How difficult would it have been to extend the tourist visa or to apply for a work visa? I'm not familiar with immigration law, but I have to believe he had legal options. On the other hand, he wasn't a drug mule bringing contraband across our border in the dark of night. He was a legal immigrant who chose to commit identity theft and live with it for 20 years. Under the circumstances I feel the punishment was adequate.
I may have thought differently 20 years ago. At this point, the guy built a life and has a consistent track record of being a solid, contributing member of society. That’s more than I can say for many people born here. I feel the same about the “dreamers.” Moreover, I believe the judge made the right call even though many judges would have thrown the book at him and likely added immediate deportation. I hope he is allowed to stay in the US.
People that earn compassion should receive the same.
This man committed a crime For years. He was found guilty. While the Court has the right to adjust his sentence, this sends a message to all other foreigners. You don’t have to wait in line and follow the RULES to become an American Citizen. Steal someone’s identification and start your new life.
Great story! I know it is impossible to live in someone else’s shoes and to understand the choices we make because of limited resources. In one way I find him courageous, he did everything he could to live an authentic life driven by his choices. On the other hand I am a law abiding citizen with enormous resources purely by being born in this country. It is a terrifying thought to realize our next door neighbor may not be who they say they are. In this instance he was just wanting a wonderful life, but if he were someone with the intention of doing harm the whole framework changes and becomes very very frightening.
I am kind of a law and order person so though I am sympathy and empathy for this guy, he deceived people and committed identity theft. The judge's decision opened the door for more such situations occurring. We live in a frightening society with many crimes that we could not have imagined many decades ago.
I love "people that earn compassion should receive the same." The judge was bound to convict him, yet showed mercy. This was a long con without a mark. True, we could view the US Government as the victim of his swindle, but he also contributed to the economy over the 20 years. His imagination and craftiness overwhelmed the patience necessary to gain entry through legal, albeit slower means; for that, he has paid an additional price.
This will set a bad precedent for citizens and non-citizens alike, but it could be especially worrisome with foreigners whose backgrounds can't be as fully checked as citizens. Why didn't he attempt a legal solution to extend his stay or become a legal resident so our tax dollars weren't wasted on courts and lawyers?
I don’t understand why there is so much leniency on illegal immigration. There are literally thousands of LEGAL immigrants who aren’t being treated as well as those who jump the turnstile.
On the case of Mr Guedes, I’m sure he lived with the nagging fact that he could be caught by the Feds, even after 20 years. He clearly made a good life in disguise, but alas, things caught up with him. The judge was lenient, probably to being an “upstanding citizen”.
However, now that he’s going back toBrazil, after having lived here, he may find another country to migrate to where he can still live a good life.
On getting legal entry into the US, we need to realize that most of the State Dept was gutted over the last few years and the number of employees to process visas has shrunken when the number applying for entry has quadrupled. So it’s much harder to get into the country legally.
As an immigrant US citizen, I understand and sympathize with Mr. Guedes, though he committed a longstanding crime. I know the difficulty involved in trying to get a visa or permanent residency here in the US and the things many people have resorted to in order to get here. Heck, there's an example right here in this newsletter regarding the people from Cuba in their "rustic vessel". I believe the judge was quite fair in his decision. A harsher verdict would have served no purpose either as deterrent or rehabilitation in my opinion. As for future ramifications, I doubt this was a very publicized verdict that people are going to be trying to exploit. I only found out about it because I read this newsletter. The dead guy whose name was used was not harmed in any way and based on his reputation, Mr. Guedes did some good with his fake ID.
I immediately felt passion and almost empathized with this man. What had he done that was so egregious? He took the name of a deceased child with no intention of malice. He fabricated a scenario about his life and then went on to live it. As far as the facts presented seem to indicate he lived in exemplary life with a generous and kind spirit toward his fellow humankind. He also demonstrated the traits of a model employee. Upon further reflection, however, one has to ask, “does the means justify the end”? Is life a game where we can “shortcut” if given the opportunity such as in the board game The Game of Life? Was he just being creative while the rest of us simply slog along? Some shortcuts are acceptable while others are not. I am in no way judging him. We all make choices in life. Hopefully, those choices are dualistic in nature benefiting the one making the choice as well as those impacted by the choice made. I think the sentence imposed was just. The lesson to be learned here is some of one’s actions have moral and ethical implications and we need to consider them when we make those choices.
An intriguing case. I'm glad the judge showed leniency in his sentencing. I'm sure it was based on Mr. Guedes history. However, I believe it is important to realize that the life that Mr. Guedes built was based on a lie which he intentionally continued with for an extended period of time. As others have pointed out, there were other options available to him which he willingly chose to ignore in favor of an "easy" way to continue his original deceit. Although many of us might not like the choices available to us at times, in general, most would choose to do what is legal in most cases. Mr. Guedes did not make that kind of decision, instead he chose to continue with a life of deceit. We applaud him for being a "good" citizen, but was he really? Is a life based on a lie a "good" life? Where does his own responsibility for his own behavior come into play? We are all products of our choices, some good, some not so good, but they are still our choices. I believe most of us would choose to attempt to find a way to gain citizenship legally, and not live with the fear/anxiety that comes with choosing to live a lie. While I empathize with Mr. Guedes, he is still responsible for his choices, and his choice to continue to live a lie has consequences, which he is dealing with now. I wish him luck going forward, and hope he makes better initial choices than he did many years ago.
