Judge won't play name game in immigration card case (Biloxi Sun-Herald)

Judge won't play name game in immigration card case

By ROBIN FITZGERALD - rfitzgerald@sunherald.com

GULFPORT -- It doesn't matter if Carlos Garcia is a real name or an alias as long as the government has evidence identity cards were forged and sold, U.S. Magistrate Judge Robert H. Walker decided Tuesday.

Walker bound over to a grand jury a case of forged identity and immigration cards. He deemed the three defendants flight risks and ordered them held without bond. He also made sure the government plans to pursue deportation hearings for the three, who have been living in Biloxi.

Norberto Sanchez, 22, is accused of using the name of Garcia to make and sell counterfeit sets of resident-alien cards and Social Security cards. He was arrested Oct. 8 along with two roommates in an Immigration and Customs Enforcement investigation.

Speaking through an interpreter and his attorney Tuesday, Sanchez said he's not Garcia and didn't claim to be.

ICE Agent Benjamin Taylor claims Sanchez, aka Garcia, ran an illegal service to provide immigration documents. He testified Sanchez delivered fake documents to a confidential informant the day of his arrest.

Responding to questions of Assistant U.S. Attorney Gaines Cleveland, Taylor said the informant wore a wire and his phone calls to Garcia were recorded.

Resident-alien cards submitted as evidence have the name of the Immigration and Naturalization Service printed on the back. The cards are dated after that agency ceased to exist, Taylor said.

Court officers said Sanchez has a pending immigration hearing in Nashville. He posted a $5,000 bond a month ago to await a hearing on voluntary deportation.

Walker said he found probable cause to believe Sanchez committed crimes of conspiracy and of knowingly possessing counterfeit documents.

Walker said there is insufficient proof that Elvelia Cabrera-Vasquez, 18, participated in the alleged conspiracy. He bound over her possession charge to the grand jury.

Maximum penalties are 10 years for possessing false documents, five years for conspiring to forge and sell them and a fine of up to $250,000.

Walker referred related accusations against Cornelio Sanchez to state court after learning he is 17. Federal courts typically don't prosecute defendants younger than 18.