Law enforcement officials say that illegal immigrants across the country were able to obtain a Missouri driver’s license through an elaborate scheme.
A federal Grand Jury indicted 13 people for helping 3,500 illegal immigrants obtain Missouri driver’s licenses and state identification cards.
Prosecutors say that the people involved made $5.2 million dollars since they started the scheme in 2009. According to the indictment, immigrants across the country paid the defendants $1,500 to $1,600 for a fraudulent birth certificate and social security number in someone else’s name. They would then take the fraudulent papers to the DMV to get identifications. The defendants would accompany the immigrants to the DMV posing as translator to help them through the process.
The people indicted in this scheme face charges of conspiracy, transporting illegal aliens and unlawfully producing identification documents.
Prosecutors stated that they planned to track down the immigrants with the fake document. They face criminal charges and deportation.
Obtaining legal status is complicated and time consuming even with the assistance of an immigration attorney. Navigation the immigration process is complicated especially if you don’t speak English, but an immigration attorney can make it simpler.
For some immigrants, they find it easier to bypass the legal channels for obtaining residency and participate in elaborate schemes, but these actions have consequences which include incarceration and deportation. An immigration lawyer can help fight deportation if you have been otherwise law-abiding.
