| Submit your comments on this article | |
| Home Front: WoT | |
| Charges Dropped For Undocumented Soldier | |
| 2005-07-09 | |
| Identify theft charges have been dropped in Austin against an undocumented Mexican immigrant who bought a stolen Social Security card for two-thousand dollars. The stolen card enabled Liliana Plata to join the Air Force and serve in the Iraq war. ... Also, they say Plata didn't use the stolen information to defraud anyone. Prosecutor Claire Dawson-Brown says Plata "took a shortcut she shouldn't have taken, but it was an intent that served a value for all of us" The prosecutor added that Plata "wanted to go and fight for her country, and she was a good soldier." Plata's attorney, Samuel Bassett, called the decision appropriate. Her immigration status isn't clear.
| |
| Posted by:Thravising Hupesh6837 |
| #7 Service should grant citizenship. Full rights, full stop. |
| Posted by: Sock Puppet 0’ Doom 2005-07-09 17:47 |
| #6 :> Just for once, arrival of the fittest. |
| Posted by: Shipman 2005-07-09 11:42 |
| #5 "wanted to go and fight for her country, and she was a good soldier." Well, technically no since as an illegal her country was Mexico. She was fighting for the United States. However, she did have to raise her right hand and swear an oath to uphold and defend the Constitution of the United States. Which not having authorization from the Mexican government to do so could potentially result in her being arrested and tried for disloyalty. So give her political refugee status and continue on. Viva Liliana! Now she just has to clear the military investigation for fraudulent enlistment which can simply be a paper shuffle without any resultant penalties and a formal establishment of her current status. |
| Posted by: Ulamp Chosing2348 2005-07-09 09:28 |
| #4 Bingo, Mike. This woman has all the earmarks of the kind of immigrant who made our country great in the past and will do so in the future. Bien venido, soldada Americana. ('soldada'? Como se dice "female soldier" en Espanol?) |
| Posted by: too true 2005-07-09 08:15 |
| #3 This is someone who sneaks in to the US to join the Air Force and fight for us. Welcome, fellow citizen! |
| Posted by: Mike 2005-07-09 07:26 |
| #2 Wow. I know it doesn't work this way, but I'd let her peers in Iraq decide what does, or doesn't, happen to her. They know her, they know her heart and values, they know what kind of citizen she'd be. |
| Posted by: .com 2005-07-09 05:20 |
| #1 I don't know that it was the best call on the prosecutor's part. I'm pretty much of an absolutist on the subject of curbing illegal immigration and the criminal activities surrounding it. She did serve, but she also used stolen documents and violated our immigration laws. Hit her with a misdemeanor (could this just be called "disorderly conduct" under TX law?) and a fine of $500 or so - but set up the conviction so it could be expunged in a few years, then use the office's political influence to see what can be done to legalize her. |
| Posted by: Ricky bin Ricardo (Abu Babaloo) 2005-07-09 00:35 |