Thanks to Sharon for this
one. The Crime Families strike again,
this time the Walton’s (Wal-Mart). There
is nothing they won’t do (e.g. Tyson’s, George’s, O.K. Foods, Simmons, et al.)
to make a buck and screw the taxpaying citizens…and they do it with the help of
scofflaw government agencies.
It’s a good and rare thing
for officials to actually arrest and incarcerate illegal alien criminals but it’s
another to ignore other Federal immigration laws. Please see below
our comments & the existing laws in red.
Check
yourself. Find out how RARE mortgages are to people who had no Fed ID or
social security number that also have suspiciously Hispanic names.
And how
do you foreclose on a mortgage to an illegal who has no legal standing?
Or the
Contract for Deed where a straw buyer recontracts to illegals?
Who owns
Arvest Bank? Check Alice Walton of WalMart . . . .
Sharon Stark, Little Rock
Mortgages for illegals to buy houses are OK but rare
in Arkansas
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
By
Mark Minton
Sunday,
January 27, 2008
ROGERS — While Arturo Reyes Jr. sits in jail on
charges of harboring illegal aliens, his wife and co-defendant, Silvia, is
under federal detention at their home – a brick house with a soaring foyer and
a soccer goal in the yard.
There’s also
a hole dug for a backyard pool – a project that may have to wait.
The Reyeses’
plans were upended last month when immigration agents raided the family
business, Acambaro Mexican restaurants.
Prosecutors
are mounting a criminal case and are moving to seize the Reyeses’ home and
other properties they call the fruits of the illegal labor the Reyeses are
accused of using in their restaurants.
(Federal
Immigration and Nationality Act
Section 8 USC 1324(a)(1)(A)(iv)(b)(iii)
“Any
person who . . . encourages or induces an alien to . . . reside . . . knowing
or in reckless disregard of the fact that such . . . residence is . . . in
violation of law, shall be punished as provided . . . for each alien in respect
to whom such a violation occurs . . . fined under title 18 . . . imprisoned not
more than 5 years, or both.”
Section
274 felonies under the federal Immigration and Nationality Act, INA
274A(a)(1)(A):
A
person (including a group of persons, business, organization, or local
government) commits a federal felony when she or he:
*
assists an alien s/he should reasonably know is illegally in the U.S. or who
lacks employment authorization, by transporting, sheltering, or assisting him
or her to obtain employment, or
*
encourages that alien to remain in the U.S. by referring him or her to an
employer or by acting as employer or agent for an employer in any way, or
*
knowingly assists illegal aliens due to personal convictions.
Penalties
upon conviction include criminal fines, imprisonment, and forfeiture of
vehicles and real property used to commit the crime. Anyone employing or
contracting with an illegal alien without verifying his or her work
authorization status is guilty of a misdemeanor. Aliens and employers violating
immigration laws are subject to arrest, detention, and seizure of their
vehicles or property. In addition, individuals or entities who engage in
racketeering enterprises that commit (or conspire to commit)
immigration-related felonies are subject to private civil suits for treble
damages and injunctive relief.
Largely
overshadowed: the bank that holds the mortgages. Arvest Bank in Bentonville is
one of the few banks in Northwest Arkansas where an illegal alien can hope to
get a mortgage loan. (See statute above)
The Dec. 10
raid at Acambaro restaurants in Washington and Benton counties rounded up19
illegal aliens for deportation and landed the Reyeses and two Acambaro managers
in jail on charges that they knowingly hired illegal workers.
Recruitment
and Employment of Illegal Aliens
It
is unlawful to hire an alien, to recruit an alien, or to refer an alien for a
fee, knowing the alien is unauthorized to work in the United States. It is
equally unlawful to continue to employ an alien knowing that the alien is
unauthorized to work. Employers may give preference in recruitment and hiring
to a U.S. citizen over an alien with work authorization only where the U.S.
citizen is equally or better qualified. It is unlawful to hire an individual
for employment in the United States without complying with employment
eligibility verification requirements. Requirements include examination of
identity documents and completion of Form I-9 for every employee hired.
