Riches et al v. Dobbs et al

Filing 1

Case 1:07-cv-02609-WBH
LT i i Jiri "' i

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Document 1-6
Li iV L

Filed 10/18/2007

Page 1 of 5

testimony before Congress last year. Last week, speaidrtg ko the National Pxess Club, he added, "We want your money whether you are here legally or not and whether yo= legally or not." earned it In 1996, the IRS created the individual taxpayer identification number, or ITIN, a nine-digit number that starts with "9," for taxpayers who didn't qualify for a Social Security number. Since then , the agency has issued about U million, of them, and by 2003, the latest year with available figures, the number of tax returns using them had risen to nearly one million. The government doesn't know how many of those taxpayers . were undocumented imm igrants . Foreign nationals ' with tax-reporting requirements in the U.S . can` also get an ITIN. But most of the people who use the number are believed to be in the u S, illegally. All tntd, between 1996 and 2003, the income-tax l iability for ITiN filers totaled almost $50 billion. As part of its outreach effort, the IRS has been helping taxpayers applyforlTIDis thraughpartnershipswith community groups. plc t+ erforEcvnoml~Pro, ossted its fwr~~~en e tax season ca atachivch onthectty's South Side, helping ir dividuals apply for the number and file in one sitting. Critics say the government is legitimizing the presence of illegal i mmigrants by encouraging them to file tax returns. "A major organ of the U.S. government is saying it's OK to be illegal as long as you sendinyour return," sMazkKrik roan executive c~e~or of the Center far~m 6 ration g` k,Llyhirl gootts t' ter imTniW3 'on controls . The decision to report wages and wi thheld taxes can be a hard one for illegal immigrants, though, because they normally use an invalid Social Security number to obtain work . Mrs. Castillo must attach the W-2, often with a fake Social Security number, to the tax return, along with the ITIN . The IRS instructs tax preparers to fill in Social Security numbers as they are shown on the W-2 form, even if the numbers are invalid. Mrs . Castillo assures her customers that the IRS doesn't share information with Homeland Security . The tax code prevents disclosure of taxpayer information except in limited circumstances. Inhis National . Press Clubspeech, Mr. Ever-' son said, `There is no bleeding over of information from the IRS to the Department of Homeland Security at thus stage . The systems are independent' Most illegal immigrants who visit Pets Business Services, as Mrs. Cast4l lds business is called, say they hope that filing a tax return will eventually boost their chances ofsecuring a given cad. A bipart isan immigration bill introduced in Congress last month requ i res proof of "good moral character" in order for illegal 'residents to qualify for permanent U.5 . residency; The last ,irnmi gr ationamnesty, in 198G, required them to prove they had lived and worked in the U.S . for several years. Theposs'lailityafgettingarefundisaxiatherm ( ~ i tivation : Because undocumented workers normally use a fake Social Security number to work, their social Security and Medicare contributions won't do them anygood . Filing a tax return withanlTIld gives them a shot at getting some withheld money back. " The rules of this country say that everyone must file taxes," says Pablo Espinoaa:, a welder. `Z

Even Rl egal Worker, s Pay Taxes
Continued from the franc page

gsantud)is wife, Martha, who works in a chickenproceg Plant, earned about $42,000 last year . !W: Esp*za acknowledges that he andltis wife are here Illegally. But in every other respect, he says, they are law-abiding residentslNe work hard . We have a clean record . We file our taxes," he says. Mrs~~ C~sti~o jots dawn the couple's IM rtanzMr bers o ° 1040 form Last Year, $~ . .$8 irk · . and $3+2.60 in,~Ca were deducted Mr.Espino~a'swages :Hiswifepaidseverat cued dollars in Social Security and Medicare P~ addition, $3,5Q8 in f 1 to t~s from their combined salaries. Ws . Ca S1M ft11C25 they will g2t'3 $3,462 l+2fuIld from the IRS} putting their-total federal tax bill at $46. Ber nice Reyes, a 24-year-old student, has br ~Af-2 forms for two years of work at a sand l~ shop . She says she wants to pay her taxes t drove she could be a good citizen . Since I s ~st time filing taxes, Mrs, Castillo helps her f9I1 bet a W-7 ITIN application, which states that "getf ing an MN does not change your iminigratiori status or your right to work in the U.S." The irony of filing a tax return isn't lost on Ms. Reyes, who works to pay her college tuition and aspires tat.daeh high school in South Conical. "f'mtxyinS to So)iY the law," she says. "But according to other laws, I shouldn't even be in this country ."

Mrs 4 astillo charges a fraction of what large tax p ~rers charge-a flat $40 for a simple 1040A o .She spends about 20 minutes a customer, a en inquiring about deductibles that they m'~ t have overlooked .8dcausetheundocumentedti~nmigrants hear about her by word of mouth, fey say they feel more comfortable at her office, than they would at a la~Fge tax-preparation firm . Customers who have moved to Texas, Arizona and the Southeast still use her services .

