A Lesson In the Law

Editorial

Beware of Greeks bearing gifts and immigration consultants promising green cards. That is the clear message from the fiasco surrounding the activities of Christine Owad as revealed in this newspaper last week and again this week.

Owad, a self-styled immigration specialist, not even a qualified lawyer, offered legal residence to clients, no matter the circumstances of their presence in the United States. It seemed too good to be true, and it was.

It is easy to see why. Owad seemed to provide the answer so many young undocumented Irish in New York desperately sought. She offered a panacea, legality in return for a few thousand dollars, and better still, it did not matter what their status was when her clients came to her.

No wonder so many did. We may never know the full number, but doubtless, as the story reveals itself, more and more will come forward. All credit to Attorney General Eliot Spitzer and Manhattan DA Robert Morgenthau for stepping forward to put a stop to it.

But these politicians have come in at the heel of the hunt after much of the damage has been done. There are many questions that must be asked of the community itself and why people did not act quicker.

It is clear that the activities of Christine Owad were known far and wide, and in some official immigration circles soon after she began her trawl for Irish immigrants. One of the extraordinary aspects of covering this story has been the amount of people who now admit they had knowledge that it was occurring.

The explanation for not exposing the scam given by some is that they thought perhaps there was a previously unknown way this person could secure legal status, and they were loathe to step in.

Yet, even a cursory conversation with Christine Owad would have revealed that her promises of green cards and work permits for everyone were just so much pie in the sky.

There was a time to speak out in the local Irish American press, yet her activities were held secret by those who should have known better. It is simply not good enough to claim they thought she may have had a way around the law.

There is hardly a more vulnerable condition than being undocumented in America, especially since September 11 and the new era of tightened laws. Taking advantage of the undocumented is a cynical business which preys on dreams and hopes and then crushes them.

Owad promised to legally circumvent the immigration laws. She had the perfect narrative for those desperate to stay here, and she seemed incredibly knowledgeable to their untrained ear. It was all sound and fury signifying nothing.

She saw loopholes in the law that vastly qualified lawyers did not see. She had a fast track to the coveted green card, and unfortunately many bought what she was peddling.

It was hard to blame them, in terms of where they find their lives at present, trapped in a limbo with no way out short of an amnesty or marrying an American citizen.

There is also the Irish predilection to believe that there is always some way around the unforgiving law, whatever it might be. Alas, in this case for any Irish undocumented that sadly was not the truth.

There is hope for the undocumented of an amnesty under the new Kennedy/McCain bill. It may be an outside shot at present, but it is certainly better than the one the undocumented were getting placing their trust in Christine Owad. We could all have done better.