Illegal immigrants are a massive problem here in the United States. As you've no doubt heard, a lot is going on with it here and now, with mass deportations becoming a reality.
Some have argued the problem is overstated and that these are really just people who have come here and complied with our laws, that's not universally true. For example, this one illegal immigrant's actions highlighted so many problems with our system.
And here's the kicker. I didn't require anything particularly fancy on his part to do so. He just had something that a lot of high school students got back in my day so they could buy beer.
An illegal immigrant from the Dominican Republic has been charged with voter fraud after authorities say he stole an American citizen’s identity and voted in a federal election in Florida.
Carlos Jose Abreu, 45, registered to vote in 2020 and cast a ballot in the 2022 midterms.
Abreu sneaked into the U.S. about 25 years ago and lived in New Jersey where he married and had a child, according to court documents, but fled to Florida in 2007 after being accused of sexual assault, kidnapping and endangering the welfare of a child.
That’s when authorities say he stole the identity of a U.S. citizen who lives in Puerto Rico. He’s been using that identity ever since.
“Utilizing the stolen identity, the defendant obtained a Florida concealed weapons permit, purchased firearms, registered to vote, voted in state and federal elections and attempted to obtain a United States passport,” prosecutors told the court.
Last August, prosecutors charged Abreu with aggravated identity theft and multiple counts of making a false statement on a passport application. He pleaded guilty to the passport charges.
It’s not clear from court documents why he wasn’t charged with the gun and voter fraud offenses during the Biden administration.
That's right, with a fake ID--a stolen identity, really--he not only illustrated just how vulnerable our voting system may be, even in states that require a photo ID to vote, but he also was able to buy guns at a gun store, and undergo a NICS check, without any problem.
As for why he wasn't prosecuted for voter fraud, that's probably because the Biden administration figures he voted for them.
Regardless, this kind of illustrates one of the big problems with this warped idea that we can keep bad people from doing bad things.
Florida has voter ID requirements. While they don't have universal background checks for guns, which my Florida friends are thankful for, they do require an ID for purchases of firearms at an FFL. That's a federal requirement, actually.
And Abreu was able to do both of those things thanks to a stolen identity.
The thing about a stolen identity is that unless you're using it for some kind of credit that you don't intend to pay back, most people will never realize their identity has been stolen.
Of course, this kind of shatters the idea that illegal immigrants aren't voting because, well, at least one did and you're deluded if you think this is a unique, isolated case and Abreu is the first to concoct an idea like this but never told a soul how to do it.
No, this is a thing.
But it also means that illegal immigrants who can't lawfully buy firearms can do so just as easily and universal background checks aren't going to stop them.
For all the fanfare gun control advocates like to make about stopping criminals from getting guns, this is a guy who was able to do it when he wasn't even in the country legally. How can anyone be so stupid as to think people born and raised here wouldn't get them?