Mrs C,astilla started working as a clerk fn the IRS's LQS Angeles office in the mid 1970s. Eventuauy, s 'began volunteering during tax season at a churn #i South Central . intime,Mrs . Castillo decided s q,wanted to start her own tax bust ness, so she q ' t~te SRS job to avoid a conflict of interest and to other full-time post at a different govgrnme t :agency. She launched the business on the side, pharging people to fill out their returns fromarjiinprovisedaffice onher parents' covered front rch. rn 1999, her husband, Gerardo, converted dilapidated taco stall into an office .

Case 1:07-cv-02609-WBH

~_Vorkers

Document 1-6

Filed 10/18/2007

Page 2 of 5

Pay

Booming Los Angeles Business Caters To Immigrants Who Need Help Filing
By M1RiA M JORDAN Gos Angeles

Tam Mary

Illegally

A RECENT Sunday afte rnoo n, canstr uckionworkers, car was he rs, truc k drivers a nd st udents crow ded into P et ra Cas ti l lo'.s one-room tax-prepsration office in this ci ty's South C entra l neighborhood . Most of those i nside wh at wa s once the home of El Jefe Tacos sha red somethi ng besi des their need to beat this year's April 17 fil ing deadl ine : They are i llegal immigmts. "They are undocum ent ed, but they want to do everything right," s ays Mrs. C ast ill o, 50 year s ol d, who ha s a nononsense demeanor as she jug gles phone calls and customers, mainly speaking in Spanish. Politicians and activists campaigning for a crackdown on illegal immigration fre quen t ly complain th at the natio n's est ima ted 12 million undocumented reside nts violate U.S. law by not paymg taxes, as well as by being int he [3.5 . without pe r mis siolL But Mrs. C a sti l lo 's booming bu s ine ss shows how some of th e workers who are here in defiance of one arm of tie U.S . governm ent-the Department oFHomeland Security--a re fl ing federal tax ret u rns with the aggre ssi ve pni couragement of another-the In ternal Revenue Ser vi ce. " If so meon e is working without authorizati on in this country, he or she is no t abs olved of t a x liabili ty," IRS Commissioner Mark Everso n , a former im migrati o n official, sa id in Please turn to th e back page 0 N

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Case 1:07-cv-02609-WBH

Document 1-6

Filed 10/18/2007

Call "'Tr"L, zA
Page 3 of 5 ,. ~. -. .·

Set to t he environment of ethnic and rac ial paranoia that defined the early 4940s Angeles, Californ i a , the "Zoot Suit Riots" were a defining moment for foot -rinLos ` Suiters and the Mexican American., community., In March and Apri l of '1942, the . enti re Japanese and ' a~~se~F4mer~an 'Population on the West Coast of the United States wee depor~l ~o '"relodat 'ion. centers" (mild euphemisms for concamps) iocated~iR thre~ir~tr.`d~the U . S . Vllithout the' Japanese ~4meri Xa sl mund to focus the fa g'als ''~racial ,:rpar-anoi a ,'L.os ~Ange4enos began to lokA a~rard the Zoa# Su itors . A "g cai ~ Crime Wave" was announced, by local news =
pap rs ( prec ursors to toda yr's-,tabfoids -l'o:r{]EO11e- YS. IC1. ''yellowjournalism "), and a _m r

