Letters from U.S. cause anxiety

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Citizens for Limited Taxation

Letters from US cause anxiety
Many Brazilians bought illegal IDs September 23, 2004

Lisa Kocian 508-820-4231 Boston Globe West

Everybody in Framingham's Brazilian community is talking about the letters.
Hundreds of letters, according to estimates, are being sent to illegal Brazilian immigrants in the area and around the state who bought Social Security cards illicitly, many of them from a Framingham storefront on Concord Street. The letters inform those who bought the cards that they must report to the Boston office of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Many Brazilians are worried that if they comply they will face immediate deportation, something a government spokeswoman said would not happen in most cases. But many of the immigrants who got such a letter probably will face deportation eventually, said lawyers who specialize in immigration law.
"They are very scared," said Roberto Gaseta, a downtown business owner from Brazil who is now a US citizen. "The majority didn't know they were doing something wrong."
The fallout prompted the Framingham-based Brazilian American Association to hold a meeting for immigrants this week at a VFW hall in Ashland, where participants expressed anxiety about what will happen next.
"It's a very hard situation for everybody," said a 38-year-old Framingham baby sitter whose boyfriend expects to get such a letter. The woman declined to give her name.
A former Framingham businessman who helped orchestrate the card scam was sentenced last year to five years in prison. Karl K. Vasconcelos, a native of Brazil, ran the multimillion-dollar scheme that put 1,700 Social Security cards in the hands of illegal immigrants; about one-third of the cards -- which sold for a reported $2,500 each -- went to people in Massachusetts. The cards were obtained through an employee working for the Social Security Administration in Texas who was sentenced earlier this year to about six years in prison.
Fears are running especially high in Framingham, where there is a high concentration of Brazilian immigrants.
"Around here, every Brazilian is very worried about it," said Lilian Goncalves, who spoke to a reporter at a downtown money-changing store this week. "They would like to turn their situation legal, but it's hard to do that. Everybody's insecure."
Fausto da Rocha, executive director of the Brazilian Immigrant Center in Allston, said the situation in Framingham right now is a "disaster," where rumors have spread of federal immigration officials coming to arrest people.
"People are scared to go to the stores," he said.
Paula Grenier, a spokeswoman for the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement office in Boston, said the investigation into who received the illegal Social Security cards is ongoing, but she said she does not have numbers on how many letters have gone out or how many more will be sent.
"The letters don't mean automatic arrest and deportation," she said. "Each case will be considered on its own merits. If they are found to be in violation of immigration law, they get served with a notice to appear before a federal immigration judge."
Grenier said her office, which is part of the US Department of Homeland Security, has a zero-tolerance policy toward identity fraud, in part because of concerns about terrorism.
"Buyers are as much a part of the problem as counterfeiters and those who make the fake documents," she said.
Grenier did not directly address what would happen to those who don't comply with the letters.
Da Rocha's group has held one information session and plans to schedule more around the area for people who have received the letters. Some letters are being sent to people with deep ties to the area -- many own homes, have families, and run businesses, da Rocha said. He characterized the mass mailing as the biggest issue to arise in the local Brazilian community in several decades.
Other advocates are trying to caution against hysteria.
"It's not like you're going to go into the building and get sucked into a hole and never come out," said Kenneth R. Liebman, an immigration attorney in Sudbury who has received dozens of calls over the last few weeks from people who received the letters, and is already representing several of them.
Liebman and other advocates of immigrants are urging people who received the letter to seek legal advice and to comply by appearing at the Boston immigration office at the assigned date and time. Many people who received the letters will face deportation hearings, but Liebman emphasized that each case is different, and that it would be highly unusual for someone to be sent back to Brazil immediately unless they have a criminal history.
It's much more likely, Liebman said, that they will have to go before an immigration judge, and in many cases that could mean that even if they are deported, they would have another year before they must leave the country. In other cases, where the person who received the letter is already in the process of getting family or employer sponsorship to stay in the country legally, the chances of being deported are reduced, local lawyers said.
Vasconcelos's office went to a lot of trouble to look legitimate, Liebman said. It was directly across the street from a real Social Security office and used genuine applications, as well as business cards and signs that made it look like an official government office. Many sought Social Security cards to get driver's licenses.
"These people were snookered," Liebman said. "Numerous people have expressed to me that they never expected there to be corruption in the US government and they didn't know anything different."

