sell fake documents to illegals criminals or humanitarians?

Question

These who aid and abet illegals are claiming to always be breaking laws to help the poor illegal aliens, do you believe it to be for humanitarian reasons or are these people out to make money off illegals?
Should they be excused from their criminal actions because they whine they are doing it for humanitarian reasons?
Should all who aid and abet any illegal be prosecuted?


Man ordered to prison for selling fake documents to undocumented immigrants

By Melinda Rogers

The Salt Lake Tribune

Published Jan 3, 2011 05:12PM
Updated 4 minutes ago Updated Jan 3, 2011 08:44PM


Martin says he is a humanitarian who wanted to help undocumented immigrants get the same chance to work in the U.S. that he had been afforded when arriving legally from El Salvador years ago.

The U.S. District Attorney’s Office says Contreras-Parada is a criminal who manufactured more than 1,000 fake immigrant visas, permits, green cards, border crossing cards and other documents in a business venture where he profited from undocumented immigrants’ desperation to find papers allowing them to work after crossing the border illegally.

The two theories collided in federal court on Monday, where Contreras-Parada was sentenced to serve 41 months in a federal prison after pleading guilty in October to felony fraud with identification documents and selling firearms to a felon. He was indicted by a federal grand jury in January 2010.

Contreras-Parada’s case landed in court after he became one of the first arrests made by the Utah Attorney General’s Office SECURE Strike Force, established in June 2009 to target crime by undocumented immigrants. The strike force — financed by a two-year, $1.2-million grant from federal stimulus funds — includes a fraudulent documents identification unit.

Authorities found 36 hologram laminates for making fake alien registration receipt cards, 183 blank Social Security cards, 13 fake complete Social Security cards and 61 partial alien registration receipt cards. They also found cutting tools, fingerprint pads, glue, lamination papers and photographs when they served a search warrant on Contreras-Parada’s West Valley City home in August 2009.

The strike force found evidence that he had manufactured and was prepared to create more than 1,000 fake documents, said Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Jacob Taylor.

Contreras-Parada, 46, told U.S. District Judge Tena Campbell that he only sold the documents as a way to help undocumented immigrants, some of whom were living in overcrowded apartments in Salt Lake County with no way to make a living.

Contreras-Parada also admitted to selling a Glock 21 .45-caliber semiautomatic pistol to an immigrant who feared a person he hired to sneak him into the country illegally might cause him harm.

“There are people who live here that live in a little apartment and can’t get ahead. I didn’t make any riches in the sale. I sold them to people who needed them to work,” Contreras-Parada said before Campbell handed down his prison sentence.

“I didn’t harm anyone. I didn’t sell drugs or make anyone sick. I helped people who wanted to support their families.”

Campbell said she would weigh Contreras-Parada’s years of working in the community as a legal resident into his sentence. Contreras-Parada’s wife, son and daughter attended his hearing in support.

But Campbell also told him that his crimes are “serious” and said the number of false documents recovered in his home by investigators was troubling.

Contreras-Parada responded that some in law enforcement who arrested him likely had ancestors who immigrated to the U.S. at one point “without papers.” He acknowledged he broke the law but said he did it for good reason.

“They were very poor people who asked me for help,” he said.

Taylor said that Contreras-Parada owned rental property with his wife to earn income outside of the document mill. His wife worked in a factory, he said.

Contreras-Parada’s attorney, Alexander John Helfer of the Sandy-based Tejada Law Firm, said his client’s ability to stay in the country once he finishes his prison term may be in jeopardy. Contreras-Parada had status as a lawful permanent resident but could be processed for deportation to El Salvador as a result of his convictions.

www.sltrib.com

Answer 1

They are criminals! There is no such thing as helping the poor scumbag illegal alien criminals, send their criminal butts back to where they came from we don't want them here in the US.



If it were up to me I would put the US Military on our border with orders to shoot dead anyone crossing our borders illegally.

Answer 2

"

Martin says he is a humanitarian who wanted to help undocumented immigrants get the same chance to work in the U.S. that he had been afforded when arriving legally from El Salvador years ago. "

-I wonder if he helped any illegal immigrant or just the hispanic ones? I bet only hispanics.



-He broke the law, he should be convicted and he should lose his residency status.



"There were Christians and Germans who helped the Jews escape during the wars either by hiding them or giving them fake documents so technically the Jews were illegals and these people were breaking the laws at the time."

