FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CRM TUESDAY, MAY 9, 1995 (202) 514-2008 TDD (202) 514-1888 FORMER NATIONAL HISPANIC LEADER FOUND GUILTY OF IMMIGRATION FRAUD The Department of Justice and Kathryn E. Landreth, the U.S. Attorney in Las Vegas, Nevada, announced today that on May 8, 1995, a jury in Las Vegas found Jose Velez, who had been the national President of the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) from 1990 to 1994, guilty of 10 counts of immigration fraud. Velez was convicted of conspiring with others to file false legalization applications with the Immigration and Naturalization Service on behalf of thousands of unqualified alien applicants. He was also convicted of actually filing false legalization applications on behalf of nine unqualified aliens. Velez, 57, is scheduled to be sentenced on August 18, 1995. He faces a maximum term of imprisonment of 50 years and a maximum fine of $2,500,000. The legalization applicants false claimed that the aliens had performed certain required seasonal agricultural services in the United States or falsely claimed that the aliens had resided continuously and illegally in the United States since before January 1, 1982. The purpose of these applicants was to obtain for the applicants a Temporary Resident Card. The law would then permit the applicant to apply for a Resident Alien Card, commonly known as a "green card," which permits an alien to reside permanently in the United States and to later apply for United States citizenship. The applications were filed with the Immigration and Naturalization Service pursuant to a legalization program enacted by Congress, the Immigration Reform and Control Act, which went into effect in 1986. The prosecution of Velez is the product of an INS Legalization Fraud Task Force investigation into widespread legalization fraud in Las Vegas, Nevada. In addition to Velez, the investigation has thus far resulted in the guilty pleas or convictions of 20 individuals, who together are responsible for filing false legalization applicants for in excess of an estimated 11,000 unqualified aliens. #### 95-262