Employers must retain all I-9s, and, with three days’ advance notice, the forms
must be made available for inspection. Employment includes any service or labor
performed for any type of remuneration within the United States, with the
exception of sporadic domestic service by an individual in a private home. Day
laborers or other casual workers engaged in any compensated activity (with the
above exception) are employees for purposes of immigration law. An employer
includes an agent or anyone acting directly or indirectly in the interest of
the employer. For purposes of verfication of authorization to work, employer
also means an independent contractor, or a contractor other than the person
using the alien labor. The use of temporary or short-term contracts cannot be
used to circumvent the employment authorization verification requirements. If
employment is to be for less than the usual three days allowed for completing
the I-9 Form requirement, the form must be completed immediately at the time of
hire.
An
employer has constructive knowledge that an employee is an illegal unauthorized
worker if a reasonable person would infer it from the facts. Constructive
knowledge constituting a violation of federal law has been found where (1) the
I-9 employment eligibility form has not been properly completed, including supporting
documentation, (2) the employer has learned from other individuals, media
reports, or any source of information available to the employer that the alien
is unauthorized to work, or (3) the employer acts with reckless disregard for
the legal consequences of permitting a third party to provide or introduce an
illegal alien into the employer’s work force. Knowledge cannot be inferred
solely on the basis of an individual’s accent or foreign appearance.
Actual
specific knowledge is not required. For example, a newspaper article stating
that ballrooms depend on an illegal alien work force of dance hostesses was
held by the courts to be a reasonable ground for suspicion that unlawful
conduct had occurred.
IT
IS ILLEGAL FOR NONPROFIT OR RELIGIOUS ORGANIZATIONS to knowingly assist an
employer to violate employment sanctions, REGARDLESS OF CLAIMS THAT THEIR
CONVICTIONS REQUIRE THEM TO ASSIST ALIENS. Harboring or aiding illegal aliens
is not protected by the First Amendment. It is a felony to establish a commercial
enterprise for the purpose of evading any provision of federal immigration law.
Violators may be fined or imprisoned for up to five years.
Arturo Reyes Jr. has
pleaded innocent to a three-count indictment alleging he harbored and shielded
illegal aliens by providing them with financial support through employment.
Reyes also is charged with money laundering. He is scheduled for trial Feb. 25
in U.S. District Court. Silvia Reyes has yet to be formally charged.
The family’s
$460,000 home in a gated neighborhood in Rogers stands as the most obvious
symbol of the wealth that prosecutors allege the Reyeses accumulated by
exploiting illegal workers.
The U.S.
attorney’s office in Fort Smith contends the Reyeses should forfeit the house,
the lot next door and nine other properties, including restaurants and a
warehouse, because “they were used in the commission of, or are properties
which were derived from and represent the proceeds of, the concealing or
harboring of an alien or aliens.â€
While an
employer who hands an illegal immigrant a paycheck risks 10 years in prison and
the loss of his property for harboring an illegal alien, a bank that lends an
alien the money to buy a house and settle down in the country is well within
the law. (No, they are not).
Encouraging
and Harboring Illegal Aliens
It
is a violation of law for any person to conceal, harbor, or shield from
detection in any place, including any building or means of transportation, any
alien who is in the United States in violation of law. HARBORING MEANS ANY CONDUCT THAT TENDS TO SUBSTANTIALLY FACILITATE AN
ALIEN TO REMAIN IN THE U.S. ILLEGALLY. The sheltering need not be
clandestine, and harboring covers aliens arrested outdoors, as well as in a
building. This provision includes harboring an alien who entered the U.S.
legally but has since lost his legal status.
