No Terrorist Connection, Just Phony Documents

You'd think the word would get around to the places that illegal aliens get advice, job tips, and false documents: since 9/11 airports are a bad risk for employment. But three Guatemalan men who didn't get the word are facing stiff penalties in the US District Court in Covington, Kentucky.

The three were arrested last month and indicted last Wednesday by a federal grand jury for using or trying to use phony documents to get in to restricted areas at Cincinnati-Northern Kentucky International Airport (KCVG).

The men aren't suspected of being terrorists. They were caught when they applied for worker ID cards and tried to pass false documents: two, bogus Social Security Cards, and the third, a phony Resident Alien card. The worker ID cards would have given the men access to the airside restricted area.

Mario Luis Sanchez De La Cruz and Edgar Roblero-Vasquez have been held without bail since being arrested July 6th. Vidal Jesus-Vazquez has been in custody since July 28th. All three were denied bail after their arrests; as they appear to be in the US illegally, they are considered flight risks.

Like most arrests of Hispanic illegals at airports lately, authorities believe that the men had no other criminal motive but to work without legal papers. But the widespread use of stolen Social Security numbers by illegal aliens causes chaos in the employment records of the legitimate owners of the numbers.

There are at least two other reasons that Federal agents pursue these particular nonviolent lawbreakers. First, proliferation of false documents undermines the entire multimillion-dollar edifice of employee vetting. Second, while individual illegals may not pose a terrorist threat, their illegal status leaves a Sword of Damocles hanging over them -- and renders them highly vulnerable to pressure, whether by terrorists, smugglers, or criminal gangs, all of whom are highly motivated to gain airside access.

The three men each face up to ten years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Even if they are convicted or plead guilty to the most severe charges, they are unlikely to receive such a harsh sentence, but they are certain to be deported.

FMI: www.ice.gov