Dig deeper into immigration issue

By Donald J. Amis
I write concerning the Oct. 10 and 11 articles in your on-line edition about Mr. Penina Tawake of the Fiji Islands, who was arrested on suspicion of elder abuse and embezzlement while working in the home of a Vacaville resident. The articles are well written and provide substantial information, but a number of pertinent questions remain.

Question 1: What kind of visa did Mr. Tawake have? He is described as a "legal resident" of the Fiji Islands, so I infer he was on a non-immigrant visa (B or H category), and not an immigrant one ("I" category). How and where did he obtain his visa? Did he pose as a woman to obtain the visa? Under what name was the visa issued?

Question 2: Assuming he is on a visitor's visa, is it a tourist/business visa (B-1/B-2) or a temporary worker's visa (H-1 or other "H" category)?

If he is on a B-1/B-2 visa, he is not allowed to work. If he is working while on a B-1/B-2 visa, then he is in violation of his status and eligible for immediate deportation after serving an appropriate jail term for his crime, if convicted. If acquitted, he would still be immediately deportable for being in violation of his visa status.

Question 3: How did he obtain his current employment? Is he now free-lancing or is he still working for an agency (the articles say he had "previously" worked for an agency). Is his current or former agency still responsible for sponsoring his presence in this country? If he is on an "H" visa, is he in violation of that status if he is no longer working for the agency that originally sponsored him? What is the name of the agency, and has anyone talked to a representative of the firm? What kind of background checks were done on him for his visa and/or his employment?

Question 4: Did Mr. Tawake obtain a Social Security number or taxpayer ID number and file a tax return?

Question 5: Has Immigration and Customs Enforcement been notified? If not, why not?

These questions go to the heart of the debate over illegal immigration. While our attention is rightly focused on the massive amount of the illegal immigration across our southern border, a substantial amount of illegal immigration also occurs as a result of visa fraud and visa overstays.

While it would require The Reporter to devote additional staff time and resources to report further on this story, as a former consular officer I believe it would be a good use of the newspaper's time - and useful for The Reporter's readers - to be more informed about our visa and immigration processes.

I do not think that raising these questions with the Solano County authorities or the Department of State violates any constitutional rights Mr. Tawake may assert.