Have you ever committed a crime or offense for which you were not arrested?

Huracan, I agree completely. For all we know, he could have had an argument with his wife and she called the police, just to be spiteful. Even if she refused to file charges, the responding officers still have to document the call. This is just one possible explanation of how the man was a "known" wifebeater.

There is definitely a witch hunt going on against immigrants. While DHS cries "national security" every chance they get, exactly how many terrorists got arrested in the past few years? The way things are going, I wouldn't be surprised if applications start getting denied over minor traffic violations. In a way, this is already the case. It clearly states in the N-400 instructions that no proof is needed for non-DUI violations with fines under $500. However, just about everyone who's had their interview recently has reported being asked to provide proof of payment/court dispositions. It's as if the USCIS is purposely nitpicking on minor issues, just to find a reason for denial.
 
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Let's hope that with a new administration the politicians will tone down the rhetoric. It doesn't do much good to the country. If this is the kind of direction that ICE and USCIS want to take it is pretty sad. It looks like legal fundamentalism, instead of religious fundamentalism.
 
Their incompetence has made them unable to track down terrorists and illegal immigrants, so in order to make it look like they're doing something they go after the easy targets ... the legal immigrants who make it easy for them by coughing up every detail of their lives and whereabouts for scrutiny.

It's second-class citizenship at work. You're not a full citizen unless you're born as one.
Castro was convicted of lying twice on his naturalization application. He answered "no" when asked if he had ever knowingly committed any crime for which he had not been arrested, when in fact he was known to assault his wife.
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How was he "known to assault his wife" if he was never arrested or convicted of it? Who "knew" this and how?
 
Jackolantern said:
It's second-class citizenship at work. You're not a full citizen unless you're born as one.
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I couldn't have said it better myself. A while ago, I read a post on this forum, stating that a natural-born citizen will always get priority over a naturalized citizen, should a situation calling for such a decision arise. I completely believe it. If a naturalized citizen can be denaturalized and deported, why not do the same with rapists, pedophiles and murderers who were born in this country? After all, didn't England do that by sending their criminals to Australia?

Seriously, though...if the aggrieved party (in this case, the man's wife) never pressed charges and he wasn't arrested, a crime was not committed in the eyes of the judicial system. I guess the USCIS operates under the notion of "if you're accused of a crime, then you must have committed it".
 
And for people with conspiracy theory tendencies ;) I think this case was probably used to counter attack the Hispanic movement to naturalize. Kind of scare them away, let's show them what can happen to them if they naturalize and have some undisclosed crime in their past. Outrageous and pathetic. I saw quite a few articles on the Internet pointing out this guy got denaturalized and was going to be deported. That's a good way to discourage a few tens of thousands or hundreds of thousand people from applying for naturalization. One way or another, this "second-classification" of naturalized citizens is not good.
 
At the end of the day, it all boils down to how educated you are and how deep your pockets are. USCIS will pick on the weak to make an example. I don't think they will go after some one for minor reasons when the other side has a strong legal team and access to media.

One of the reasons many people have naturalized recently is just to get away from USCIS's bullying at the immigration counters, and the day to day need for providing proof of legality - post 9/11.

How many of you naturalized as soon you could to get done with the beuracracy and how many of you naturalized for other reasons like sponsoring a relative or because they were feeling really patriotic and could not wait one day more after the 3 year or 5 year period?
 
brb2 said:
One of the reasons many people have naturalized recently is just to get away from USCIS's bullying at the immigration counters, and the day to day need for providing proof of legality - post 9/11.
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Exactly ... the way they piss on immigrants at each step of the way, many people don't really want to become Americans anymore even if they first came to the country with that in mind. And with this second-class citizenship, they're not allowed to become true Americans anyway.

After putting up with years and years of bullshit they just want citizenship so they can get some relief from the crap, and have a passport that allows them to travel more easily to other parts of the world. Notice the increasing trend of people leaving the US shortly after getting citizenship.
 
I'm starting to think that we should start an association of naturalized citizens to defend our rights. The same way there is a NRA and a NAR (National Association of Realtors) we should have our NANC (National Association of Naturalized Citizens) to lobby in Washington. The association could even be bigger and cover people who are sponsoring relatives or fiances, and hopefully other immigration stakeholders. I don't think that AILA covers all the interests of the immigrant community. I think it's time to get comprehensive immigration reform, but not to screw the immigrants further, but to simplify immigration and give more rights and guarantees to immigrants and naturalized citizens.

My 2 cents.
 
Huracan said:
What national security purpose is served by prosecuting this guy?
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I'm not interested in having criminal aliens in my adopted country, whether they blow up buildings or merely beat their family.

I think it is sad that the government is acting this way.
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I think it's sad that people beat their spouses and children.

It seems to me that in layman words what they say is that there was some domestic violence and he failed to report this in the form. For me it doesn't seem such a big deal
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It's rarely the crime that gets you; it's always the cover-up. :D It may not be a big deal for you, but why don't you get beaten up by a supposed "loved one" and report back to us on how big a deal it is then.

It's annoying to see this rising immigrant-hunt. Long are gone the president's speeches defending the contributions of immigrants to this society.
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I find it quite annoying to see immigrants commit crimes in their adopted country where they are guests, and then have other immigrants seek to characterize their punishment as being anti-immigrant. I'm an equal-opportunity kinda guy; I just hate wife-beaters.

