Puerto Rico’s Identity Crisis: Thousands Caught in Stolen Identity Web

San Juan, Puerto Rico, has become the epicenter of a shocking identity theft scheme, where thousands of Puerto Ricans have discovered that their identities have been stolen and are being used for illegal activities in the United States.

Discovering Stolen Identities

One such Puerto Rican is Jose Marrero Rivera, an airport food stand worker in San Juan. Rivera’s life took a surprising turn when he was arrested for car theft. However, the shock did not come from the crime itself; it was the warrant that presented him with a chilling realization. His name and Social Security number had been stolen.

Rivera was not an isolated case. Hundreds, perhaps thousands, of Puerto Ricans, American citizens with Hispanic surnames, have found themselves in similar situations.

Stolen Identities: Valuable Commodities

These stolen identities are valuable commodities in a lucrative document-fraud scheme. They sell for up to $6,000 on the black market and have surfaced in various fraud-ring busts and immigration raids.

Puerto Rico’s Secretary of State, Kenneth McClintock, described the situation as a crisis. He called birth certificates “legal tender.”

Response: Voiding Puerto Rican Birth Certificates

The government’s response has been to void every Puerto Rican birth certificate as of July 1, 2023. This decision affects approximately 5 million people, including 1.4 million on the U.S. mainland. The new birth certificates, which include enhanced security features, will be issued starting July 1. However, the old ones must be annulled by September 30, causing mass inconvenience without a guarantee of solving the problem.

The Root of the Problem: Tradition and Accessibility

Puerto Rico’s tradition of requiring birth certificates for enrollment in schools or joining churches, sports teams, and other organizations contributes to the problem’s persistence. The new law prohibits these organizations from keeping copies, but the untold numbers of passports, driver’s licenses, and other documents issued to holders of false birth certificates remain valid.

Serious Consequences: Potential Links to Terrorism and Identity Theft

The FBI has expressed concerns about the serious consequences of this situation, including potential links to terrorism. However, most of the business revolves around individuals living and working illegally in the U.S. The most sought-after package includes a birth certificate, a Social Security card, and a driver’s license, often referred to as a “tripleta.”

Identity Theft Cases in Puerto Rico and Beyond

Identity-theft rings have been dismantled in Puerto Rico and various states. One ring stole data from 7,000 public school children, while another Puerto Rican Department of Motor Vehicles employee was accused of stealing 1,200 driver’s-license renewal forms.

Impact on Puerto Ricans: Additional Challenges and Fears

As Puerto Ricans grapple with the new law, some report difficulties in obtaining new driver’s licenses. While some are skeptical of the timing, which comes amid increasing scrutiny and deportations of Latinos, others are feeling the impact in their daily lives. Cesar Perales, president of LatinoJustice PRLDEF, a civil rights group, expressed concern, stating, “There’s now this cloud over Puerto Rican birth certificates. The timing, it seems to me, could not have been worse.”

Real-life Consequences: Cases of Identity Theft and its Far-reaching Impact

For Jose Marrero Rivera, the consequences of identity theft have been far-reaching. He was lucky to avoid arrest for car theft due to a mismatched police photo. However, the thief using his identity defaulted on loans in Miami and fell behind on credit card payments in Chicago. Marrero, a married father of two, reported the identity theft case in 2004 but was left waiting for six years with little progress.

“They told me, ‘There are cases more important than that little case,’” Marrero recalled, dismayed at the lax response from local authorities. Unable to secure a loan to buy furniture, Marrero has seen his credit ruined, and he’s still in the dark about the person using his identity. “There’s a criminal who knows everything about my life, and I know nothing about his.”