Pirate's Cove

The refrain I keep hearing from those who support illegal aliens, of whom I cannot say are only on the Left, since President Bush is on the list, among others, is that they aren't causing any issues to the American economy. No one is being hurt. Really?

BOSTON, Mass., April 5 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — An illegal alien from the Dominican Republic was sentenced today in federal court for Identity Theft in connection with the theft of an Army Sergeant's identity.

United States Attorney Michael J. Sullivan; James P. Ennis, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Department of State; Peter C. Emerzian, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Housing and Urban Development's Office of Inspector General; and Leo J. Sullivan, Inspector General of the U.S. Social Security Administration's Office of Inspector General, announced that ELSA ONDINA HERRERA-MARTINEZ, 32, of East Boston, Massachusetts, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Patti B. Saris to 2 years in prison, to be followed by 3 years of supervised release. Additionally, Judge Saris ordered HERRERA-MARTINEZ to pay restitution to HUD in the amount of $15,651.

On January 5, 2007, a jury convicted HERRERA-MARTINEZ of one count of Aggravated Identity Theft, one count of Theft of Government Funds and one count of Use of Another's Social Security Number. HERRERA-MARTINEZ has been in custody while awaiting sentencing.

Evidence presented during the three-day trial proved that in 2001, HERRERA-MARTINEZ assumed the identity of another woman, who is a Sergeant in the United States Army, without that woman's permission or authorization. That year, HERRERA-MARTINEZ obtained replacement Social Security cards using the victim's name and Social Security Number. Additionally, using that information and by producing other identification cards with the victim's biographical information on it, as well as other identifying documents of the victim, HERRERA-MARTINEZ, who claimed she was a United States citizen, sought and received federally subsidized housing in Roslindale, for a fourteen-month period from April 2005 — May, 2006.

HERRERA-MARTINEZ also faces deportation to her native Dominican Republic upon completion of her prison term.

So, we, the taxpayers of the U.S.A., have to pay for Herrera-Martinez to spend two years in the pokey. Great. And somehow, magically, she has to pay back the money for living in a HUD complex. Furthermore, it would be interesting to see if she is sent back to the Dominican Republic after her jail stay, but, unless she commits murder, you will probably never hear another word of this story.

And what of the Sergeant? What consequences did she have to face? Did she have companies hounding her for delinquent payments that Herrera-Martinez made using possible fraudulent credit cards? Did she have her credit ruined? Because that happens.

Was Herrera-Martinez a danger? Probably not, except economically. But this goes to show that illegals do, in fact, harm specific people, even in a small way. And any one of us could be next.

Trackposted to The Virtuous Republic, Blog At MoreWhat.com, Perri Nelson's Website, 123beta, Adam's Blog, basil's blog, Stuck On Stupid, Cao's Blog, The Bullwinkle Blog, The Amboy Times, Conservative Cat, Jo's Cafe, Pet's Garden Blog, Faultline USA, Woman Honor Thyself, The World According to Carl, Blue Star Chronicles, and The Pink Flamingo, thanks to Linkfest Haven Deluxe.