CaribPR Newswire – With much talk by President Bush and the U.S. Congress about immigration reform and the need for it, Felicia Persaud, immigration columnist and editor of the Caribbean World News Network, is warning Caribbean immigrants to be wary of immigration scams.
Persaud says a number of unscrupulous individuals, bent on wealth gathering rather than on providing real assistance, have been vigorously pushing fake legalization claims in many immigrant communities.
“And desperate, unsuspecting and hardworking undocumented immigrants, anxious to legalize themselves and make a better life for their families here, have unwittingly been handing over thousands of dollars to these fraudsters, who take their monies and deliver nothing in return,” she said.
Persaud cited one such scheme, which was broken by Hardbeatnews in 2004 and squashed by the U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement department, late last month. It involved a Fort Lauderdale organization called the Haitian-American Community Help Organization. HACHO’s executive, Gomez Accime, director was arrested slammed with charges of conspiracy to commit mail fraud mail fraud and presenting false applications for employment authorization.
If convicted, Accime faces a maximum term of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine on the charge of conspiracy to commit mail fraud and a maximum term of imprisonment of twenty years and a $250,000 fine for each of the mail fraud charges.
“The case highlights just one of the many such incidents that pervade the Caribbean and other immigrant communities all across the U.S.,” said Persaud, who also urged undocumented immigrants to protect themselves by becoming educated about the laws.
“The fact is that unless an undocumented immigrant, who came into this country with a visa and overstayed, marries a U.S. citizen or is petitioned for by a citizen parent or child over 21, that person rarely qualifies for a work permit and greencard immediately,” she said. “And if they came in via the backtrack and were not petitioned for by an employer or a relative before April 30, 2001, they do not qualify for any benefits, even if they marry a U.S. citizen tomorrow. The only salvation will come if President Bush and the U.S. Congress passes the Secure America & Orderly Act into law. To date that has not happened, so do not be fooled.”