An
employer can be convicted of the felony of harboring illegal aliens who are his
employees if he takes actions in reckless disregard of their illegal status,
such as ordering them to obtain false documents, altering records, obstructing
INS inspections, or taking other actions that facilitate the alien’s illegal
employment. Any person who within any 12-month period hires ten or more
individuals with actual knowledge that they are illegal aliens or unauthorized
workers is guilty of felony harboring. It is also a felony to encourage or
induce an alien to come to or reside in the U.S. knowing or recklessly
disregarding the fact that the alien’s entry or residence is in violation of
the law. This crime applies to any person, rather than just employers of
illegal aliens. Courts have ruled that “encouraging” includes
counseling illegal aliens to continue working in the U.S. or assisting them to
complete applications with false statements or obvious errors. The fact that
the alien is a refugee fleeing persecution is not a defense to this felony,
since U.S. law and the UN Protocol on Refugees both require that a refugee must
report to immigration authorities without delay upon entry to the U.S.
The
penalty for felony harboring is a fine and imprisonment for up to five years.
The penalty for felony alien smuggling is a fine and up to ten years’
imprisonment. Where the crime causes serious bodily injury or places the life
of any person in jeopardy, the penalty is a fine and up to twenty years’
imprisonment. If the criminal smuggling or harboring results in the death of
any person, the penalty can include life imprisonment. Convictions for aiding, abetting, or conspiracy to commit alien
smuggling or harboring, carry the
same penalties. Courts can impose consecutive prison sentences for each
alien smuggled or harbored. A court may order a convicted smuggler to pay
restitution if the alien smuggled qualifies as a victim under the Victim and
Witness Protection Act. Conspiracy to commit crimes of sheltering, harboring,
or employing illegal aliens is a separate federal offense punishable by a fine
of up to $10,000 or five years’ imprisonment.
Arvest lent
the Reyes family more than $2 million for houses and restaurant properties that
government prosecutors are now moving to seize, mortgages on file at the Benton
County Courthouse show.
In
each case, the bank made the loans to Arturo Jr. and Silvia Reyes, who
prosecutors have identified as illegal aliens, the documents show. Nearly all of the
mortgages also name family patriarch Arturo Reyes Sr. and his wife, Serafina,
who are legal U.S. residents. The note for the vacant lot next door to the
Reyes house was signed by Arturo Jr. and Silvia alone.
Enforcement
A
person or entity having knowledge of a violation or potential violation of
employer sanctions provisions may submit a signed written complaint to the INS
office with jurisdiction over the business or residence of the potential
violator, whether an employer, employee, or agent. The complaint must include
the names and addresses of both the complainant and the violator, and detailed
factual allegations, including date, time, and place of the potential
violation, and the specific conduct alleged to be a violation of employer
sanctions. By regulation, the INS will only investigate third-party complaints
that have a reasonable probability of validity. Designated INS officers and
employees, and all other officers whose duty it is to enforce criminal laws,
may make an arrest for violation of smuggling or harboring illegal aliens.
State
and local law enforcement officials have the general power to investigate and
arrest violators of federal immigration statutes without prior INS knowledge or
approval, as long as they are authorized to do so by state law. There is no
extant federal limitation on this authority. The 1996 immigration control
legislation passed by Congress was intended to encourage states and local
agencies to participate in the process of enforcing federal immigration laws.
Immigration officers and local law enforcement officers may detain an
individual for a brief warrantless interrogation where circumstances create a
reasonable suspicion that the individual is illegally present in the U.S.
Specific facts constituting a reasonable suspicion include evasive, nervous, or
erratic behavior; dress or speech indicating foreign citizenship; and presence
in an area known to contain a concentration of illegal aliens. Hispanic
appearance alone is not sufficient. Immigration officers and police must have a
valid warrant or valid employer’s consent to enter workplaces or residences.
Any vehicle used to transport or harbor illegal aliens, or used as a
substantial part of an activity that encourages illegal aliens to come to or
reside in the U.S. may be seized by an immigration officer and is subject to
forfeiture. The forfeiture power covers any conveyances used within the U.S.
