Man Allegedly Held As Illegal Immigrant, Despite Valid ID

Mexican Vacationer Sues Isle Of Capri


UPDATED: 7:32 pm CDT June 22, 2007


KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- A Mexican national is suing the Isle of Capri Casino claiming they held him against his will and accused him of being an illegal immigrant -- despite the fact that he had a valid ID.

KMBC reported that Jose Parra came to Kansas City on vacation in March and went to the Isle of Capri to gamble, as he said he had done twice before.

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Parra, a mine supervisor in Mexico, said that he was stopped by gaming agents, even though he already purchased a boarding pass, had his valid Mexican driver's license, a passport and a valid tourist visa as a backup.

'I told them they were valid. But they took me in the back, took my picture and my fingerprints," said Parra.

He said that agents then held him for 30 to 45 minutes and gave him a citation for presenting false ID to board the boat.

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Parra said he was further delayed after gaming agents failed to show up for his court hearing. And after all that, Parra lost his job when he didn't return to Mexico because agents took his license.

After showing his valid Mexican ID, the case was dismissed.

The Mexican consulate said the incident is an outrage and police are required to tell Mexican nationals they have the right to contact the consulate if they get in trouble -- something the agents failed to do.

"It's a major violation of international law. The police are supposed to tell us if they have a Mexican foreigner here," said Daniel Omelas, the Kansas City Mexican consulate.

more . . . http://www.thekansascitychannel.com/news/13555908/detail.html

As the anti-immigrant extremists turn it into "anti-Brown people". Say, you look Hispanic, you must be an illegal immigrant. This is one of the reasons why that ordinance in Texas (about it being illegal to rent to illegals) is a bad idea. Anyone who is "brown" or has an accent, even if they are legal, will be suspect simply because of the color of their skin.

and the like when it comes to illegal immigrants. ("They will go home voluntarily if they can't work and can't find a place to live.") If such crackdowns become pervasive you can expect many cases of Hispanics trying to prove they are legal rather than illegal. Employers and landlords, some at least, will become leery about hiring and renting to Hispanics. They will think they have to double- and triple-check their credentials, while they don't have to do that with others.

kansas city, wouldn't it be a Native American gaming facility? Also, this man is a foreign visitor. He made no assertations that he was an American. I think this has international interest because it shows how American's are treating foreign visitors. That could mean a lot of revenue loss from foreign visitors, especially to that gaming facility.

KC is a large metro area and believe it or not, we do have legalized gambling and casinos here. No Indians though.

the only gaming facilities are on reservation land. And in these cases, like with Anna Nicole, the police have to be asked onto the reservation, they operate their own rules, etc.