A Massachusetts police officer who is one of the state’s leading authorities on identity theft by illegal aliens ripped GOP Gov. Charlie Baker on Sunday, saying he has backed off from his promises to get tough on illegal immigration.
Saugus Police Officer James Scott said Baker “talks a good game” but has been reluctant to make changes that could help law enforcement take down the state’s illegal alien drug traffickers, reports the Boston Herald.
Many Massachusetts cops insist Scott’s training program has been instrumental in showing them how to detect illegal immigrants who’ve obtained Massachusetts driver’s licenses by using fake documents or stealing other people’s identities. But Scott says that when he discussed his initiative with Baker administration officials in March, the governor was dismissive of the training.
“He seemed interested, but then they just shut right down,” Scott said of Baker and his administration.
Scott claims his training courses, which teach police how to compare a drivers license applicant’s date of birth and Social Security number to FBI records, could help the Massachusetts Department of Motor Vehicles identify illegal aliens when they attempt to obtain licenses with fraudulent information.
The scheme is widespread among Boston’s Dominican drug trafficking gangs, which use fraudulent Puerto Rican identity documents to claim U.S. citizenship and apply for state benefits. In a May report, the Boston Regional Intelligence Center (BRIC) said that in “59 percent of the cases where the suspect listed Puerto Rico as their place of birth, there were signs of identity fraud or use of aliases.” (RELATED: Police: Dominican Immigrants Dominate Heroin Trafficking In Boston)
Scott says hundreds of Massachusetts police officers who have taken his “Identifying the Impostor” class are now arresting illegal immigrants with fraudulently obtained Massachusetts driving licenses.
Some of Baker’s fellow Republicans have criticized the governor for what they see as reluctance to tackle the fake ID problem. State Rep. Shaunna O’Connell said Baker should expand Scott’s program to motor vehicles employees.
“Officer Scott’s program has proven to work. It catches illegals and drug dealers,” said O’Connell. “I would love to see all the employees at the RMV trained in his program.”
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