Tax
Crimes
Employers
who aid or abet the preparation of false tax returns by failing to pay income
or Social Security taxes for illegal alien employees, or who knowingly make
payments using false names or Social Security numbers, are subject to IRS
criminal and civil sanctions. U.S. nationals who have suffered intentional
discrimination because of citizenship or national origin by an employer with
more than three employees may file a complaint within 180 days of the
discriminatory act with the Special Counsel for Immigration-Related Unfair
Employment Practices, U.S. Department of Justice. In additon to the federal
statutes summarized, state laws and local ordinances controlling fair labor
practices, workers compensation, zoning, safe housing and rental property, nuisance,
licensing, street vending, and solicitations by contractors may also apply to
activities that involve illegal aliens.
Arvest is
one of a small number of banks that make mortgage loans to customers who don’t
have Social Security numbers and thus could be illegal aliens, according to an
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette survey of 26 banks in Washington and Benton counties.
The two counties are home to most of the state’s Hispanic immigrants.
Arvest
spokesman Jason Kincy declined to discuss the Reyes mortgages, saying he
couldn’t discuss a customer’s business.
But he said
mortgages extended to borrowers without Social Security numbers make up a “very
small†portion of Arvest’s mortgage portfolio and that the bank complies with
all federal rules on mortgages.
“We’re well
within the regulations to make those loans,†Kincy said. (Not so, see statutes above)
Of the 18
banks that responded to the newspaper’s survey, only Arvest and ANB Financial
in Rogers said they don’t automatically disqualify borrowers who cannot show a
valid visa or other proof of residency.
ITIN
MORTGAGES
Instead of
the usual Social Security numbers, banks may make the loans on the basis of an
Individual Taxpayer Identification Number. The Internal Revenue Service issues
the nine-digit taxprocessing number to individuals who don’t qualify for Social
Security numbers but earn income in the United States. It’s a way for the
federal government to collect taxes from them.
Some banks
make mortgage loans to customers with Individual Taxpayer Identification
Numbers, and some do not. In Northwest Arkansas, banks that make the loans take
various approaches.
“We do not
offer ITIN mortgages except in very, very rare cases,†said Terry Francisco, a
spokesman for Bank of America. “Let’s say someone is a French citizen and they
want to buy a second home in the U.S. We might consider that,†he said.
At Regions
Bank, Keith Smith said a borrower who can showlegal residency can get a
mortgage under a taxpayer-identification number. “As long as the consumer has a
work visa, which means, generally speaking, that they’re not going to have a
Social Security number, then we do have some ways. But you’ve got to show a
work visa.â€
Most banks
surveyed said they do not make mortgage loans to customers without Social
Security numbers. A few, such as Priority Bank, said they haven’t adopted a
policy because no one has ever showed up wanting such a mortgage.
A handful of
banks didn’t return calls inquiring about their policies.
At First
Security, based in Searcy, vice president Kathryn Sims said the mortgage
department once made the loans but gave up because they weren’t worth the
trouble.
“We may have
made one or two, and then discovered just how much was involved with them,†she
said.
Such mortgages
make up a tiny share of the mortgage market, bankers and regulators say.
Banks
typically don’t promote the loans, which can be contentious.
Critics said
the mortgages encourage illegal immigration, and banks should stop making them.
“It’s been
illegal to hire undocumented workers in the U.S.,†said Bob Dane, spokesman for
the Federation for American Immigration Reform. “But under the current laws, it
is not illegal for a bank to provide a mortgage. But that doesn’t make it
right, and it doesn’t mean that the practice is helping us get illegal
immigration under control.â€
At the
Center for Immigration Studies, which favors less immigration, spokesman Bryan
Griffith said the bank rules don’t square with the nation’s efforts to round up
and deport illegal immigrants and arrest employers.
“It’s a
mixed message,†he said. “Basically what the government says is, once you get
through the border control’s buffer, you are very unlikely to be caught. You
can get a job; you can get a bank account; you can get a mortgage and never be
caught.â€
‘AN
OPTION’
Bankers and
bank regulators say it’s not their job to enforce immigration laws. (See the clearly written laws cited here)
Arvest,
owned by the Walton family of Bentonville, is only following a path that
federal banking laws and regulations plainly set out, Kincy said. He said the
bank’s policy is also in keeping with its efforts not to discriminate.
