VTMBH Article: Body
For many years, Felix Reyes, 51, consistently sent money to his family in the Philippines, and he never encountered any problem with his identification.
But last week, the 51-year-old Filipino immigrant worker had a different experience as he approached a bank teller to remit $600 to his wife in the Philippines. May I have your I.D. please? the bank teller replied in a pinched voice. After presenting his identification card, the bank teller also asked about his Social Security Number (SSN)and other federal identifications.
I was pissed off. I'm a frequent bank remitter, yet they kept asking for my identification. One I.D. is no longer enough. I felt my privacy has already been encroached with these regulations, Reyes said.
Since the passage of the USA Patriot Act in October 2001, the scene is already a familiar routine across the United States.
Before, one I.D. is enough, but now they ask more about documentation, said Imelda Juan, a New York-based nurse.
If you had a problem with any of that, you were advised to keep it to yourself, or else you are told of what you say. Or if anyone dared to question government measures that paid little heed to the civil liberties of immigrants, you might receive a quick rebuke like this: your complaint only aids the terrorist, quipped Myrna Santos, a teacher in the Philippines who is now a nanny in New York.
Some are already afraid to ask questions, housekeeper Mae Coloma explained. They might get you, and you cant say anything.
After September 11th , the U.S. government has imposed strict controls on the banks and companies that handle all immigrant payment remittances.
Under the U.S. Patriotic Act, we are required to verify the identities of remitters. But now, there are stricter guidelines issued by the Federal Reserve Bank, said Efren Dikitanan, compliance officer of Philippine National Bank (PNB) New York.
In the interim, we followed the New York Customer Policy wherein we check remitters against the specifically designated blacklisted persons provided by the Foreign Assets Control, Dikitnanan pointed out.
He added, however, that PNB is now strictly required to verify the identity of clients and other documenting record of information such as the name, address, SSN and other identifying information.
Dikitanan said the new system is advantageous to remittance centers because "it helps in preventing money laundering and terrorism.
Previous media reports indicated that three days before the September 11th attacks, two terrorists allegedly transferred about $15,000 to one recipient in the United Arab Emirates, dividing the cash into four transactions and using different Western Union outlets.
Since then, the state banking department began sharing money transfer information last March 2001 with the local office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). All money transmitters are checked against lists of suspected terrorists.
Rudy Soriano, compliance officer of Metropolitan Savings Bank (Metrobank), also said that they are required to comply with the enhanced due diligence program of the USA Patriot Act.
This means that we have to be diligent in dealing with customers enjoining them to submit ID, SSN, birth date verified by official documents, and as much appropriate valid information from each customer, Soriano said.
But we have to ensure customer privacy required under the Privacy of Consumer Financial Information. For example, if we get information , we dont divulge it to a third party, the compliance officer said.
Small companies, such as the Johnny Air Cargo are also following the strict new controls required by the U.S. government on money remittances.
Ginalyn Lopez, remittance division staff of Johnny Air Cargo in Queens said we require Filipino customers drivers I.D., company I.D., SSN, and other identification if they send $1,000 dollars and above to the Philippines.
For our records, we photocopy such documents, added Jasper Pechara of the package
section of the Johnny Air.
But as far as Lopez and Pechara's experience in the remittance sector, no Filipino customer has ever been apprehended and charged with money laundering or any act of illegal remittance.
We have obedient and law-abiding Filipino customers, Lopez said.
But a close scrutiny of the USA Patriot Act indicates that law enforcement officials can force companies to hand over records of who remitted such amount to other countries, and what addresses theyre sending to without the high bar of probable cause required for searches under the Fourth Amendment.
Further, company staff and officials, must not tell anyone such records have been requestednot even the patron being investigated. If they refuse to fork over the records, they can go to jail.
The post Sept. 11 controls on cash remittances is considered a major problem for many immigrants. It is a common knowledge that the core market for money transfers are immigrants who do not have drivers licenses or other government-issued IDs.
