18 arrested in ICE-led raid at Houston flea market

[peejay 327]

18 arrested in raid at Houston flea market

Suspects nabbed by ICE-led task force accused of document fraud

By SUSAN CARROLL

HOUSTON CHRONICLE

July 25, 2010, 2:27PM

Federal agents on Saturday raided a Houston flea market and arrested 18 suspects wanted in connection with selling fraudulent documents, authorities said.

More than 100 federal agents and local police served the federal arrest warrants Saturday afternoon at the Sunny Flea Market, located on Airline Drive near Gulf Bank Road.

The members of a multi-agency anti-fraud task force piled out of unmarked trucks and vans around 2 p.m.

Witnesses reported that some agents screamed "Don't run!" in Spanish as people fled the flea market.

Michael Feinberg, the acting special agent in charge for investigations for Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Houston, declined to provide details on Saturday about the specific type of document fraud the suspects were accused of committing, saying they were selling a "variety of IDs."

Lance Solano, a 29-year-old illegal immigrant from Guerrero, Mexico, said he was at the flea market shopping for phone cards when he heard yelling and saw the agents pouring out of vehicles.

Solano said he was detained with the other shoppers for about 20 minutes.

"They checked my (Mexican) consular ID card, and then they let me go," Solano said.

Feinberg said agents were targeting only the suspects identified in the criminal arrest warrants and were not making immigration arrests at the flea market.

Saturday's arrests mark the first large-scale investigation for Houston's ICE-led Document and Benefit Fraud Task Force, one of 19 nationwide.

The local task force includes HPD, the Department of Public Safety and several federal agencies, Feinberg said.

From April 2006 through January 2010, ICE's fraud task forces initiated more than 2,474 investigations, helped bring about 1,681 indictments and 2,020 criminal arrests, and resulted in 1,493 convictions, according to the agency.

Feinberg said document fraud is an agency priority because it could potentially involve a "national security vulnerability" if someone who is a "high threat" assumes a false identity.

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/7123449.html#end

[TBoneTX 47,505]

I read this, too, and was also amazed that Lance Solano was let go. However, the stated purpose of the raid was quite narrowly targeted toward the producers of fraudulent documents. It can be said that if Lance Solano gave his real name to the reporter and admitted (now in print) that he's illegal, perhaps his days in the U.S. are numbered.

I've had mind-movies about going into a non-chain Mexican restaurant, yelling "INMIGRACION!" ("Immigration!"), and seeing who scatters. That might be fun until I got my throat cut in retaliation.

Edited July 26, 2010 by TBoneTX

[spookyturtle 9,466]

I read this, too, and was also amazed that Lance Solano was let go. However, the stated purpose of the raid was quite narrowly targeted toward the producers of fraudulent documents. It can be said that if Lance Solano gave his real name to the reporter and admitted (now in print) that he's illegal, perhaps his days in the U.S. are numbered.

I've had mind-movies about going into a non-chain Mexican restaurant, yelling "INMIGRACION!" ("Immigration!"), and seeing who scatters. That might be fun until I got my throat cut in retaliation.

Like this?

http://comediansworld.blogspot.com/2009/04/amazing-racist-illegal-immigrants.html

[TBoneTX 47,505]

Like this?

Holy mackerel! He certainly COULD have gotten his throat cut.

[spookyturtle 9,466]

Holy mackerel! He certainly COULD have gotten his throat cut.

Maybe the video was staged?

[peejay 327]

I read this, too, and was also amazed that Lance Solano was let go. However, the stated purpose of the raid was quite narrowly targeted toward the producers of fraudulent documents. It can be said that if Lance Solano gave his real name to the reporter and admitted (now in print) that he's illegal, perhaps his days in the U.S. are numbered.

I've had mind-movies about going into a non-chain Mexican restaurant, yelling "INMIGRACION!" ("Immigration!"), and seeing who scatters. That might be fun until I got my throat cut in retaliation.

Mexicans were buying fake ID's at the old flea market near the Southwest Freeway at Hillcroft and Westpark 25+ years ago. It took the friggin' government 25+ years to figure out what was going on? And people wonder how we can have tens of millions of illegal aliens in our country...many of them working for corporations with all the proper forms filled out and these companies are safe in hiring scores of illegal aliens even though they all know deep down what is going on.

