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Stanton couple confess to immigration fraud
Some 420 Mexican workers who were brought into the Permian Basin legally, then illegally "rented out" in a 2003-06 immigration fraud scheme.
by Bob Campbell
Midland Reporter-Telegram
Some 420 Mexican workers who were brought into the Permian Basin legally, then illegally "rented out" in a 2003-06 immigration fraud scheme, have been accounted for and many are back in the area working legally, authorities said Monday.
Stanton golf course and landscape company owners David Wayne and Nancy Mintle Decker pleaded guilty Friday to charging the workers and 10 area employers to bring them here from Monterrey, Nuevo Leon, Mexico, and let them work for the unauthorized businesses.
When sentenced by U.S. District Judge Robert Junell at 2 p.m. Oct. 1, Decker, 51, is expected to get 2 1/2 years in federal prison while his 45-year-old wife receives three years' probation. They also will be ordered to pay $150,000 in restitution.
If convicted in the jury trial scheduled to begin Monday, they could have gotten five years each and been fined $250,000 along with being ordered to pay restitution.
Assistant U.S. Attorney John Klassen said the couple's guilty pleas ended an investigation indicating employers who averaged paying the Deckers more than $10,000 each did not know the H2-B visa program prohibits legal immigrants from working for any employer other than the one making the application.
"We took statements from dozens of workers, all of whom explained how everything worked," Klassen said, adding each paid the couple from $300 to more than $1,000 to get into the country. "We don't believe the other employers had as full an understanding of the rules as the Deckers did.
"It was difficult to reconstruct because it was off the books for both sides, but after some negotiation and back and forth, we came to the mutual recognition that $150,000 is a reasonable estimate.
"The workers had visas, but the terms were violated. Many returned home and my understanding is quite a few are back here on other legitimate H2-B visas.
"If we're ever going to maintain control of our borders, the various rules and regulations concerning visas have to be followed fairly strictly."
Houston defense lawyer Dick DeGuerin said the owners of the nine-hole Decker Golf Pro course and Decker's Farm Supply & Nursery "are awfully nice people who started off trying to do this right.
"As soon as word got out they were bringing in workers, they were inundated with people wanting them to do it for them," said DeGuerin. "A lot of those they brought in were real workers on real jobs, but it got out of hand and they did some wrong things.
"We thought going to trial was not the right thing to do. They've adopted six kids and Nancy will be able to take care of them."
DeGuerin said the golf course is for sale, but Nancy Decker will operate the landscaping business while her husband is incarcerated.
"David has no criminal history," the attorney said. "This is kind of a bump in the road. He has a lot of friends and customers who believe in him. He is the tree man of West Texas."
Noting many of the workers were used at Lajitas Resort & Golf Club on the U.S.-Mexico border, DeGuerin said, "Ninety-five percent of the ones who come here are honest, decent and hard working and no threat to our security.
"This immigrant hysteria is like the red scare of the 1950s. It doesn't serve us at all because this country could not run without immigrant labor."
The Deckers' Nov. 28, 2007, indictment said they requested 100 workers in February 2003 and were granted 96 by U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services of the Department of Homeland Security.
They sought 100 in October that year and were authorized 69, asked for 100 and garnered 98 the next March, applied for 100 and got 63 in January 2005, requested 25 and gained 24 in September 2005 and sought 100 and were given 67 in March 2006, the indictment said.
The Deckers said the men each would work for them for a maximum of 10 months transplanting trees and landscaping "in the immediate service area of Stanton," the document said.
"In truth and fact, the Mexican nationals did but a few days' work for the Decker businesses, if any at all," it said.
Stanton golf course and landscape company owners David Wayne and Nancy Mintle Decker pleaded guilty Friday to charging the workers and 10 area employers to bring them here from Monterrey, Nuevo Leon, Mexico, and let them work for the unauthorized businesses.
When sentenced by U.S. District Judge Robert Junell at 2 p.m. Oct. 1, Decker, 51, is expected to get 2 1/2 years in federal prison while his 45-year-old wife receives three years' probation. They also will be ordered to pay $150,000 in restitution.
If convicted in the jury trial scheduled to begin Monday, they could have gotten five years each and been fined $250,000 along with being ordered to pay restitution.
Assistant U.S. Attorney John Klassen said the couple's guilty pleas ended an investigation indicating employers who averaged paying the Deckers more than $10,000 each did not know the H2-B visa program prohibits legal immigrants from working for any employer other than the one making the application.
"We took statements from dozens of workers, all of whom explained how everything worked," Klassen said, adding each paid the couple from $300 to more than $1,000 to get into the country. "We don't believe the other employers had as full an understanding of the rules as the Deckers did.
"It was difficult to reconstruct because it was off the books for both sides, but after some negotiation and back and forth, we came to the mutual recognition that $150,000 is a reasonable estimate.
"The workers had visas, but the terms were violated. Many returned home and my understanding is quite a few are back here on other legitimate H2-B visas.
"If we're ever going to maintain control of our borders, the various rules and regulations concerning visas have to be followed fairly strictly."
Houston defense lawyer Dick DeGuerin said the owners of the nine-hole Decker Golf Pro course and Decker's Farm Supply & Nursery "are awfully nice people who started off trying to do this right.