As of now, immigrants, be they legal or undocumented, are afraid of exposing themselves to the authorities, said Ronnie de la Cruz, a permanent resident.
But last week, the 51-year-old Filipino immigrant worker had a different experience as he approached a bank teller to remit $600 to his wife in the Philippines. May I have your I.D. please? the bank teller replied in a pinched voice. After presenting his identification card, the bank teller also asked about his Social Security Number (SSN)and other federal identifications.
I was pissed off. I'm a frequent bank remitter, yet they kept asking for my identification. One I.D. is no longer enough. I felt my privacy has already been encroached with these regulations, Reyes said.
Since the passage of the USA Patriot Act in October 2001, the scene is already a familiar routine across the United States.
Before, one I.D. is enough, but now they ask more about documentation, said Imelda Juan, a New York-based nurse.
If you had a problem with any of that, you were advised to keep it to yourself, or else you are told of what you say. Or if anyone dared to question government measures that paid little heed to the civil liberties of immigrants, you might receive a quick rebuke like this: your complaint only aids the terrorist, quipped Myrna Santos, a teacher in the Philippines who is now a nanny in New York.
Some are already afraid to ask questions, housekeeper Mae Coloma explained. They might get you, and you cant say anything.
After September 11th , the U.S. government has imposed strict controls on the banks and companies that handle all immigrant payment remittances.
Under the U.S. Patriotic Act, we are required to verify the identities of remitters. But now, there are stricter guidelines issued by the Federal Reserve Bank, said Efren Dikitanan, compliance officer of Philippine National Bank (PNB) New York.
In the interim, we followed the New York Customer Policy wherein we check remitters against the specifically designated blacklisted persons provided by the Foreign Assets Control, Dikitnanan pointed out.
He added, however, that PNB is now strictly required to verify the identity of clients and other documenting record of information such as the name, address, SSN and other identifying information.
Dikitanan said the new system is advantageous to remittance centers because "it helps in preventing money laundering and terrorism.
Previous media reports indicated that three days before the September 11th attacks, two terrorists allegedly transferred about $15,000 to one recipient in the United Arab Emirates, dividing the cash into four transactions and using different Western Union outlets.
Since then, the state banking department began sharing money transfer information last March 2001 with the local office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). All money transmitters are checked against lists of suspected terrorists.
Rudy Soriano, compliance officer of Metropolitan Savings Bank (Metrobank), also said that they are required to comply with the enhanced due diligence program of the USA Patriot Act.
This means that we have to be diligent in dealing with customers enjoining them to submit ID, SSN, birth date verified by official documents, and as much appropriate valid information from each customer, Soriano said.
But we have to ensure customer privacy required under the Privacy of Consumer Financial Information. For example, if we get information , we dont divulge it to a third party, the compliance officer said.
Small companies, such as the Johnny Air Cargo are also following the strict new controls required by the U.S. government on money remittances.
Ginalyn Lopez, remittance division staff of Johnny Air Cargo in Queens said we require Filipino customers drivers I.D., company I.D., SSN, and other identification if they send $1,000 dollars and above to the Philippines.
For our records, we photocopy such documents, added Jasper Pechara of the package
section of the Johnny Air.
But as far as Lopez and Pechara's experience in the remittance sector, no Filipino customer has ever been apprehended and charged with money laundering or any act of illegal remittance.
We have obedient and law-abiding Filipino customers, Lopez said.
But a close scrutiny of the USA Patriot Act indicates that law enforcement officials can force companies to hand over records of who remitted such amount to other countries, and what addresses theyre sending to without the high bar of probable cause required for searches under the Fourth Amendment.
Further, company staff and officials, must not tell anyone such records have been requestednot even the patron being investigated. If they refuse to fork over the records, they can go to jail.
The post Sept. 11 controls on cash remittances is considered a major problem for many immigrants. It is a common knowledge that the core market for money transfers are immigrants who do not have drivers licenses or other government-issued IDs.
As of now, immigrants, be they legal or undocumented, are afraid of exposing themselves to the authorities, said Ronnie de la Cruz, a permanent resident.