"She was bluntly warned that there was no other way to get a job. She paid $150 and was given two fake cards with her real name: a Social Security card and a green card. It was a fabricated identity that several employers have accepted since then. You know beforehand that it's not right, but the need to survive leads us to look for ways to get ahead in this country."
"Several experts believe the problem has been exacerbated by the harsh immigration policies implemented by Donald Trump, which have effectively eliminated any hope of legal status for the millions of people living in the shadows. The issue touches on several facets. On one side are the employers who benefit from cheap labor and those who denounce this as unfair competition for those who comply with regulations."
"Although the statistics from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) do not distinguish cases involving undocumented immigrants, its most recent report sheds light on the magnitude of the unstoppable identity theft: from 19,000 complaints and losses of $126 million registered in 2023, it went to 31,000 complaints and $185 million obtained illicitly last year."
Undocumented migrants resort to purchasing fake identification documents to obtain employment, with many paying around $150 for fraudulent Social Security and green cards. This practice persists despite ICE raids and enforcement operations against document forgery networks. Experts attribute the problem's growth to restrictive immigration policies that eliminate legal status pathways. The issue involves multiple stakeholders: employers benefiting from cheap labor, workers seeking survival income, and citizens victimized by identity theft. Identity theft complaints and financial losses have escalated dramatically, rising from 19,000 complaints and $126 million in 2023 to 31,000 complaints and $185 million the following year. The Migration Policy Institute estimates over nine million unauthorized workers exist in the country.
Read at english.elpais.com
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