Wednesday, February 24, 2010

New York's Puerto Ricans must get new birth certificates

From NY1:

Identity thieves interested in buying someone else's birth certificate may not have to look very hard, as Puerto Ricans in New York say a certificate from Puerto Rico is easy to find.

The government of Puerto Rico says hundreds of thousands of copies of birth certificates from the island are floating around unprotected and can sell for as much as $10,000.

"Puerto Ricans are selling the birth [certificates]," said one Bronx resident. "They got so many in here pretending to be Puerto Rican, but they are not."

An old law required Puerto Rican residents to leave original copies of their birth certificates in various public and private offices as they filled out paperwork, which opened the door to massive identity theft.

Puerto Rican-Born New Yorkers Have To Get New Birth Certificates
"If you physically look Latino or physically look Puerto Rican, and you show up with a Puerto Rican birth certificate, no questions are asked," said Bronx Congressman Jose Serrano. "Because Puerto Ricans, as you know, are born American citizens and can just leave Puerto Rico and travel to the United States."

Now, a new law that takes effect on July 1 will force anyone born in Puerto Rico to get a new birth certificate.

"The objective of this law is it will invalidate the old birth certificates so that they will lose their value on the black market," said Luis Balzac of the office of Puerto Rico's governor.

7 comments:

Lino -technically Mexican said...

Does this apply to all the Dominicans who come in as P.R.'s?

Georges said...

Birth certificates are sacred documents that should be iron clad protected, why are they out there for all to assume (steal). It's a disgrace nationally that this is allowed to occur. We don't enforce our Fed laws seriously at all, thus our security will always be compromised.

Anonymous said...

re: the Dominican comment, how do people who are not citizens get so many US government benefits, easy access to section 8 vouchers AND City jobs?

is it the same reason why Dominicans get away with committing crimes every day in the Bronx, drug dealing, prostitution, illegal gun sale, loan sharking?

Anonymous said...

Why bother? Most Puerto Ricans and Dominicans are here already. They have it good here and collect their social services. There's no need for them to go back home. Their gravy train is here. As for forged documents, it's time to take a look at all the Asians that are here illegally with forged documents.

Anonymous said...

Why bother? Most Puerto Ricans and Dominicans are here already. They have it good here and collect their social services. There's no need for them to go back home. Their gravy train is here. As for forged documents, it's time to take a look at all the Asians that are here illegally with forged documents.
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Those islands have to be farking empty by now, seeing as how they are all here.

Think i found a place to retire!


As for getting here, far more often they come in "legally" through marriage or anchor baby. Its the asians like you said above that do all the paperwork tricks and fakes. They are the kings of the knock-offs, after all.

Anonymous said...

what do you mean why bother, most Puerto Ricans are here already... just in case you dont remember or know Puerto Ricans born in Puerto Rico are legal here in the states.Puerto Rico is a province of the USA...as far as Dominicans they need visas to be here and work here.

Anonymous said...

Really,

Puerto Ricans are citizens regardless of what the idiots prior to me have said.

My GFather served in WWI.

My father and uncled served in WWIi..65th infantry.

No, sorry to disappoint you. I have been a contributor to the abusive tax system. Paying to help educate your idiot children.

Sorry to disappoint.

A HARD WORKING PUERTO RICAN!