Immigration: Illegal immigrants caught posing as Marines - Polidicks

[quote=LAtimes] Border Patrol agents on Interstate 8 east of San Diego arrest two alleged smugglers and 13 migrants wearing military garb while traveling in a van with U.S. government plates. March 24, 2011|By Richard Marosi, Los Angeles Times The illegal immigrants donned Marine Corps camouflage uniforms and military-style buzz cuts. The license plates on their van had been switched from Mexican to U.S. government plates. If anyone asked, they were Marines traveling to March Air Reserve Base. But their ploy didn't take into account the possibility of being stopped by a U.S. Border Patrol agent who was a former Marine armed with a simple question. The agent, S. Smith, asked the driver to tell him the birthday of the Marine Corps. The driver, Arturo Leyva, didn't know. Border Patrol Agent "Smith knows the [Marine Corps] birthday is one of the first things taught to all Marines in basic training. At that time, BPA Smith knew Leyva's claim of being a U.S. Marine was false," according to a criminal complaint from a smuggling case filed last week in federal court. On the night of March 14, Border Patrol agents arrested 13 illegal immigrants, Leyva and another suspected smuggler, Jose Guadalupe Ceja Jr., in one of the more elaborately flawed smuggling attempts in recent memory along the U.S.-Mexico border. Smugglers and illegal immigrants have a long history of traveling in disguise. They have painted their vans to look like Border Patrol or public utility vehicles. Immigrants wearing hard hats have posed as highway workers or government contractors. Last week's scheme was aimed at slipping the illegal immigrants under the noses of Border Patrol agents who are accustomed to waving through Marines traveling through the Interstate 8 checkpoint about 55 miles east of San Diego. The smugglers gathered the illegal immigrants at a trailer park in the Imperial County town of Seely. The immigrants had already crossed the border, but needed to be transported to the Los Angeles area, which meant getting through the Border Patrol checkpoint. The immigrants were ordered to change out of their clothing and into the military garb and caps, according to a statement Leyva gave to agents. The younger immigrants were told to sit toward the front of the van and they took off on Interstate 8. The van drew suspicion the moment it passed by Smith, a plainclothes agent who is part of an anti-smuggling team that patrols in unmarked vehicles. The government license plate on the van, he noticed, appeared to be altered. When he and other agents stopped the vehicle and peeked inside, they noticed that the group was wearing camouflage uniforms of different shades. The uniforms of Leyva and Ceja were both marked with the name "Lopez." After Leyva failed to answer the question about the birthday of the Marine Corps, the plot quickly unraveled. When an agent asked Ceja, the other suspected smuggler, what unit he was in, he didn't answer. Do you speak English, the agent asked. "No. Not good," Ceja answered. As for the immigrants in the back, they didn't even try to fool the agents. When asked for their citizenship, they all admitted they were Mexican. And none offered an answer to the simple question for any real Marine: Nov. 10, 1775, the birthday of the Marine Corps. [/quote] Source: [url]http://articles.latimes.com/2011/mar/24/local/la-me-illegal-marines-20110324[/url]

:patriot:

So if I want to sneak into the us I should dress up as a marine and learn a single date? Easy enough.

[QUOTE=Atokniro;28836676]So if I want to sneak into the us I should dress up as a marine and learn a single date? Easy enough.[/QUOTE] More like read their wikipedia page :v:

Serves them right, why can't those immigrants learn to try and get citizenship LEGALLY instead of smuggling themselves across the border and doing stuff like selling drugs? Its just plain common sense!

They are getting pretty clever now :v: i salute them.

[QUOTE=Atokniro;28836676]So if I want to sneak into the us I should dress up as a marine and learn a single date? Easy enough.[/QUOTE] The article very specifically mentioned that the immigrants were [i]already in the US[/i].

[QUOTE=TheFallen(TF2);28836900]Serves them right, why can't those immigrants learn to try and get citizenship LEGALLY instead of smuggling themselves across the border and doing stuff like selling drugs? Its just plain common sense![/QUOTE] Big-ish chart. [media][img]http://reason.com/assets/db/07cf533ddb1d06350cf1ddb5942ef5ad.jpg[URL="http://reason.com/assets/db/07cf533ddb1d06350cf1ddb5942ef5ad.jpg"][/URL][/img][/media] Yeah, why don't they JUST DO IT?