-Entirely different situation and the US would absolutely grant asylum to Mexicans fleeing from a government sponsored genocide in Mexico, that isn't happening. The people illegally in the US are not facing persecution anywhere close to that which the Jews faced in the holocaust. If it was, I think they'd be trying to get out of the US, not in, no?

Gee, asking potential immigrants to follow the law of the country they want to live in, SUCH persecution!

Answer 3

Yes there criminals. If U can't do the time than don't do the crime. They all know what can happen when they try and sneak into the USA with the help of a criminal some get raped or murdered. That's the risk they take so feeling bad for criminals when they had a choice they gambled and lost. Arrest all of the illegals and deport them.Justice

Answer 4

Most people that have access and the resources to manufacture fake US ID's are US Citizens, and I have yet to hear any of them say that they are helping illegals out. They are criminals looking to scam the people that think they are doing the right thing....they just want easy money!



Here's a little about Immigration Scams my friend:



Being in a foreign country and not knowing the language can make immigrants more vulnerable to immigration scams. Immigrants may sometimes have difficulty distinguishing between individuals who provide legitimate immigration services and those that do not. It is easy for non-legit individuals to lease office space and set up what appears to be a legitimate business.



Others set up more informal offices in their homes. Illegal immigrants may turn to someone they believe is an immigration consultant and seek legal advice from someone who is not qualified. These immigration consultants may on the surface appear to be giving legitimate advice and may even offer to fill out immigration forms. Illegal immigrants may be tricked into thinking that they qualify for certain immigration programs when in reality they do not.



While the law prohibits fraudulent behavior, such as immigration scams, there are many that still get away with committing fraud. Some illegal immigrants are willing to speak out when they are victims of scams, but others are not, sometimes out of fear of deportation. The illegal immigrants may discover afterwards that they were part of a scam, but the immigration consultants may threaten them with deportation or turning them into the police.



Source: http://www.usimmigrationsupport.org/immigrationscams.html

Answer 5

Contreras is just as guilty as the Mother and Daughter team that worked at a bank and stole people's Identities and ruined their credit.





The Real Estate Agent and the V.P. (Mother and Daughter partners in crime)



As a licensed real-estate agent, Cynthia Walker was able use vacant homes as mailing addresses for credit card applications—credit cards that she and her daughter, local bank vice-president Cassidy Janosky, had taken out in other peoples’ names. Walker knew the area well, and kept abreast which neighborhoods had a slow turnover as far as home sales were concerned. Armed with this knowledge, Walker figured out which houses would likely be empty for a while and could be used as a valid mailing address.



Janosky, meanwhile, had the trust of many people financially. She took advantage of that trust, and used it in the worst way—opening up credit cards in people’s names without their permission. Digging through the personal financial files belonging to customers of her local bank was a daily event for her, and never questioned. She was the vice-president, after all!



http://creditidentitysafe.com/profile-of-an-identity-thief/like-mother-like-daughter-partners-in-crime.htm

Answer 6

Criminal Record Search Database : http://www.InfoSearchDetective.com/Help

Answer 7

Let's hope they don't die in their country and we'd not feel bad about them later.

Answer 8

Manufacturing and selling fake documents to anybody is illegal. Just because it might be a person with a Hispanic last name doing it, doesn't make it any more illegal then if it was someone named Todd Johnson.

Answer 9

This is a no-brainer; criminal activity and should be prosecuted.

Answer 10

Many crimes are committed in the name of freedom especially in countries with closed borders, and extreme oppression.



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Answer 11

Criminals, of course. If a neighbor or friend of mine needed to feed his family so he decides to rob a bank and I drive the get away car, I am aiding and abetting and therefore just as guilty as he is.

Answer 12

Why only people that sell to illegals? so are you saying that people that sell fake documents to US Citizens are not criminals?



Did you know that most illegals that carry fake document are victims of ID theft rings, usually ran by US Citizens looking to make a quick dollar?



==================

Anti-Fraud Campaign Against Citizenship Scams Unveiled



TAMPA - Federal officials are warning immigrants to avoid being ripped off by people offering to help them with immigration paperwork.



Sometimes the victims are illegal immigrants who do not have the option of reporting the scam to authorities.



http://www2.tbo.com/content/2008/oct/17/anti-fraud-campaign-against-citizenship-scams-unve/

Answer 13

making or selling fake documents is illegal.

people who do so are making money, if they really cared about their customers they would give these documents away for free, and they don't do that.

Answer 14

The Key word here is ILLEGAL,so naturally it's Criminal