Warmhearted Ignorance

The Law of Unintended Consequences Strikes Again

Wherever one chooses to get their news from, it is likely that they will see reporting on the recent efforts to remove illegal aliens from the US. Despite reports that a large majority of Americans from all ancestries support these efforts, the reporting focuses on those opposed to the mass deportations. Frequent arguments include that illegal aliens contribute to society and are for the most part not bothering anyone. There has been at least one elected legislator stating that illegal entry is not a crime. Just about everywhere, opponents to mass deportations if not outright stating the same, insinuate that unless they broke another law, they are not criminals. Let us dispel these misguided notions.

I shall again use my situation to help illustrate reality. Unless paid under the table, to be paid for services performed in the US, one must have a Social Security Number (SSN), or a Tax Identification Number (TIN). Illegals cannot have either issued to them. Yet, they are on untold numbers of payrolls. How? ID theft. They acquire the SSNs of US citizens to facilitate life in the US. If there are 10 million illegal aliens working in the US, there are 10 million US citizens who are their victims of ID theft. The argument that they are not breaking any laws is categorically false. Anyone who has been a victim of ID theft can tell those who have not the disruption this crime caused them, and is probably still causing them.

Right after college graduation, I worked for the NPS as a seasonal park ranger as I awaited for my visa to work in Japan to be approved. Shortly before the job was to start, I drove to the park to reconnoiter and hunt for an apartment. This trip took me through three different states. Upon return, I went to renew my Drivers license. Long story short, someone had renewed it 4 months prior, with their address and face upon it. While I was able to get that sorted out, in a fashion (more on that in a moment), the gravity of the situation hit me like a ton of bricks; I was unknowingly driving on an invalid DL and if pulled over for any reason would have been one hell of a mess to straighten out. This would have killed my hopes of getting a visa to Japan for I would have a criminal record.

If terminally bored, try proving you are you when someone also is on your DL. Fun fun. Eventually was able to, however, because I was a victim of ID theft, I can no longer just go and renew my DL like everyone else. The DMV must ensure I am the real Kitsune and it takes days to weeks to perform this task. Not because I did anything wrong, because someone wronged me.

12 years ago I learned of CBT, FBAR and the fight to first prevent FATCA from becoming law then to repeal it. Further atrocity against the freedom my Constitution is tasked with protecting, a passport revocation provision was passed into law. This allows the US government to revoke passports of any whom are believed to owe a certain amount of money to it, and not just in taxes as is often misreported. A passport is essential to have any visa. Passport revoked = visa revoked. For a brutal lesson in what happens to US citizens in Japan who have had their passport revoked look into I what happened to Chess giant Bobby Fischer.

At some point I came to know that at least one and most likely more people are living under my name and SSN in the US. I have discovered I have at least 3 children with 2 or more women that despite never having met them, I have been married to and divorced from. There are numerous trade certificates and professional licenses in my name bearing my SSN as well. There are also liens. If these total over the threshold for debt to the federal government, I can have my passport revoked and not even know it as the notification will be sent to whatever address those who ran up the debt provided.

Let me describe the terror I lived with since learning of this when my oldest was a mere babe. On the way to nursery school, if the local police stop me for an ID check, something I have had experience with in the past, they will run my alien residence card (gaijin card) through their idiot phone. If it comes back as invalid due to my passport being revoked, I would be immediately sent to detention in Tennozo Isle until deported. Even Japanese may not be allowed to contact their families when taken into to custody by the police. Even when they file a missing persons report, the police may not tell the family that they have their missing family member in custody. As far as I know, I would have to wait for a representative from the U.S. embassy to pay a visit before I could tell anyone other than the police that I have been taken. That visit would not be immediate. In the mean time, where is my kid? My wife would not know where they are. Would the U.S. embassy take it upon themselves to contact my wife on my behalf? Are they allowed to? As far as I know, my the first chance to contact my wife would be after I am returned to the U.S., months after being taken into custody. What would have become of our kid? Ignorance truly is bliss. I wish I never learned of this reality.

What is this passport revocation business? Well, for one, it’s ugly. The history of how it came to be is an eye opening one for those inclined to dig into it, which I encourage all to do. The provision calls for the treasury department to inform the state department to revoke or deny passports to any who are believed to owe the U.S. government a total of $50,000 or more. This is not just in taxes but includes them and fees, fines, and any and all other charges the government believes one may owe.

Now, the really ugly bit, the Flora rule, “a taxpayer must have “fully paid” the assessment (called the “full payment rule”) before filing suit in these courts”, and thanks to the current Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, all monies owed to the government are taxes. You got $50,000 or more in cash lying about? I do not. However, until this is paid, no passport. Unless rich enough to pay the fine and either let it go or have enough money left to afford to take the government to court to get it back and somehow prompt the same to catch the ID thieves, you are just out of a passport, a ton of cash or both with no redress available. All US expats live under this threat, whether they know it or not.

To fully appreciate the jeopardy illegals place law abiding US expats in, lets us dig deeper still. Doing so gets us to foundation of the matter. FBAR, a low passed in 1970 had no penalty for noncompliance until 2009 when 8th amendment defying fines were applied retroactively, has been called the FBAR fund raiser. The fines for noncompliance with the more recent FATCA law also fit in to the same category. Both are untouchable as the fines they generate are the funding mechanisms for legislation passed into law.

Sometime during my early adulthood, Pay Go (I believe it was called) was passed with great fanfare, a triumph for the conservative cause of fiscal responsibility. It eliminated unfunded mandates by requiring all legislation enabling new programs to include their own funding mechanisms. It being believed that it was politically undesirable to have the actual price tag on new programs, the amount of taxes needed to pay for these new programs, they opted to raise funds off the nation’s diaspora. FBAR and FATCA (IIRC FATCA funds this along with FBAR, though it may fund a different program.) fines pay for a jobs bill and the passport revocation shake down funds a highway, or visa versa. That is why all proposals to repeal FATCA or FBAR or even CBT are met with, “It must be revenue neutral” from all but two senators, as far as I have learned. Whether it is lawful or not, just or not, fair or not, matters not; all that matters in all this is, is it revenue neutral or not. This means that we cannot expect a sympathetic government to ride to our aid when we are hit with debts illegals or other criminals incurred in our names. All the government cares about is getting “its money”.

Every single illegal alien working in the U.S. has taken a job from a citizen, is using an identity stolen from a citizen and puts those of us living abroad at risk of losing everything we have worked hard to earn. Do not allow warmhearted ignorance destroy your life.