It used to be that permanent residents could breathe easy when they obtained that status. 1996 made sure that they couldn't breathe easy anymore.
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I don't want to see violent criminals breathe easy.
 
TheRealCanadian said:
I don't want to see violent criminals breathe easy.
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Violent green-card holding criminals were never allowed to breathe easy. But before 1996, good people who get caught up in a minor mixup could breathe easy. However these days the slightest slipup could get one deported. Argue with your wife, neighbor calls cops, you're charged with misdemeanor domestic violence and fretting about deportation. You could be innocent and still get deported, since it doesn't require an actual finding of Guilty for them to deport you.
 
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TheRealCanadian said:
I'm not interested in having criminal aliens in my adopted country, whether they blow up buildings or merely beat their family.
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Neither am I. But I'm also not interested in deporting people for something which they've never been arrested or charged. If somebody really thinks they did it, gather the evidence and arrest them and charge them and properly convict them. It's a concept called "due process".
 
Jackolantern said:
You could be innocent and still get deported, since it doesn't require an actual finding of Guilty for them to deport you.
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No, but if you are acquitted you should have nothing to worry about.

Oddly enough, in almost two decades of knowing my wife we have yet to raise our voices to each other, never mind hit each other. I've also managed to avoid driving drunk, shoplifting, public indecency or a variety of other criminal acts.

It can be done.
 
Jackolantern said:
But I'm also not interested in deporting people for something which they've never been arrested or charged.
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Deportation is not a criminal penalty, it's a civil action, with a lower standard of proof. If there's a preponderance of evidence that someone beats their wife, then that's fine by me when it comes to deportation.

Besides, under the statute of limitations there are some crimes that can be proven yet not prosecuted. I'd still want the alien deported.
 
TheRealCanadian,

I think you've made your point that you are a zero tolerance kind of person. I am a the punishment has to fit the crime kind of person. I think denaturalization and deportation is harsh for what the public release said. I am not condoning these guy's actions, or that it should go unpunished. I'm glad that you have been able to live an immaculate life. Good for you. However, I still think that for people who have lived less than perfect life they should get consequences that fit their actions, not disproportionate consequences.

Even if you have led a perfect life, how would you like a brother or a sister in that situation be treated? Whenever I analyze a situation like this I tend to think about how I would like a relative or friend be treated. It is always so easy to go hard on strangers.

My 2 cents.
 
TheRealCanadian said:
Deportation is not a criminal penalty, it's a civil action, with a lower standard of proof. If there's a preponderance of evidence that someone beats their wife, then that's fine by me when it comes to deportation.
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Wow. Do you realize how easy that makes it for an angry ex-wife who was never beaten to cause serious problems for her ex-husband? Anyway, I guess that's easy for you to say, given that if you get deported you'll go back to Canada, not Sudan or Iran.
 
Huracan said:
I think you've made your point that you are a zero tolerance kind of person.
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No, I have little patience for people who abuse their family. Other seem to have more tolerance for that sort of behavior, and I feel sorry for their relatives.

Even if you have led a perfect life, how would you like a brother or a sister in that situation be treated? Whenever I analyze a situation like this I tend to think about how I would like a relative or friend be treated. It is always so easy to go hard on strangers.
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Let's turn this around - let's say your sister was in such a situation, being beaten and living in fear. How would you like her to be treated?
 
Jackolantern said:
Wow. Do you realize how easy that makes it for an angry ex-wife who was never beaten to cause serious problems for her ex-husband?
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If you believe that she just needs to say "he beat me" with no physical or other corroborating evidence, then you live in too much fear. Of course, the flip side of the coin is that one should be extra, extra careful as to who one marries - making sure both about your spouse and his or her parents. The apple doesn't fall far from the tree.

Anyway, I guess that's easy for you to say, given that if you get deported you'll go back to Canada, not Sudan or Iran.
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If I was from a miserable country, I'd be extra double sure to keep my nose clean, because I knew the risks. My parents came from a country where they'd be arrested if they ever set foot there again, and they made sure not to even get a speeding ticket. It really can be done.
 
In New York, there is a law that mandates immediate arrest, if a report of domestic violence against a woman is made. As a result, many completely innocent people now have arrest records.

Example No. 1) A couple of years ago, there was a case that received minor attention from the local media, where 2 friends went to a dance club and met 2 girls. The girls took the guys to the bathroom and performed oral sex on them. When the guys left the club later that night, they were met outside by several police officers, who arrested them for rape. The girls, apparently, thought that it would be funny to call the cops on the guys, and they even admitted this publicly several days later. The DA, however, refused to drop the charges for several weeks, demanding an investigation.

Example No. 2) The incident involving the Duke University lacrosse players. This case received such high media attention, I don't need to recount what exactly happened.

All parties involved were lucky enough to be natural-born citizens, or else all hell would break loose. Despite the fact that it was proven that the charges were unsubstantiated, they now have arrest records for the rest of their lives. Arrest records for sex crimes, nonetheless.

Here's the bottom line...just because a person is not a straight as an arrow puritan (god forbid someone engages in any kind of sexual activity!!!), doesn't make them a sub-human criminal who should have their citizenship stripped and then be deported. TheRealCanadian, I too share your sentiment on not having criminal aliens in my adopted country. However, what about criminal citizens? As I've stated a couple of posts earlier, why not create a prison colony and send all our criminals there?
 
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