<p>“So I googled and she is married (2 years or so), and apparently he is not an illegal alien. So why, at that point, would one not just try to right the wrongs she had committed? If she married a citiizen, why not start to process to become legal, get a SSN, and make things right?”</p>
<p>Very possibly and logically because she was afraid of being prosecuted and deported for using the illegal SSN, and because she was afraid her parents would be prosecuted and deported for presumably doing the same thing. </p>
<p>I don’t think it’s particularly easy to change one’s SS#. What would you tell your employers?</p>
<p>And I also wonder if her husband even knew that she and her parents were illegal.</p>
<p>In Germany there is no citizenship conferred for being born in a the country, but the many children of Turkish guest workers barely speak Turkish and don’t know their native country at all. It’s a problem whether or not these children who have grown up outside of their native lands are citizens or not. I do feel like we should have a path to citizenship for cases like these. There ought to be a reasonable way for a young woman like this to become a legal citizen.</p>
<p>Incidentallly Xiggi, according to the story in the Raleigh News Observer, she (Martinez) could be in prison for years [for Social Security fraud] before she is ever deported.</p>
<p>Using a false social security number is a crime that has stiff penalties and is the first legal hurdle that the young lady faces. This is a situation that would occur whether or not she is illegally here.</p>
<p>She could be, but the authorities have learned to deal with such cases. They could pursue the fraud first but this means that the offender would have access to hearings, bonds, legal defense, and could possibly be released --something the ICE is not keen on seeing happening. The other option is to obtain a plea agreement and offer a quick deportation. Facing the possibilities of prison and then deportation, the “easier” path is to reduce the incarceration time prior to the inevitable deportation. </p>
<p>Where I live, there are similar cases almost around the clock. Immigration officers bring deported aliens by the truckload and there is a small cottage industry of “legal aid.” Cases fall in pretty well defined categories and the “without hope” ones are the people who were convicted of deportable crimes. </p>
<p>Regardless of the time in jail, the tough-on-illegals can rejoice because if convicted on an aggravated felony, this person will not come back anytime soon. </p>
<p>By the way, it does seem that the entire family (except the young son) is undocumented -or illegally in the US for the purists. All of them will soon face various “problems” ranging from arrests to deportation. One avenue that might open for the illegal father or grandparents is to start a petition and use the american child as a basis for legal entry in the United States. The mere fact of being illegal in the US is not grounds for dismissal of such cases.</p>
<p>Just did a yahoo search and got more information. While the story doesn’t state his immigration status, the inference is that Martinez’s husband Marcos Miranda is also undocumented. When ICE agents arrived at his job to question him, he ran away.</p>
<p>This woman is evidently smart; the story states that she was an Honor Student at her North Carolina high school. Thus, she should have been diligent enough to try to legalize her status once she became an adult. Given the current debate on immigration, she was bound to get caught. Remember, last year ICE deported that family from Boston whose two teenage sons [also undocumented] were high achieving students whom had little or no connection with their parents ‘old country’ (Colombia, I think).</p>
<p>Out of curiosity, when did she begin to need a SSN? Also, what steps can an illegal alien take to regularize his or her status without incurring risk of being deported?</p>
<p>“She is also taking a librarian job away from a citizen.”</p>
<p>She is returning on the investment that taxpayers made in her education (and underwriting my mother’s Social Security check, even though she’ll never collect a penny.)</p>
<p>"
This woman is evidently smart; the story states that she was an Honor Student at her North Carolina high school. Thus, she should have been diligent enough to try to legalize her status once she became an adult."</p>
<p>How could she have done that without risking the arrest and deportation for her parents, who presumably were the ones who got her the SS # from a deceased person?</p>
<p>I believe during Reagan’s administration there was an amnesty, so her parents should be legalized unless they are lying about dates and circumstances. If she has married a citizen, she should be a legal resident. Did she have an ID when she married that man? Sounds fishy.</p>
<p>marite, I believe there are no steps provided for such legalization in our immigration laws. I heard that a Senator can introduce a private bill on behalf of such an immigrant, but the chances of those bills passing are very slim:</p>
<p>Here in NY, this would barely have made a blip, much less the news. INS would yawn at the situation. The librarian is in an area where there are fewer issues with illegals and can do this.</p>
<p>“our continual denial of opportunity for people to immigrate into this land is a shame”</p>
<p>WHAT? Which “our” are you speaking of? The “our” of generous legal immigration policies, the “our” of gov’t + business ignoring illegal immigration entrance & support, or the “our” of the pro-sanctuary movement, which believes that immigration at all cost, including that of the violent death of 3 innocent people recently in SF, is non-negotiable?</p>
<p>We no longer are a wide-open frontier with uncountable acres of undeveloped farmland & a fairly short average individual longevity. Things have changed just a teeny-tiny bit since Madison, Jefferson, Adams et al. were alive. Do not presume that you know “what was never the intent of our Founding Fathers.” Even principles & ideals have a practical & historical context.</p>
<p>Thank you. I wonder how many members of congress would intervene in a case like this and whether the person would need to be outstanding, such as being class valedictorian.</p>
<p>So, it seems more likely that she would have been deported at 18 (or earlier if her parents had been found out) as opposed to being deported at 23.</p>
<p>“Do not presume that you know ‘what was never the intent of our Founding Fathers’” </p>
<p>Madison and Jefferson both openly opposed the Alien Act of 1789. When Jefferson was elected, the Act was left to expire and Jefferson pardoned all those who were charged. Their argument was that the Consitution did not vest the Congress with power to control immigration.</p>
<p>Anytime someone is discovered to be an illegal alien in the course of a crime investigation, deportation becomes an issue. The big problem here is use of a fraudulent social security number.</p>