How difficult would it have been to extend the tourist visa or to apply for a work visa? I'm not familiar with immigration law, but I have to believe he had legal options. On the other hand, he wasn't a drug mule bringing contraband across our border in the dark of night. He was a legal immigrant who chose to commit identity theft and live with it for 20 years. Under the circumstances I feel the punishment was adequate.
I may have thought differently 20 years ago. At this point, the guy built a life and has a consistent track record of being a solid, contributing member of society. That’s more than I can say for many people born here. I feel the same about the “dreamers.” Moreover, I believe the judge made the right call even though many judges would have thrown the book at him and likely added immediate deportation. I hope he is allowed to stay in the US.
People that earn compassion should receive the same.
This man committed a crime For years. He was found guilty. While the Court has the right to adjust his sentence, this sends a message to all other foreigners. You don’t have to wait in line and follow the RULES to become an American Citizen. Steal someone’s identification and start your new life.
Great story! I know it is impossible to live in someone else’s shoes and to understand the choices we make because of limited resources. In one way I find him courageous, he did everything he could to live an authentic life driven by his choices. On the other hand I am a law abiding citizen with enormous resources purely by being born in this country. It is a terrifying thought to realize our next door neighbor may not be who they say they are. In this instance he was just wanting a wonderful life, but if he were someone with the intention of doing harm the whole framework changes and becomes very very frightening.
I am kind of a law and order person so though I am sympathy and empathy for this guy, he deceived people and committed identity theft. The judge's decision opened the door for more such situations occurring. We live in a frightening society with many crimes that we could not have imagined many decades ago.
I love "people that earn compassion should receive the same." The judge was bound to convict him, yet showed mercy. This was a long con without a mark. True, we could view the US Government as the victim of his swindle, but he also contributed to the economy over the 20 years. His imagination and craftiness overwhelmed the patience necessary to gain entry through legal, albeit slower means; for that, he has paid an additional price.
This will set a bad precedent for citizens and non-citizens alike, but it could be especially worrisome with foreigners whose backgrounds can't be as fully checked as citizens. Why didn't he attempt a legal solution to extend his stay or become a legal resident so our tax dollars weren't wasted on courts and lawyers?
I don’t understand why there is so much leniency on illegal immigration. There are literally thousands of LEGAL immigrants who aren’t being treated as well as those who jump the turnstile.
On the case of Mr Guedes, I’m sure he lived with the nagging fact that he could be caught by the Feds, even after 20 years. He clearly made a good life in disguise, but alas, things caught up with him. The judge was lenient, probably to being an “upstanding citizen”.
However, now that he’s going back toBrazil, after having lived here, he may find another country to migrate to where he can still live a good life.
On getting legal entry into the US, we need to realize that most of the State Dept was gutted over the last few years and the number of employees to process visas has shrunken when the number applying for entry has quadrupled. So it’s much harder to get into the country legally.
One has to wonder about what’s in McDonalds French fries when they can still be identified after 70 years?
As an immigrant US citizen, I understand and sympathize with Mr. Guedes, though he committed a longstanding crime. I know the difficulty involved in trying to get a visa or permanent residency here in the US and the things many people have resorted to in order to get here. Heck, there's an example right here in this newsletter regarding the people from Cuba in their "rustic vessel". I believe the judge was quite fair in his decision. A harsher verdict would have served no purpose either as deterrent or rehabilitation in my opinion. As for future ramifications, I doubt this was a very publicized verdict that people are going to be trying to exploit. I only found out about it because I read this newsletter. The dead guy whose name was used was not harmed in any way and based on his reputation, Mr. Guedes did some good with his fake ID.
I immediately felt passion and almost empathized with this man. What had he done that was so egregious? He took the name of a deceased child with no intention of malice. He fabricated a scenario about his life and then went on to live it. As far as the facts presented seem to indicate he lived in exemplary life with a generous and kind spirit toward his fellow humankind. He also demonstrated the traits of a model employee. Upon further reflection, however, one has to ask, “does the means justify the end”? Is life a game where we can “shortcut” if given the opportunity such as in the board game The Game of Life? Was he just being creative while the rest of us simply slog along? Some shortcuts are acceptable while others are not. I am in no way judging him. We all make choices in life. Hopefully, those choices are dualistic in nature benefiting the one making the choice as well as those impacted by the choice made. I think the sentence imposed was just. The lesson to be learned here is some of one’s actions have moral and ethical implications and we need to consider them when we make those choices.
I support the judge - a rare case of common sense overriding an inflexible law.
An intriguing case. I'm glad the judge showed leniency in his sentencing. I'm sure it was based on Mr. Guedes history. However, I believe it is important to realize that the life that Mr. Guedes built was based on a lie which he intentionally continued with for an extended period of time. As others have pointed out, there were other options available to him which he willingly chose to ignore in favor of an "easy" way to continue his original deceit. Although many of us might not like the choices available to us at times, in general, most would choose to do what is legal in most cases. Mr. Guedes did not make that kind of decision, instead he chose to continue with a life of deceit. We applaud him for being a "good" citizen, but was he really? Is a life based on a lie a "good" life? Where does his own responsibility for his own behavior come into play? We are all products of our choices, some good, some not so good, but they are still our choices. I believe most of us would choose to attempt to find a way to gain citizenship legally, and not live with the fear/anxiety that comes with choosing to live a lie. While I empathize with Mr. Guedes, he is still responsible for his choices, and his choice to continue to live a lie has consequences, which he is dealing with now. I wish him luck going forward, and hope he makes better initial choices than he did many years ago.
If hard cases make bad law, bad law penalizes good people.
If hard cases make bad law, bad law can penalize good people.