"As soon as word got out they were bringing in workers, they were inundated with people wanting them to do it for them," said DeGuerin. "A lot of those they brought in were real workers on real jobs, but it got out of hand and they did some wrong things.
"We thought going to trial was not the right thing to do. They've adopted six kids and Nancy will be able to take care of them."
DeGuerin said the golf course is for sale, but Nancy Decker will operate the landscaping business while her husband is incarcerated.
"David has no criminal history," the attorney said. "This is kind of a bump in the road. He has a lot of friends and customers who believe in him. He is the tree man of West Texas."
Noting many of the workers were used at Lajitas Resort & Golf Club on the U.S.-Mexico border, DeGuerin said, "Ninety-five percent of the ones who come here are honest, decent and hard working and no threat to our security.
"This immigrant hysteria is like the red scare of the 1950s. It doesn't serve us at all because this country could not run without immigrant labor."
The Deckers' Nov. 28, 2007, indictment said they requested 100 workers in February 2003 and were granted 96 by U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services of the Department of Homeland Security.
They sought 100 in October that year and were authorized 69, asked for 100 and garnered 98 the next March, applied for 100 and got 63 in January 2005, requested 25 and gained 24 in September 2005 and sought 100 and were given 67 in March 2006, the indictment said.
The Deckers said the men each would work for them for a maximum of 10 months transplanting trees and landscaping "in the immediate service area of Stanton," the document said.
"In truth and fact, the Mexican nationals did but a few days' work for the Decker businesses, if any at all," it said.
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The following are comments from the readers. In no way do they represent the view of mywesttexas.com.
Breaks my heart to hear.... wrote on Jul 22, 2008 1:27 PM:
" I personally know this family and it breaks my heart to hear this news story. This family is one of the best in the small community of Stanton. They have been active in taking care/adopting children to provide them a safe home, family and enviroment to grow up in. I grew up in this small town all my life and now reside in Midland TX. I do not think it is right that Mr. Decker is having to go to prison for this....give him a penalty to pay....give him a chance to fix this mistake but don't take him aways from his adoptive children that need him....they have been through enough and need both Mr. & Mrs. Decker there to raise them. This truly breaks my heart and my prayers will be with them. "
Bobby wrote on Jul 22, 2008 3:39 PM:
" Golf course and landscape company owners huh? CALILING MAYOR BLOOMBERG FROM NEW YORK!! CALLING MAYOR BLOOMBERG FROM NEW YORK!!
Why Mayor BLOOMBERG? Because it was not that long ago that he said the gollf courses the "greens" in New York would go brown if illegal aliens were deported. Yes, he said that. Maybe he could help these two and send them some workers, if he can spare them.
Is it not amazing how even intelligent people like Mayor Bloomberg, who is a billionaire, tend to sound like blathering idiots when illegal immigration is the topic.? In any case, these two should get a hefty fine that eliminates all the profit they mad from their neo-slavery. "
Why Mayor BLOOMBERG? Because it was not that long ago that he said the gollf courses the "greens" in New York would go brown if illegal aliens were deported. Yes, he said that. Maybe he could help these two and send them some workers, if he can spare them.
Is it not amazing how even intelligent people like Mayor Bloomberg, who is a billionaire, tend to sound like blathering idiots when illegal immigration is the topic.? In any case, these two should get a hefty fine that eliminates all the profit they mad from their neo-slavery. "
Brittanicus wrote on Jul 22, 2008 6:31 PM:
" People are not racist because they want the laws they drafted enforced. Without laws we would have 'ANARCHY'. However my main grip is overpopulation. I fed up with fighting traffic gridlock everyday, and another AMNESTY will be unreversable calamity. The Diversity Alliance for Sustainable America http://www.earthtimes.org/ have stated in it's article that if the U.S. grants amnesty and gives citizenship to 12 to 30 million illegal migrants, as Senators Obama and McCain propose. All those naturalized citizens could possibly add 120 million U.S. and foreign-born relatives to the U.S., in the next 20 years whom all would CONSUME MAJOR ENERGY. Americans cannot afford to support illegal aliens here with our tax dollars, or the millions who will jump the fence in the future. Only THE FEDERAL SAVE ACT (H.R.4088) offers any chance of halting this overpopulation quagmire It's enactment w "
Bobby wrote on Jul 23, 2008 3:23 PM:
" Brittanicus, I could not agree more with you on the overpopulation issue. This issue, normally the domain of liberal democrats, has been abandoned by them. They welcome the tragedy that the millions upon millions of people, mindlessly allowed into this nation every year, is going to have on the environment. They are useless, and Al Gore and his ilk are a JOKE!! He knows the unsustainability of areas in the U.S. like the Southwest, in being able to handle more people yet he DOES NOT CARE AND NEITHER DOES THE REST OF THE PHONY DEMOCRATIC PARTY. WE KNOW THE REPUBLICANS ARE CLUELESS ON THE ENVIRONMENT, NOW THE DEMOCRATS HAVE JOINED THEM. "
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Anonymous wrote on Jul 22, 2008 9:53 AM:
$150,000? That's a slap on the wrist for a 3-year scam.
This should have gone to trial and both the Deckers be given the full sentence. The plea agreement just tells others who wish to get themselves some illegal work thieves that violating the law is a-okay. "