[Obama 2012 1,714]

Go to a Mexican flea market and this is going on, almost guaranteed.

It amazes me how they get by with it too.

The worst part of it, is the fact that "legal" people in this hipanic community will help out the illegals. There's several people who I have asked (and have seen for myself once) about the ability to get SS cards from a flea market... It's truly scary when you look at it.

They really need to do more raids on these places.

[TBoneTX 47,505]

these companies are safe in hiring scores of illegal aliens

Not only that, but they could be earning Brownie points (no pun intended, honestly) for hiring minorities.

[peejay 327]

Not only that, but they could be earning Brownie points (no pun intended, honestly) for hiring minorities.

But according to the cadre of illegal cheerleaders here on VJ, illegal aliens only pick melons and other such sh*t jobs that real Americans won't do. This hardly explains why illegal aliens are buying fake documents at the many flea markets in the big city of Houston. Not many melon patches here in the Big H. Could it be to pass themselves off as citizens or legal immigrants so they can take jobs that Americans will, can, and do work at? That's a big 10-4 buddy.

[IndigoSkies 168]

Generally illegal immigrants take on nominal jobs such as dish washer, cleaner, lawnscapers, bus boys or jobs that require minimal to no paperwork. Illegals also prefer jobs which would pay them in cash. Most of these jobs, Americans wouldn't likely take on unless they are very desperate. Heck even legal immigrants won't work in the fields for 10 hours a day picking your cabbage.

[peejay 327]

Generally illegal immigrants take on nominal jobs such as dish washer, cleaner, lawnscapers, bus boys or jobs that require minimal to no paperwork. Illegals also prefer jobs which would pay them in cash. Most of these jobs, Americans wouldn't likely take on unless they are very desperate. Heck even legal immigrants won't work in the fields for 10 hours a day picking your cabbage.

Considering that roughly 14% of construction workers are illegal aliens...that means that 86% of Americans must be desperate enough to do mojado work? There are many other industries with similar stats in which just a fraction of the workers are illegal. The justification that illegals just take jobs Americans won't do just doesn't add up. With tens of millions of Americans unemployed long term, there is no better time to rid the US economy of illegal alien labor and the criminality that goes along with it. From illegally entering the US by paying organized criminal smugglers to obtaining fraudulent documents to committing perjury on I-9 forms, illegal immigration is steeped in criminality and fraud.

We certainly shouldn't be giving them all blanket permanent residency and legal work authorization as that assclown Obama plans to do considering all the fraud and criminality these people have committed to illegally enter the USA and illegally work here. These are the last people I would choose to be annoited with a pathway to the priveledge of US citizenship, much less even mere permanent residency. It is an outrage that politicians even publicly make these promises.

Edited July 26, 2010 by peejay

[TBoneTX 47,505]

These are the last people I would choose to be annoited with a pathway to the priveledge of US citizenship, much less even mere permanent residency. It is an outrage that politicians even publicly make these promises.

If they weren't perceived as Undocumented Democrats, they'd all have been put on a high-speed, nonstop train down to Peru (or farther south) long ago, si man.

[luckytxn 2,265]

And to think that is just one of many and a mid size one at that in the Houston area. They all have had these so called ID places in each.

[spookyturtle 9,466]

Go to a Mexican flea market and this is going on, almost guaranteed.

It amazes me how they get by with it too.

The worst part of it, is the fact that "legal" people in this hipanic community will help out the illegals. There's several people who I have asked (and have seen for myself once) about the ability to get SS cards from a flea market... It's truly scary when you look at it.

They really need to do more raids on these places.

I think that the legal people are taking advantage of their illegal pals by selling them fake SS cards, drivers licenses, etc. These so-so quality fraudulent id's bring in good money. If you want the best, you will pay thousands of dollars. A crooked dept. of motor vehicles employee can get thousands of dollars for a fraudulent drivers license because it is a real license with someone else's name on it. The same goes for other documents. You may be shocked if you new what actually went on in the illegal community and how the US citizen is involved in this big dollar business.