BORDER AND DEPORTATION NEWS

A six-year investigation into fraudulent US birth certificates has resulting in the indictment or conviction of 14 midwives in South Texas. Immigration officials say parents paid up to $2000 for the false certificates, hoping that when the child turned 21 it could claim US citizenship and legally move the family to the US.  The INS is allowing parents to voluntarily turn in the false certificates without facing criminal charges.  The investigation has led to a dramatic decrease in the number of midwife assisted births, down from a high of 14.3% of all births in the area in 1990 to less than 2% in 1998. 

INS officials are reporting an increase in the number of South Koreans apprehended attempting to cross the US border between Vancouver, Canada and Washington State.  Since 1994, when Canada ended the requirement of a visa for South Koreans to enter the country, the number of apprehensions has steadily risen.  Officials say they are able to stop only about one of every 10 people making the crossing, in large part because that area of the border is often thinly staffed. 

Felony immigrant smuggling charges have been filed against eight crewmembers of an Asian ship for their role in an attempt to bring 54 undocumented Chinese nationals into the US.  Investigators say the 54 people, who were found in the hold of the ship after it docked at the Port of Long Beach, California, paid as much as $55,000 each to be transported to the US.  Each of the eight crewmembers faces up to 10 years in prison and a fine of $150,000.

The San Fernando Cathedral in San Antonio was the site of a special mass on October 31, 1999.  The day, which is Halloween in the US, is the Day of the Dead in the Catholic Church, and the mass commemorated the hundreds of illegal immigrants who have died in obscurity in the past year while attempting to cross the US-Mexico border. 

A permanent resident in Tampa, Florida who was recently under investigation for possible tampering with a local country commission, is now under investigation by the INS for making a false claim of citizenship.  In 1997 he filled out a voter registration form and checked yes when asked whether he was a US citizen.  The man has never voted.  False claims of US citizenship are punishable by up to five years in prison and a $5000 fine.  It is also a basis for deportation.

A van carrying 19 undocumented migrants crashed on Interstate 70 in Utah.  Amazingly, no one was killed, even though the van slid on its side for 800 feet, with the roof of the van coming completely off.  The driver has not been identified, but officials believe he was one of the 19 people who presented themselves as passengers. 

Mexican authorities detained and released a US Border Patrol agent on suspicion that he pursued a man into Mexico and then beat him with nightstick.  Mexico does not allow US officials to enter Mexican territory simply because they are in “hot pursuit,” of a suspect, although US officials have made clear their desire to have such actions authorized.  The Border Patrol is conducting an investigation into the incident, and Mexican officials may press charges. 

Officials along the US-Mexico border have discovered a network of 50 to 60 tunnels beneath the border, used to smuggle people and drugs.  Evidence also suggests that the tunnels are being used to smuggle weapons into Mexico, which has much stricter gun control laws than the US. 

Police investigating a complaint about noise and loud music got more than they expected when they discovered a major document counterfeiting ring in Denver.  They found Social Security cards, immigration documents, driver’s licenses, and identification documents issued by the Mexican government. 

Hayward B. White, an INS agent, has pled guilty to charges of violating a Mexican citizen’s civil rights.  White had attempted to apprehend the person, who escaped only to be caught by another agent shortly thereafter.  White then slapped the Mexican while he was in custody.  He faces a maximum penalty of one year in prison and a fine of $125,000.  He is on administrative leave from the INS, but has not been fired. 

Authorities in both Mexico and the US are investigating a shooting that occurred near the border.  A US Border Patrol agent fired into a group of Mexican migrants after someone began throwing rocks at the agents.  One of the migrants was shot in the leg.  The agent who fired has been placed on administrative leave and the investigation has been turned over to the FBI.  According to the victim and to witnesses to the event, the group fled US soil and was in Mexico at the time of the shooting. 

Just weeks before trial was to begin, two people have pled guilty to charges of smuggling people into the US.  Last August, INS officials found 132 Chinese hidden in the hold of a ship in Savannah, Georgia.  Each of the men claimed to have been acting at the direction of the ship’s owner.  They face up to five years in prison for conspiracy and up to 10 years per person on the smuggling charges.  However, they may receive lesser sentences if they testify in further trials related to the same incident. 

Local police and INS officials in Texas conducted a round-up of 38 undocumented immigrants.  Authorities say the raids and roadblocks were prompted by complaints about dangerous traffic and day-laborers congregating in vacant lots.  Many in the community, however, say the raids were in retaliation for the shooting of a sheriff’s deputy in early October.

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