Letters from US cause anxiety Many Brazilians bought illegal IDs	September 23, 2004
Lisa Kocian 508-820-4231	Boston Globe West
Everybody in Framingham's Brazilian community is talking about the letters. Hundreds of letters, according to estimates, are being sent to illegal Brazilian immigrants in the area and around the state who bought Social Security cards illicitly, many of them from a Framingham storefront on Concord Street. The letters inform those who bought the cards that they must report to the Boston office of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Many Brazilians are worried that if they comply they will face immediate deportation, something a government spokeswoman said would not happen in most cases. But many of the immigrants who got such a letter probably will face deportation eventually, said lawyers who specialize in immigration law. "They are very scared," said Roberto Gaseta, a downtown business owner from Brazil who is now a US citizen. "The majority didn't know they were doing something wrong." The fallout prompted the Framingham-based Brazilian American Association to hold a meeting for immigrants this week at a VFW hall in Ashland, where participants expressed anxiety about what will happen next. "It's a very hard situation for everybody," said a 38-year-old Framingham baby sitter whose boyfriend expects to get such a letter. The woman declined to give her name. A former Framingham businessman who helped orchestrate the card scam was sentenced last year to five years in prison. Karl K. Vasconcelos, a native of Brazil, ran the multimillion-dollar scheme that put 1,700 Social Security cards in the hands of illegal immigrants; about one-third of the cards -- which sold for a reported $2,500 each -- went to people in Massachusetts. The cards were obtained through an employee working for the Social Security Administration in Texas who was sentenced earlier this year to about six years in prison. Fears are running especially high in Framingham, where there is a high concentration of Brazilian immigrants. "Around here, every Brazilian is very worried about it," said Lilian Goncalves, who spoke to a reporter at a downtown money-changing store this week. "They would like to turn their situation legal, but it's hard to do that. Everybody's insecure." Fausto da Rocha, executive director of the Brazilian Immigrant Center in Allston, said the situation in Framingham right now is a "disaster," where rumors have spread of federal immigration officials coming to arrest people. "People are scared to go to the stores," he said. Paula Grenier, a spokeswoman for the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement office in Boston, said the investigation into who received the illegal Social Security cards is ongoing, but she said she does not have numbers on how many letters have gone out or how many more will be sent. "The letters don't mean automatic arrest and deportation," she said. "Each case will be considered on its own merits. If they are found to be in violation of immigration law, they get served with a notice to appear before a federal immigration judge." Grenier said her office, which is part of the US Department of Homeland Security, has a zero-tolerance policy toward identity fraud, in part because of concerns about terrorism. "Buyers are as much a part of the problem as counterfeiters and those who make the fake documents," she said. Grenier did not directly address what would happen to those who don't comply with the letters. Da Rocha's group has held one information session and plans to schedule more around the area for people who have received the letters. Some letters are being sent to people with deep ties to the area -- many own homes, have families, and run businesses, da Rocha said. He characterized the mass mailing as the biggest issue to arise in the local Brazilian community in several decades. Other advocates are trying to caution against hysteria. "It's not like you're going to go into the building and get sucked into a hole and never come out," said Kenneth R. Liebman, an immigration attorney in Sudbury who has received dozens of calls over the last few weeks from people who received the letters, and is already representing several of them. Liebman and other advocates of immigrants are urging people who received the letter to seek legal advice and to comply by appearing at the Boston immigration office at the assigned date and time. Many people who received the letters will face deportation hearings, but Liebman emphasized that each case is different, and that it would be highly unusual for someone to be sent back to Brazil immediately unless they have a criminal history. It's much more likely, Liebman said, that they will have to go before an immigration judge, and in many cases that could mean that even if they are deported, they would have another year before they must leave the country. In other cases, where the person who received the letter is already in the process of getting family or employer sponsorship to stay in the country legally, the chances of being deported are reduced, local lawyers said. Vasconcelos's office went to a lot of trouble to look legitimate, Liebman said. It was directly across the street from a real Social Security office and used genuine applications, as well as business cards and signs that made it look like an official government office. Many sought Social Security cards to get driver's licenses. "These people were snookered," Liebman said. "Numerous people have expressed to me that they never expected there to be corruption in the US government and they didn't know anything different."

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