“We don’t
have an aggressive push to go after those loans,†he said. “But as customers
come to us, that’s an option we can provide.â€
Arvest
requires that borrowers meet the requirements of IRS information-reporting
regulations, he said.
Asked if the
bank would make a mortgage loan to a borrower who openly disclosed he was an
illegal alien, Kincy said lending money to illegal aliens wasn’t the goal of
the bank.
Arvest’s
mortgage applications ask prospective borrowers to check “yes†or “no†if they
are a legal U.S. citizen or a permanent resident, he said.
He added,
however, that “loan requests may not be denied solely due to a person not being
a U.S. citizen or a resident alien.â€
ANB
Financial, formerly known as Arkansas National Bank, has a similar approach.
The bank originates Individual Taxpayer Identification Number loans under a
program offered by Bank of Bartlett, a Memphis area bank that aggregates and
services such loans, said Mary Alice Granata, vice president of real-estate
operations for ANB.
She said ANB
follows the guidelines for the Bank of Bartlett’s program, which aims “to help
America’s immigrant and un-banked populations attain home-ownership.â€
Under
“Eligible Borrowers,†the guidelines list only “nonpermanent resident aliensâ€
and “citizens and permanent residents†– people in the country legally. But the
guidelines add that “proof of legal residency is not required.â€
Granata said
ANB has made only “three or four†mortgages under the program.
LOANS
ACCEPTABLE
Kevin Mukri,
spokesman for the Comptroller of the Currency, which regulates federal banks,
said they are well within their bounds to make mortgage loans to illegal
aliens.
“The bank
does not enforce immigration policy for the United States,†Mukri said.
Although the
USAPATRIOT Act requires banks to “know their customer†and verify IDs, it
specifically authorizes the use of either an Individual Taxpayer Identification
Number or a Social Security number, he said.
It’s wrong
to assume that everyone showing up for a loan without a Social Security number
is an illegal alien, he noted. “Some people for religious reasons won’t have a
Social Security number,†he said. “Some are on student visas.â€
One reason
more banks don’t make mortgage loans to those without Social Security numbers
has nothing to with immigration. The loans aren’t easy to sell, said Anna
Paulson, a researcher in the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago’s Center for the
Study of Financial Access for Immigrants.
Fannie Mae
and Freddie Mac, government-sponsored companies that buy mortgages to help the
market work, won’t buy such mortgages, Paulson said.
At Legacy
National Bank, Ray Segura, vice president of lending, said he was discouraged
by the high interest rates typically charged to such borrowers.
“I don’t
believe in gouging people’s eyes out,†he said.
Segura said
his bank had an interest in making the loans but couldn’t find an investor to
buy them.
Arvest, the
state’s largest bank and No. 1 mortgage lender, keeps 98 percent of the
mortgages it makes, so it doesn’t face that obstacle.
No one
answered the door of the Reyes home on a recent afternoon, and an attempt to
secure an interview through an intermediary failed.
The mortgage
documents show that Arturo Reyes Sr., Serafina Reyes, Arturo Reyes Jr. and
Silvia Reyes took out a $418,500 15-year mortgage on their house in Rogers in
June 2006.
Arvest
charged an initial rate of 8 percent, well above the national average of 6.3
percent for 15-year fixed mortgages at the time, according to Freddie Mac.
After five
years, the rate was to reset to an adjustable rate floating above an index
based on U.S treasury prices. A cap set the maximum rate at 14 percent.
Front
Section, Pages 1, 11 on 01/27/2008
RICO
— Citizen Recourse
Private
persons and entities may initiate civil suits to obtain injunctions and treble
damages against enterprises that conspire to or actually violate federal alien
smuggling, harboring, or document fraud statutes, under the
Racketeer-Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO). The pattern of
racketeering activity is defined as commission of two or more of the listed
crimes. A RICO enterprise can be any individual legal entity, or a group of
individuals who are not a legal entity but are associated in fact, AND CAN
INCLUDE NONPROFIT ASSOCIATIONS.