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grand jury was appointed bar ~he_pi ~r of Los Angeles to i nvestigate.
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' r kROU~dt#~~-sama'tlme`r th~i'~rs~An~geles bounty 5k~eni~ ' s. Depart - . second~egrse murder, g i ven . prison terms of. flve year s to life, and ~Tnen~ls ec j ded l o, faues3~gat ~s=ancl ·appointed '· E. Duran Ayres to shipped off to the infamous San Duent in Prison . ':headr#~eir~ Fo'r~ 'igr~Re~a~ans .Bureau .~An d .t ;iough Mr, Gyres accu- On the night of June 3 , 1943, eleven sailors on shore leave stated '' `' ratelj~jdenfifted : much, ~the.~a~tiva dlscrir~inatlom that was occurr i ng that they were attacked by a group of Mexican Pachucos . In response _ , e~ai~stthe "f~ex icarr 4W e~e imarit° ;, fie :drav~ some 'startling conclusions, to this , a group of over 200 un iformed sailors chartered 20 cabs and ';bt5i6h rvyere charged into the heart of the Mexican American community in East .· ,,.=` i9' stafed.~raf ~r~ er~cans ~fe · esseAt ially. Indians and Los Angeles. My Zoot Suite r was fair game, On this and the follow'therefvreOde &·ar,~iar~. zprqughout ; his ,` he declared , the ing nights , many Zoot Suiters where beaten by this mob and stripped ; :Orientals have sk~iwni fesdfegard b~Muriari, lifitham have the Euro- ' of their clothes on the spot. Nine sailors were arrested during these e ·~n{~earas. ~ex~can~ipaefica~s.~rad ir2ed:~their ' naturally viodisturbances, riot one was charged with any crime On the following nvade~ ~U~eri~gtedtlencis . fri r~r..trie , 'bloodNairst~ r i~tecs' _ at"~lrllexico who were nights of June 4th and 5th , the uniformed servicemen again iinvaded , :said~ to have practlc idhuman sacriflc i~ centu ries ago .,* -one point in East Los Angeles , marching abreast down the streets, breaking i nto t· his report Ayres . euen_ mmparedt h e . Angla · to a domesticated house bars and theaters , and assaulting anyone in their way. The Police or :'. rataridthe Mexican' tu a hniifd cat,r suggestingtharthe Mexican would the Sheriff arrested not one . In fact, the servicemen were portrayed forever rita in . his Mid-4and vdo[erit`tenalericies- no matter.4iow much in the local press as heroes stemming the tide of the "Mexican Crime w .edac.~tioir arir~aln~~g ;he~mlght Wave ." During the nights of June 6th and 7#h, these scenes were , Orfthe riigl'rt of`'Aygu st 1 ,, 1942,' Zoot'Suiten id enry~~Leyaras, `20 , and again repeated . Time Magazi ne later reported that, "The police prao5orrii'ot his friend s·avw rean~lved In; alight with anott e r. gro u p .of, Pa` tics was to accompany the caravans of sold iers and -sailors in police '.-churns, at ,fh~'V1 ill'rac"rs ~Flanch,,*a :lalgoon ,' Later _tEie;next" moming , . cars , watch the beatings and jail the victims . " According to Ru dolpho , a Man named aJos6 D[az :uuaa found bleeding , and · unconscious on a Acufla in Occupied America , "Seventeen-year-old Enrico Herrera, x read neart4ec 7agoorr (later named~fhe ; sleepy ° Lago~mby ~areporter) . after he was beaten and arrested , spent three hours at a police sha' I~terdlec~ .;'~ou~,h ~xirte etlfcsl oeicam,~erstated rth atfiisi~~uii es . ton, where he was found by his mother, still naked and bleeding . ~aas~ansistei~ iit~itgh ia~-, f~ i I~i~hij ~' - _°,,R - '~' Police arrested over SOQ Chicano youtliswltlwut cause and labeled -tom ~erners~ o# ·fhe ,~8 _, ` e °grou~-'F~ad 3beem:ifut~be`~~° the arrests 'prevenfi re' action . ~:by` fha~local talni~' re~s~rrd '~I~arged -' gae~~i~rd~ Finally, at midnight on June 7th , the military authorities did what ' ~ -I caabioids a~Wblic~u~~~r'~justlce~'~~~ -s the city of Los Angeles would not ; they moved to stop the rioting df uengea Z agaf~~~~-'N. ~oot, ltsrs~·~caueeda~Lie ;Lns /~r1gete$~lige., M their personnel . Los Angeles was declared off limits for all military
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~~ .0." le o~of;.,d~.'~,personnel. Though there were little consequences for the rioters ~ r, ': ;Jkt~usl~~fh .arnd :1~'~k~:,y I~.rye fi~ ed~ ~ ~ ; W Cf~tk~n~s as°su icfgn~Y there was some pub l ic outcry. On June 16th, 1943, Eleanor Raos=;sof, ..assaulf ; ar~ried~bbac~~ ~~~aeoyle ~uverei,laeld' ~ln W'sQY evelt commented in her column that, ' The question goes deeper 7 µ~cl~ar,~e3 ;of ;t~~QO:, s stedc~rcln~ r d `. .r'ie than just cults . It is a racial protest . I have been worried for a to "smgle~;~ bmi ~++~a~~'~pa~Ish~s ' aiFie . fadl~liciiial~`' " time about the Mexican racial situation . It is a problem with roots their oloth~s.~ "` to

