Store Clerk Shot in Robbery Staged As Part of Immigration Scam

Immigration is kind of a hot-button issue these days, and we all understand why. You can't open the gates, let millions of illegal aliens into the country, then deport them all when the next president comes in without there being some controversy. Especially since the days of Democrats talking about securing borders seem to be over.

Probably as a result of the deportations, there are people scrambling to find a way to change their status.

As a result, that opens up fraud, which is nothing new. However, usually we see immigration fraud as marriages that exist on paper. At least, that's the fraud Hollywood sells us.

Yet a store clerk in the Chicago area was shot in what was supposed to be part of an immigration fraud effort.

[Parth] Nayi recruited people to pose as robbery victims, paid store owners to use their businesses, coordinated and paid the people acting as robbers, and coached the purported victims through the scheme. Participants paid him between $5,000 and $30,000 each for the privilege of being “robbed,” hoping to obtain U-visas, which are available to eligible victims of certain crimes who assist law enforcement. Upon making payment, the “victims” were told to be at a certain business at a certain date and time, officials said. The “robbery crew” arrived shortly thereafter.

The purported victims then sought certification from local law enforcement agencies confirming that they had been victims of qualifying crimes and had helped with investigations. After obtaining the certifications, the purported victims submitted fraudulent U-visa applications to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, prosecutors said.

Federal prosecutors said the “robbers” occasionally hit their victims, hoping to give the robberies an air of legitimacy. But things took a serious turn on July 13, 2023. That’s when one of the “robbery crews” entered Bucktown Food & Liquor, 1950 North Milwaukee, for a scheduled performance. Around 9:23 p.m., three “robbers,” all masked and each armed with a handgun, entered the store and ordered five people inside to surrender their wallets, police said at the time.

As the phony robbery unfolded, one of the crew members unintentionally fired their gun, striking a 26-year-old store employee in the abdomen. He was critically injured, but he survived. The “robbers” ran out and jumped into a Kia that had been reported stolen from the 2600 block of West Haddon in Humboldt Park earlier in the day.

After the robberies, the "victims" would go to the police station and get reports needed to apply for something called a "U-visa," which is a type of visa that lets the victims of various crimes, who are cooperating with police, to remain in the country.

Ostensibly, it's so law enforcement can conduct a successful prosecution, but the argument here is that someone decided that was a fine way to defraud the immigration system, only it went sideways because one of the "robbers" tried to make it look too convincing.

These crimes date all the way back to 2022, so it's not even in response to Trump's efforts to stamp out illegal immigration. This happened under Biden, which I find interesting since POTATUS didn't really seem interested in deporting illegal aliens.

Regardless, this is one of those crimes upon crimes, because not everyone who was in the building at the time was a phony victim. Everyone involved needs some serious prison time, followed by deportation.

Yeah, even those who were born in the United States.

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