May 29, 2005

New South Federal Savings Bank... and RICO?

Dimitri Vassilaros might be an unforgivable idiot when it comes to biking ("Keep Bicycles off the Road"), but he does have an interesting column about home loans for illegal aliens. From "Banking on illegals":

New South Federal Savings Bank is giving illegal aliens home mortgages to help them realize the American dream.

Its Casa Mia program is designed to help tax-paying immigrants "without traditional forms of documentation" -- like anything indicating they are Americans...

If enough illegals apply, New South plans to offer Casa Mia mortgages in Atlanta, Phoenix and Houston "in the near future."

Unless, that is, the bank officers are arrested for helping to harbor illegal aliens.

"What this bank is doing is a clear violation of the U.S. Immigration and Nationality Act," said Craig Nelsen, executive director of Friends of Immigration Law Enforcement...

...[FILE] is threatening to use the Racketeering Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) to file a civil damages lawsuit against the bank...

Previously: "Most banks would sell the kidneys of Brazilian garbage men if they could get away with it".

Note that this article also mentions Atlanta's Mexican Consul general, Remedios Gomez Arnau, who I seem to recall from the Pedro Marin story. See Mexican agents in the state houses? Part 2.

UPDATE: Here's the FILE letter:

...It is very likely a court would find the issuance of a mortgage under your new program to be a criminal violation of 8 U.S.C. 1324 (Bringing in and Harboring Certain Aliens), which makes it a felony to encourage an alien to reside in the United States knowing that such residence is in violation of law. §1324(a)(1)(A)(iii) It is hard to imagine any court taking seriously a claim that helping an illegal alien buy a house situated inside the United States isn't knowingly encouraging the illegal alien to reside illegally in the United States...

Posted to Immigration2005a at May 29, 2005 08:40 PM

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