- 10 Feb 2017 21:14
#14774653
The media outlets making a big deal about the woman who was deported back to Mexico are either conveniently omitting the fact that she was convicted of using someone else's social security card to gain employment, or burying the fact deep in the article.
Democracy Now, where I first read the story, has a February 10 article where the felony charge is completely omitted:
Arizona Mother of Two Deported Under Trump's New Orders
Another article from NPR National Propaganda Radio, admits that she was arrested, but omits that the arrest led to a felony conviction.
After Years Of Uneventful Check-Ins, Arizona Woman Is Arrested, Deported
Here's one article that not only highlights the conviction, but put it in the article's title.
Garcia de Rayos: Behind the identity theft charge that sent Valley woman back to Mexico
Democracy Now, where I first read the story, has a February 10 article where the felony charge is completely omitted:
Arizona Mother of Two Deported Under Trump's New Orders
Another article from NPR National Propaganda Radio, admits that she was arrested, but omits that the arrest led to a felony conviction.
After Years Of Uneventful Check-Ins, Arizona Woman Is Arrested, Deported
In 2008, Garcia de Rayos was arrested while she was working at a water park, during a raid carried out by then-Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio. (Arpaio's workplace raids have been challenged in court as unconstitutional; the case is ongoing.) In 2009, she was convicted of possessing false papers. In 2013, ICE says, an order for her deportation was finalized.
But Garcia de Rayos was allowed to continue to live in Arizona, under supervision and with regular check-ins with ICE, as member station KJZZ reports.
Here's one article that not only highlights the conviction, but put it in the article's title.
Garcia de Rayos: Behind the identity theft charge that sent Valley woman back to Mexico
PHOENIX (3TV/CBS 5) -
The battle over whether a woman living in the Valley for more than 20 years should have been sent back to Mexico all began with the crime she committed in 2008.
Nearly a decade ago, Guadalupe Garcia de Rayos was convicted of criminal impersonation, a class 6 felony.
While identity theft experts say this does not seem to be a malicious act, this was also not a victimless crime.
"Locally, it's something that we've seen less of, but it is probably one of the more common forms of identity theft," said Eduard Goodman, with Cyber Scout.
During one of former Sheriff Joe Arpaio's workplace raids, Garcia de Rayos was caught using someone else's Social Security number to gain employment at Golfland
"Sometimes they'll buy it from someone who sells them," he said.
The number she was using appears to be registered to a man in Tucson.
She also had been using the Resident Alien Card number belonging to a second person, a 55-year-old man.
Garcia de Rayos pleaded guilty and was sentenced to two years probation and community service.
"You can't live in today's society, you can’t do anything today without a Social Security number, and oftentimes these people just want to establish a life including pay regular bills, have cable, utilities, all of that requires an SSN," Goodman said.
Goodman said he’s seen similar cases where the stolen Social Security numbers usually belong to children. They usually don't discover their identity has been stolen until they reach adulthood and try applying for a student loan or a credit card.
"It impacts their taxes, it impacts their credit," he said.
The effects can linger for years.
Identity theft experts say the issue as a whole has a much greater effect.
"We all absorb that collectively to some degree," Goodman said. "We absorb it in higher interest rates, in more credit card fees, even in our own tax dollars not necessarily being distributed properly."
The court also classified her crime as non-dangerous and non-repetitive. Garcia de Rayos did not get in any more trouble with the law after this 2008 incident.