[QUOTE=Brage Nyman;28837068]They are getting pretty clever now :v: i salute them.[/QUOTE] They don't really deserve the salute since they're not actually in the military. [B]EDIT[/B] Dumb ratings for respecting the military? That's not cool guys.

That's how we do it.

[QUOTE=Awesomecaek;28837241]Big-ish chart. [media][img_thumb]http://reason.com/assets/db/07cf533ddb1d06350cf1ddb5942ef5ad.jpg[URL="http://reason.com/assets/db/07cf533ddb1d06350cf1ddb5942ef5ad.jpg"][/URL][/img_thumb][/media] Yeah, why don't they JUST DO IT?[/QUOTE] That's what everybody else has done in the past so what makes them so special?

Not a bad idea to dress up as marines, though they would have been fucked anyway if asked stuff like "What division are you in" or something like that. With more planning they probably would have gotten through.

[QUOTE=CommieTurtle;28837830]That's what everybody else has done in the past so what makes them so special?[/QUOTE] I don't think that they are entitled to immigrate illegally. I say that it's usually either that or nothing.

Just stay in Mexico then please.

[QUOTE=Pantz76;28838439]Just stay in Mexico then please.[/QUOTE] The fact that they're willing to risk the law, invest in disguises or equipment or even wait 10 years just for legal status, kinda says that staying in Mexico (or whatever country they're coming from) is not an option.

At least now everyone knows.

Now, I don't want to sound like I'm supporting illegal immigration, but immigrating legally *is* a quite difficult endeavor nowadays. No matter how motivated or patriotic you are, even getting as far as acquiring a green card tends to take years and by the time you get citizenship, your life's half over. I don't know, but I think the current laws are a little harsher than necessary.

November 10, 1775. I'm in a completely different branch of the Armed Forces and I knew this. :colbert:

[QUOTE=TheFallen(TF2);28836900]Serves them right, why can't those immigrants learn to try and get citizenship LEGALLY instead of smuggling themselves across the border and doing stuff like selling drugs? Its just plain common sense![/QUOTE] Easier said than done. [editline]27th March 2011[/editline] [QUOTE=CommieTurtle;28837830]That's what everybody else has done in the past so what makes them so special?[/QUOTE] I think you're forgetting that most of the illegal immigrants live in poverty and they don't have a family in the US.

Didn't this happen a few weeks ago? I don't know if it's true but I was told they all had the same name on their uniforms.

[QUOTE=Pantz76;28838439]Just stay in Mexico then please.[/QUOTE] End the "war on drugs" that is completely destroying Mexico and maybe they'll have less reason to try to go to America

So? There's a dozen homeless bums camping out on corners in my town and every one of them claims to be a vet.

[QUOTE=CommieTurtle;28837830]That's what everybody else has done in the past so what makes them so special?[/QUOTE] They used to just hand citizenships off like no tomorrow when the Irish got off the boats during the the late 1700's and 1800's

[QUOTE=Madman_Andre;28839742]November 10, 1775. I'm in a completely different branch of the Armed Forces and I knew this. :colbert:[/QUOTE] And now that I know this I can sell myself as a marine! :v:

They must have been watching Jericho.

[QUOTE=Nightsure;28837869]"What division are you in"[/QUOTE] ¿Qué?

[QUOTE=Used Car Salesman;28848569]So? There's a dozen homeless bums camping out on corners in my town and every one of them claims to be a vet.[/QUOTE] Depending on how old they are it's entirely possible they could all be veterans.

I'm beginning to wonder, why don't we do something about Mexico? If we're not going to improve border security, then it's time for military action in Mexico.

[QUOTE=Glaber;28853978]I'm beginning to wonder, why don't we do something about Mexico? If we're not going to improve border security, then it's time for military action in Mexico.[/QUOTE] AHAHAHAHHAHAHAHHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHHA /c

[QUOTE=Glaber;28853978]I'm beginning to wonder, why don't we do something about Mexico? If we're not going to improve border security, then it's time for military action in Mexico.[/QUOTE] Good ol' Glaber. No.