|
|
|||
|
|||
|
|
INS Inspector Accused of Smuggling Illegal Aliens NewsMax.com WiresLOS ANGELES – A federal immigration inspector and two private airport security guards were arrested this week for allegedly taking part in an alien-smuggling conspiracy that allowed travelers from the Philippines to slip out of Los Angeles International Airport without visas. Prosecutors said Tuesday that Maximiano Ramos, 53, North Hills, a supervisory agent with the Immigration and Naturalization Service, and Rita Cunanan, 42, North Hills, allegedly took payments from illegal aliens in exchange for being met at the airport and escorted out of the terminal. Brilliant – 'Travelers Without Visas' Program Federal prosecutors said the five conspirators named in a complaint filed Friday took advantage of the Travelers Without Visas program, or TWOV, which allows foreign nationals who don't have visas to make connections at American airports, supposedly as long as they do not leave the terminal. "Under this program, aliens from certain countries, such as the Philippines, are not required to obtain a visa if they are only stopping briefly in the United States," the U.S. Attorney's office said in a release Tuesday. "Typically, such TWOV aliens are passengers that have arrived in the United States on international flights and are connecting to another international flight." The program has been a courtesy for international travelers who need to change planes in the United States but do not plan to stay. It allows them to wait inside a U.S. airport without requiring them to obtain an entry visa. The airlines are required to handle the paperwork for TWOV passengers and provide private security guards to keep an eye on them and make sure they get aboard their next flight. The TWOV program has recently drawn new scrutiny by the federal government as a potential means for terrorists to infiltrate the United States. After Sept. 11, new concerns arose that a terrorist could land in the United States without a visa and slip out of the airport through the illegal cooperation or negligence of the security guards. The Los Angeles Times reported May 6 that the INS had cited airlines around 6,000 times in the past three years for not providing documentation that TWOV passengers had left U.S. airports in a timely manner. According to the charges announced, the illegal aliens would arrive at LAX while Ramos was on duty and would be met by security guards Eshraga E. Nugud, 41, Torrance, and Gloria E. Acosta, 47, Los Angeles. The uniformed guards would then escort the travelers out of the airport to the street level where they would be met by Vinzon Perez, 57, Los Angeles, and driven to an apartment in Panorama City "where the aliens would stay for several days until they were ready to be flown to their final destination in the United States." Ramos was scheduled to make his initial federal court appearance Tuesday afternoon along with Acosta and Nugud to respond to the charges. Each defendant faces a maximum of 15 years in federal prison. Copyright 2002 by United Press International. All rights reserved.
Read more on this subject in related Hot Topics:
A product that might interest you: |
|
|||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||
|
| All Rights Reserved © 2009 NewsMax.Com |