The Briefing Room
State Chapters => Texas => Topic started by: Elderberry on November 30, 2019, 01:08:33 am
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American Military News by Molly Hennessy-Fiske 11/29/2019
Raul Rodriguez had worked for U.S. Customs for 18 years when internal investigators confronted him last year with a document he had never seen before: His Mexican birth certificate.
Rodriguez, 51, a customs officer in Texas’ Rio Grande Valley, felt the blood drain from his face. He had lived in the United States as long as he could remember and had no idea he was actually born across the border in Matamoros, Mexico.
“It was my worst fear,†he said Friday in an interview at his San Benito home.
The Navy veteran was not charged with a crime but he was fired by U.S. Customs and Border Protection in July, lost his health insurance and had his residency application rejected this month. He and his wife, Anita, 54, a Homeland Security immigration officer, hope he gets to keep his retirement benefits.
For generations, Mexicans living on the border have obtained second U.S. birth certificates for their children, often from a midwife, so the youths could attend school in the U.S. Those whose passports were later flagged would apply for citizenship or legal residency.
In recent years, that has become more difficult, even for federal employees such as Rodriguez.
Texas officials have made it more difficult to obtain birth certificates and flagged hundreds as suspicious — 246 since the start of this year alone. Many were submitted by South Texas midwives. The midwife who signed Rodriguez’s U.S. birth certificate was implicated in several other cases before she died in 2005, according to federal court records.
More: https://americanmilitarynews.com/2019/11/us-customs-officer-loses-job-and-citizenship-over-his-mexican-birth-certificate/ (https://americanmilitarynews.com/2019/11/us-customs-officer-loses-job-and-citizenship-over-his-mexican-birth-certificate/)
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Adios!
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Oh well. Shit happens.
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The Navy veteran was not charged with a crime but he was fired by U.S. Customs and Border Protection in July, lost his health insurance and had his residency application rejected this month. He and his wife, Anita, 54, a Homeland Security immigration officer, hope he gets to keep his retirement benefits.
There is no excuse for this. He did the job and deserves the retirement pay he is entitled to be paid. The man is in his 50's,has lived here his entire life,contributed to life in America,and has obviously never even been charged,never mind convicted, of any crime.
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There is no excuse for this. He did the job and deserves the retirement pay he is entitled to be paid. The man is in his 50's,has lived here his entire life,contributed to life in America,and has obviously never even been charged,never mind convicted, of any crime.
Are you saying ignorance is an excuse?
How does that play out when you get stopped for speeding and you claim you did not see the speed limit sign?
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Are you saying ignorance is an excuse?
Yes,in this case. Not only was he ignorant of his citizenship status,so was US Customs when they hired him.
How does that play out when you get stopped for speeding and you claim you did not see the speed limit sign?
Uhhhh,speeding is a wilful violation,and you are SERIOUSLY trying to compare losing a retirement pension you paid into for 16 years to a fine for speeding just because your parents did something you didn't even know about?
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I am conflicted on this. Ignorance is no excuse. There is no denying that he paid into his pension fund. The problem arises though if he were allowed to keep his pension money because he paid into the 'system' even though he was here illegally, then all those who are here illegally and work should be allowed to stay in this country. I say "NO".
On the other hand we have thousands of illegals sitting in our prisons that we continue to support, yet we're taking away money from someone who has actually earned that money. What's wrong with this picture??
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I am conflicted on this. Ignorance is no excuse. There is no denying that he paid into his pension fund. The problem arises though if he were allowed to keep his pension money because he paid into the 'system' even though he was here illegally, then all those who are here illegally and work should be allowed to stay in this country. I say "NO".
On the other hand we have thousands of illegals sitting in our prisons that we continue to support, yet we're taking away money from someone who has actually earned that money. What's wrong with this picture??
@libertybele
I have no trouble with it at all. He was allowed to enlist in and serve at least one enlistment in the Navy before he worked for US Customs,so the government had TWO chances to bust him for being illegal and deport him over 20 years ago,and didn't . Now that he is nearing retirement they suddenly discover he is illegal,fire him,take away the benefits he has worked 16 + years for,and want to deport him?
Nope,not going to agree with that one.
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Yes,in this case. Not only was he ignorant of his citizenship status,so was US Customs when they hired him.
Uhhhh,speeding is a wilful violation,and you are SERIOUSLY trying to compare losing a retirement pension you paid into for 16 years to a fine for speeding just because your parents did something you didn't even know about?
It's why we have laws in this country.
And ignorance has never been acceptable excuse whether a light or heavy duty law is broken.
BTW, how do you know there is not more to this than just a faked birth certificate? Someone working in Customs can cause a whole lot of mischief.
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It's why we have laws in this country.
And ignorance has never been acceptable excuse whether a light or heavy duty law is broken.
BTW, how do you know there is not more to this than just a faked birth certificate? Someone working in Customs can cause a whole lot of mischief.
@IsailedawayfromFR
Gimme a bleeping break! He has been in this country since he was an infant,speaks English as well as you,and served a hitch in the Navy before being hired by customs.
He had EVERY reason to believe he is a US citizen,and he worked for and EARNED his retirement pay. He is EXACTLY the type of person we want here.
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Here is a book, about agricultural labor camps in Orange County CA in the early 1900s. I grew up with some kids that originated from early immigrant families.
M mother's family moved to nearby parts of Los Angeles County in 1928. It was agricultural. My mother has school pictures from the 1930s with about 1/3 of the children being distictly brownHispanic.
For hundreds of years, and over recent decades, the families and the border are somewhat fluid.
I know a highly respected man in his 80s, bi-lingual author, historian, veteran, etc.
DACA was intended to give some people a break, for the circumstances of their early years, over which they had no control.
I strongly suspect that similar situations occu all around agricultural areas.
https://books.google.com/books?id=82QBQGYGwFUC&pg=PA61&lpg=PA61&dq=red+camp+la+habra&source=bl&ots=TKmFESirKK&sig=ACfU3U34S1eyIUICyLQvii2IXqIYVNrvRg&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiJ44SFoJvmAhWNIDQIHWGsB3kQ6AEwCnoECBQQAQ#v=onepage&q=red%20camp%20la%20habra&f=false