Fake Documents
It's Too Easy To Cross the Border
By Daniel Muniz

For an illegal alien to legitimately enter this country, all he or she really needs is some kind of official looking document to present at a border crossing. Although it has become increasingly difficult to fool Custom officials because 9/11 made government agencies far more vigilant, there are still hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants who frequently use counterfeit identification to illegally gain entry into the United States. They also use these bogus documents to eventually gain employment and settle down.

However, if the identification that an illegal immigrant presents at the border is real and the photograph somewhat resembles the person using it, then it becomes quite easy to dupe a Custom’s officer. Using a genuine but stolen identity is now becoming commonplace because of the likelihood that Custom agents will not question authentic documents if the physical appearance and the photo are close enough.

But the bottom line is that complete enforcement is not feasible. Using counterfeit identification or someone else’s stolen identity is still the easiest way to come to the United States.

For example, at the border crossings at Juarez Mexico to El Paso Texas, there are more than 100,000 people who utilize it every day. It is impossible for Custom officials to catch all the fraudulent documents or the illegal immigrants who are using someone else’s identification.

Additionally, there are so many other border crossings that are inundated with people using official looking but bogus documents. The gargantuan scale for this crime makes it impossible to effectively enforce.

But even with limited resources, border agents are doing what they can but there is just no way to plug all the holes in the system. As a country, we need better technology, more effective legislative mandates, and a real infrastructure to deal with the countless illegal aliens who casually enter the United States.

Right now, the biggest holes are counterfeit and stolen authentic IDs.

On the Mexican side of the border, it is ridiculously easy for anyone to obtain these documents.

In Juarez Mexico, producers from NBC News stood right in front of a border bridge to El Paso and they were immediately approached numerous times by people blatantly hawking driver’s licenses, Social Security cards, green cards, and other documentation. The reason that there are plenty of these vendors is because the demand is so enormous.

And surprisingly, since the identification is expensive, you do not necessarily have to outright buy any of these bogus IDs; you can rent them for about half the cost. Using the “rented” documents, you simply cross the border with an accomplice who then returns back over the border with the IDs.

Of course, there are also plenty of places right here in the United States where there people are brazenly selling someone else’s identification or other fake documents.

In fact, it is very disturbing to see how easy it is for illegal aliens to enter this country with such identification. And worse, it is alarming to see how powerless our government is in identifying the millions of illegal immigrants who effortlessly obtain employment with these kinds of official looking documents. If the ID looks legitimate, then an employer is not obligated to do anything else for verification.

Identity theft is already a huge problem in this country and it is greatly exacerbated by the people who steal identities to sell them to the millions of illegal aliens who want them. It is not uncommon for hundreds of illegal immigrants to be using the same Social Security number.

Although enforcement has improved and thousands of these fraudulent documents have been confiscated, it is nowhere close to being as effective as it should be.

Sting operations have uncovered ring leaders but these efforts are truly miniscule because the demand is so gigantic. Wipe out a handful of these fake ID rings and there will be many more that are ready to take their place because of our massive illegal immigration crisis.

The United States needs to get serious about aggressively stopping illegal immigration.

There are too many gaping holes that allow vast numbers of illegal immigrants to pass through undetected because of these fraudulent documents. It is time to implement real measures that will detect suspicious activity by comparing the ID against national databases.

We live in a high tech society and technology can be leveraged to stop this abuse.

However, the biggest obstacle that we have to overcome is having the leadership needed to bring illegal immigration to a grinding halt. Until that happens, all the best ideas and plans will not get funded or implemented.

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