Three years after the FBI promised to investigate more than 100 unresolved civil rights-era killings, they have made some surprising discoveries. Most of the cases will close without indictments. . The investigations led to very few indictments even though most of the cases were technically solved. The passage of time left many witnesses too traumatized by events, witnesses and perpetrators dead and other problems that are unique to cold cases.
Last December, in an attempt to curb identity theft, the Puerto Rican government invalidated all previously issued Puerto Rican birth certificates as of July 1. 2010. This measure leaves many Puerto Ricans living in the United States in a rather uncomfortable position– No birth certificate.
People born in Puerto Rico are American citizens because Puerto Rico is an American territoy. However, their birth certificates come out of Puerto Rico. Some background from Yahoo News:
The change catches many off-guard and unaware.
Julissa Flores, 33, of Orlando, Fla., said she knew nothing about Puerto Rico’s law.
“I was planning a trip and now I don’t know,” she said. “Do I need to go get a passport? If my birth certificate is invalid, am I stuck here?”
People born in Puerto Rico, a U.S. commonwealth, are U.S. citizens at birth. Anyone using a stolen Puerto Rico birth certificate could enter and move about the U.S. more easily, which could also pose security problems.
Puerto Rico’s legislature passed the law after raids last March broke up a criminal ring that had stolen thousands of birth certificates and other identifying documents from several different schools in Puerto Rico.
Puerto Ricans on average get about 20 copies of their birth certificates over their lifetimes, said Kenneth McClintock Hernandez, the commonwealth’s secretary of state.
This is because they are regularly asked to produce them for such events as enrolling children in school or joining sports leagues. Schools and other institutions have typically kept copies, a practice prohibited under the new law since January, McClintock said.
As much as 40 percent of the identity fraud in the U.S. involves birth certificates from Puerto Rico, McClintock said he was told by the State Department.
“It’s a problem that’s been growing and as the need in the black market for birth certificates with Hispanic-sounding names grew, the black market value of Puerto Rican birth certificates has gone into the $5,000 to $10,000 range,” McClintock said.
Thus far, there seems to be little effort by the U.S. or Puerto Rican governmentsto educate the 1.5 million people born in Puerto Rico and living on the mainland about the new law.
Government officials in the US and in Puerto Rico have made very little effort to educate native Puerto Ricans about the change in the law, nor have they advised them how to resolve their problem of not having an official birth certificate. It seems to me that the Puerto Rican government needs to set up an office in every state to assist those people living in the United States. Certainly they don’t want to force them to return to Puerto Rico just for a birth certificate. How can millions of people be processed in 5 months.
This situation seems like a classical case of ‘Beware of unintended consequences.’
Prince William County tax assessments are here. Residents can check their tax assessments out via LandRover. It seems that not all is equal in Prince William County. Some of my friends’ home values dropped around 5%. Mine went up 15%. Oh Good! I get to pay higher taxes. I suppose it is all supply and demand.
PWC is going through a little mini boom. Is this a good thing? Not necessarily. Selling low cost housing at firesale prices is not good for our reputation, or the rest of our home values. It is great for families just getting started. It isn’t so good if investors buy up our neighborhoods. All neighborhoods fare better if at least a majority of the homes are occupied by the owner.
If house values are going up, this is a good thing for the county coffers. Perhaps we won’t have to cut our fire and rescue down to bare bones. Perhaps we can fill some cop positions. Maybe our libraries won’t have to be closed on the weekends. All of the things mentioned hurt new business. Companies don’t want to move their people to areas where the quality of living is poor. Inadequate fire and rescue and police force is always bad for business and residents. Not having accessible libraries and services lowers quality of living standards.
Nowadays ‘fiscal conservative’ seems to be the big buzzword–the voter red badge of courage. Quality of life is going to be my buzz word. If my house catches fire, a family member falls shoveling snow, or I get robbed, I want the safety folks there in a flash. If that is not being fiscally conservative, well….tough.
Perhaps we need to use the fiscally conservative expression a little judiciously when it comes to quality of life services.
An 8,8 earthquake hit Chile early this morning. Areas are decimated. So far, the death count is fairly low, but officials really haven’t fully assessed the area.
Tsunami warnings are all over the Pacific region, including all the islands. Hawaiian hotels are being evacuated. My friends in Ocean Park, Washington are packing up essentials in the event that they are giving the word to ‘get out of there.’ They are at ground level on a peninsula near where the Columbia empties into the Pacific. She was a young woman in the Alaskan earthquake of 1964 so she knows not to mess with Mother Nature when she rumbles.
This thread will be our earthquake and Tsunami thread. CNN is providing excellent coverage on a human, scientific, and municipal level.
