FRAMINGHAM -- In the latest fallout from a federal investigation of a ring that sold more than 1,700 Social Security cards to illegal immigrants, immigration officers in Boston are summoning hundreds who bought the cards to talk about their "immigration status."
The move by immigration officials has hundreds fearing they are about to be deported.
Officers are mailing letters asking people to come to the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement at the JFK Federal Building in Boston, sending shock waves through immigrant communities from Boston to MetroWest.
In Framingham, where the ringleader sold cards with fraudulent numbers to many Brazilian illegal immigrants, dozens of letters have arrived raising the level of panic. And many more letters may be on their way.
The ring, led by Brazilian native Karl Vasconcelos, sold 1,746 Social Security cards across the country and 868 in Massachusetts alone. Many of them were sold in Framingham, where Vasconcelos had an office. Many immigrants bought the cards to secure a driver's license.
"The process of identifying and locating those individuals who bought fraudulent Social Security cards through Vasconcelos is ongoing," said Paula Grenier, spokeswoman for the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, a division of the Department of Homeland Security.
Written in bureaucratic style, the letters ask people to "please, come at the time and place indicated in connection with an official matter." For many illegal immigrants, such a letter may lead to deportation. Many are afraid Immigration officers may arrest them and deport them. Immigration officials say not to worry.
"The letters don't mean automatic deportation," said Grenier."It doesn't mean they're going to be detained and arrested. Anybody who received the letter should come and report."
Immigration lawyers say that if those who bought the cards can't prove they're legally here, they may be deported. But first they will have to appear before an immigration judge -- the only one who can deport someone.
That's the worst fear of Lucia, a Brazilian illegal immigrant who has called Framingham home since 1998.
Lucia, 49, who asked that her last name be omitted, received the dreaded letter two weeks ago.
Five years ago, she had overstayed her six-month tourist visa becoming one of the many illegal immigrants who call Framingham home. And three years ago, she bought a Social Security card from Vasconcelos.
"I'm so afraid," said the distraught woman, a former bank teller in Brazil who now works at a local nursing home. "I just wanted to work here. That's why I bought that card. I never had any problems with the law. My family is here. I don't know what I'd do if they deport me. I'm in the hands of God."
That's a feeling shared by many.
Civic organizations report being swamped with calls asking for advice. Last week, 250 people showed up at a meeting organized by Allston's Brazilian Immigrant Center to address the issue.
"Everybody is afraid," said Fausto da Rocha, the center's executive director. "It's affecting the entire Brazilian community. Many people bought houses and opened businesses with the cards they bought."
Afraid of what the future holds for them, some of those summoned are moving out of MetroWest or preparing to leave the country, said civic leaders. Last week, 13 people were arrested by federal immigration authorities in connection with the case. All of them bought Social Security cards through Vasconcelos' ring. Vasconcelos, 37, was sentenced in 2003 to five years and three months in a Philadelphia federal prison. He'll be deported upon release.
As for Lucia, who was interviewed in downtown Framingham this week, she plans to go to the Immigration offices. If she's deported she will have to leave behind her 26-year-old daughter and her 2-year-old grandson.
"My life was difficult when I didn't have a Social Security number," she said. "But now it's much worse. I don't know what to do. I pray for God's help."
The move by immigration officials has hundreds fearing they are about to be deported.
Officers are mailing letters asking people to come to the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement at the JFK Federal Building in Boston, sending shock waves through immigrant communities from Boston to MetroWest.
In Framingham, where the ringleader sold cards with fraudulent numbers to many Brazilian illegal immigrants, dozens of letters have arrived raising the level of panic. And many more letters may be on their way.
The ring, led by Brazilian native Karl Vasconcelos, sold 1,746 Social Security cards across the country and 868 in Massachusetts alone. Many of them were sold in Framingham, where Vasconcelos had an office. Many immigrants bought the cards to secure a driver's license.
"The process of identifying and locating those individuals who bought fraudulent Social Security cards through Vasconcelos is ongoing," said Paula Grenier, spokeswoman for the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, a division of the Department of Homeland Security.
Written in bureaucratic style, the letters ask people to "please, come at the time and place indicated in connection with an official matter." For many illegal immigrants, such a letter may lead to deportation. Many are afraid Immigration officers may arrest them and deport them. Immigration officials say not to worry.
"The letters don't mean automatic deportation," said Grenier."It doesn't mean they're going to be detained and arrested. Anybody who received the letter should come and report."
Immigration lawyers say that if those who bought the cards can't prove they're legally here, they may be deported. But first they will have to appear before an immigration judge -- the only one who can deport someone.
That's the worst fear of Lucia, a Brazilian illegal immigrant who has called Framingham home since 1998.
Lucia, 49, who asked that her last name be omitted, received the dreaded letter two weeks ago.
Five years ago, she had overstayed her six-month tourist visa becoming one of the many illegal immigrants who call Framingham home. And three years ago, she bought a Social Security card from Vasconcelos.
"I'm so afraid," said the distraught woman, a former bank teller in Brazil who now works at a local nursing home. "I just wanted to work here. That's why I bought that card. I never had any problems with the law. My family is here. I don't know what I'd do if they deport me. I'm in the hands of God."
That's a feeling shared by many.
Civic organizations report being swamped with calls asking for advice. Last week, 250 people showed up at a meeting organized by Allston's Brazilian Immigrant Center to address the issue.
"Everybody is afraid," said Fausto da Rocha, the center's executive director. "It's affecting the entire Brazilian community. Many people bought houses and opened businesses with the cards they bought."
Afraid of what the future holds for them, some of those summoned are moving out of MetroWest or preparing to leave the country, said civic leaders. Last week, 13 people were arrested by federal immigration authorities in connection with the case. All of them bought Social Security cards through Vasconcelos' ring. Vasconcelos, 37, was sentenced in 2003 to five years and three months in a Philadelphia federal prison. He'll be deported upon release.
As for Lucia, who was interviewed in downtown Framingham this week, she plans to go to the Immigration offices. If she's deported she will have to leave behind her 26-year-old daughter and her 2-year-old grandson.
"My life was difficult when I didn't have a Social Security number," she said. "But now it's much worse. I don't know what to do. I pray for God's help."