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l'arl~e'.Tradke agr0ed, a trek c~muld i Race Discord , " and she was accused of communist leanings in the the defend" ' `~ u1~s ;~nrh :ch wear; o~s~jyr, ;, accompanying editorial . Governor Earl Warren (later Chief Justice "hoodlui~ s'' .~b~ ~ se ll} :bf the 24: ~ efekidar~#s;Jiac1~' f~the U. S . Supreme Court during their landmark desegregation ~ Henry Leolummaniffm;,~ ~cf~'er~~IVh eneveFest~tia~tz,~ :cases) convened a committee to investigate the riots and recom..i~' Attomey tneirt~cu~i wiac~tes; the defen c an~a7ariiere !y-~ azr .a .1 punishment for all involved i n the riots , servicemen and ci' ' . . ~: x w.. . i, .' r. t fl$ judge , ~ ~` ess of how dar.~z_~ g F,1y ;-,j t~Me . aj~tans Other than the charges filed against the Mexican American a' . , Mebe~?g made were :'K-.lud ~~ ~ ~~eel; "' ietims , no punishment was ever meted out. l ° dex k · ;. E . Duran Ayres oome "As the riots subsided , the governor ordered the creation of a ci U ~ ~ ~ i expert" witness as ~ ~t il g` e1ie ~ ;ins' committee to investigate and determine the cause of the riots. e Mexicans' penchanYl · " aV43 the committee issued its report ; it determined racism to be a ' 13 ear "blood thirst" The trraf''~' '' '~~` al cause of the riots. At the same time , Mayor Fletcher Bowron `' five months-and on January 1 f;;l " e to his own conclusion . The riots, he said , were caused by j uvenine of the r`~ co-defendarrts (ina,'~. 1· ~esdelinquents and by white Southerners . Racial prejudice was not _ ,Henry La were found
Streetlaw Magazine 63

as we should ." Los Angeles ' response was typified by the June 18th ; ke ~~'~dls~cCaf~ i, headlines of the Los Angeles Times, " Mrs . Roosevelt Blindly St i rs ;

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Case 1:07-cv-02609-WBH

Document 1-6

Filed 10/18/2007

Page 4 of 5
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-"i6ame' ca ,for the relief of imemv~iW d th P assume huge proportions in t71We~i* This iii t can quarter, the community swung to portafi~ a determination to oust the Mex icans . docu' cn ~ ' ,Thanks to ,the rapacity of his-ove:~lord s, many a he Iiad not been a'b~e -ta:accumulate any __4n-Re savings. He was in default in his rent. when v - He was a , burden to the taxpayer. At this a more juncture, :an ingenious social worker sug- l arl~~ gested the desirability of a wholesale de- 'the ,~ar portation. But when, the Federal authori- boA
.,ties weter consulted they could promise `Mexica but slight assistance,,4~ce many-of the ~ b~v~+t you~tger-Mexicans in S 6ufttern Califor- ,,,,. art~" ~a m ~,

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nia were American citizens ; beis~g.the ~ to N~ Ameri can -barn children of immigrants. t Moreover, the Federal-officials iizsisted, an iin cases of illegal entry, upon a public m i hearing and a formal order of depoifa.~ 11 lion. This procedure involved delay and d expense ; and, inoreovez,it could not be ' lo'"~ -used ta, advantage in ousting · any large 01 ~~ ~iamber.' us e a The govemmenfs soZutron was t~he·R.epatrItion Program . In cooperation with ' the kexican go 'v"Zraml ent, which hid re- ,r. .; la gretted t'~iqNnas of so many able wor `V`, ' ` ti S U. S . federd l,t&,~county, and Iocal ~; ficials appIiea ,j*esswe on Mexiea~i's to voluntarily" return to 11 Ilexico . Negotia~ }}},,,
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Case 1:07-cv-02609-WBH

. ~..~~

Document 1-6

Filed 10/18/2007

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dent Dwight, D . Elsenh-6wer td' General Joseph S w in _ Sen _- Wllliartr Fulbilq New York Fmes.'t ' by "Mexzican 'w " . y 1,000,000 case relaxation in sth ' - an A farmer-explo ite' is aba ` of' tfae· Federai ~ ' " 'G y sides&tt4 bordef he . . ,unethieali °coyate'"f "~ In' ised" contracts in- Te } u '.''haiuer` be camg- Incre carryptlo Inc.~easing :~gaevsq LFni#ed ~tateg a~rd:h~l ;resa6d .phe w brae . . .,, st : Wtexica inF 49 ~ ·ia .s ~ ,theMbo nder, , ~~~ E ~ ' lE ~bYrr~eF1~

ande valley cotton growe rs were If V the wages paid elsewhere i n newspaper clamored for justice in '{ acsttNities by wetbacks , st`rid itself of the problem, and "Op-1954, headed by INS com` g , the United States Border state, and federal authori~' '{' asimditary operation of rants . They stopped nts rom~te Presi- sears = ~a h' ' . ngtime,, f iend , ~, anyone on th e can and demanded k I ' ec~ta ''1proGfofy~e~ia ~anshi ego s ~r&y focused on AmerI asiderrts and natue .icon-IVlexh e ds ., d PD . ,~, . . . fillegals and de' bo or- ~4 Gafl~~,~born citizens A On ~ ~. b~' a curio s . "' ~n July 15 , the f ~ · of-the:~er~ , 4 , 800 aliens were f d There ~ he daily-totals Vumdled to an averway .from tit , +` mment e t es e the a~io r ig hest levels-~, rx & sas,~`ueIf as `r ~ tt P
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