Dominicans seized after illegal entry..headline in todays paper

[suarezn]

Fred: There's such thing as getting rich quick...I've seen it happen many times. I can show you a few people in my hometown who used to be dirt poor...came to the US and in about a year or so, now own gas stations, discos, etc...not to mention several luxury cars (Lexus, Jeepetas, etc.) Believe it or not, the town AZB mentioned (San Francisco) at one time was the town with the highest number of Mercedes, per capital, in the world. The problem is a lot of these people don't know when to stop, and before long they start to get noticed too much...and then the problems start...

Anna: That's exactly the point I was trying to make. These people would not work for 6.95/hr. That's not what they go to the US to do. Drugs and illegal alien smugling are some of the most profitable businesses on earth. Depending at what level you play. A street guy makes about 1000 USD a week, but a high roller can make hundreds of thousands in just one transaction. There's a guy from my hometown who at one time was supposedly raking in about $180,000 USD a week. Just believe me when I tell you that some people make enough money in about a year to retire rich to The DR, if they wanted to...I've seen this up close...I would dare say that, in most small towns, about 80% of businesses such as Bars, Cabanas, car dealerships, rice mills, etc... and most big houses are owned by these types of guys...or girls (One of the biggest players from my hometown is a girl)...

As a final note let me tell you a little story. In 1991 I was living in Sto. Dgo. One day an old friend of mine shows up with a few other people and asks me if they could stay the night, as they're leaving for the US the next day (all of them with false visas). In the group there's a kid (about 17 years old) who was as dumb a rock. He had never been out of my hometown and had dropped out of school a while back. At the time I thought "This guy will never make it to the US, much less make it IN the US"...To make a long story short, not only did all of them make it to The US, but the "dumb" guy is now one of the richest guys in my hometown. I'm sure there are a lot people thinking that if this guy "made it", why couldn't they do even better?

 

[mondongo]

great post suarezn. Even though a lot of these dealing dominicans do make it big, I can also tell you first hand of the tragic consequences of getting involved in the illicit trades.

mondongo
Don't give up now, suarezn....only 7 more to go!!

 

[Fred]

Your Both Dreaming

First of all now drug dealer would let anyone in on their action. If these so called great Dominicans cannot even organize their lives in their own country, how the hell will they be able to fuction in the US underworld. Give me a break.

If I could make like you said, $180,000 per week, I wouldnt be going to work every day.

Maybe one out of hundreds does this. Most take low skilled low paying jobs.

 

[Tony C]

Fred,
You are missing the point. It is true that maybe 1 out of a hundred mke it big in the drug trade but that 1 is the person that everybody notices when he comes back. The people see this guy decked out in Tommy Hilfiger, driving a pimp Lexus and building a huge Tacky home. So the people think to theselves that they can do it also. It is comparable to Kids who think they are going to be the next Sammy Sosa. They see his wealth and fame and think they can do the same. So they leave school and play baseball all day. Who many of these kids really make the Majors?
People today are into instant gratification. They want and expect everything now. Why work and invest at home when they think they can make it big overnight in the US. Remember everybody who buys a Lottery ticket thinks they have the winning number.

Tony C.

 

[Fred]

True

However, building wealth takes planning, patience, and a bit of luck.

Instant gratification never made anyone sucessful. How come they cannot do the same in the DR, if they have so much drive and ambition? How come they have to leave to go to the US or elsewhere?

 

[Onions&carrots]

Fred is right. The vast majority of Dominicans in the US are very poor. The majority of those that enter the drug trade are either dead, in prison, deported or low level corner guys that are struggling. It's not like you guys think. Most dominicans aren't that stupid. They now very well that the majority are losers in the drug trade especially now.

Everyone knows the winners and so does the military, the police. They extort large amounts from these guys weekly so as not to turn them in. Go to Tenares. A small sleepy town in which you would be amazed at the number of mansions. The main area and provincial capital is Salcedo yet Tenares outshines Saicedo.

All the big drug honchos have to pay a weekly fee to the general and colonels in these areas to maintain their silence. A miserable existence which sooner or later goes sour. The problem is Dominicans are very nosy so these guys stick out as a sour thumb.

Yes we all now of those types that rake in 180 grand a week. Everyone talks about them. Those that send back large amounts of money back to build ridiculously large discos, car washes etc that eventually go broke. One example is Astromundo in Santiago which everyone knows was built with drug money.

 

[Tony C]

Re: True

However, building wealth takes planning, patience, and a bit of luck.

Instant gratification never made anyone sucessful. How come they cannot do the same in the DR, if they have so much drive and ambition? How come they have to leave to go to the US or elsewhere?

Fred,

I agree that there is opportunity for some in the DR. fact of the matter is that the US is seen, the world over, as the land of opportunity. In the DR politics and corruption stifle honest investment and business. In the US much less so.
The immigrants that made the US what it is today are no different then the Dominican that wants to come over. I don't know you but I am asssumimg that you are not Indian. You family probobly emigrated to the US/Canada for the same reasons that most Dominicans have.
BTW the world is full of stories of people who became quite wealthy rapidly in a legal and honest manner.

Tony C.

 

[MommC]

Just an observation.......not scientific however.....

every year we make the trek by car from our home to visit our son who lives in Atlanta. It's a very long two day drive.....when we stop at "service" stations or waffle House or some such to rest and grab a bite to eat we invariably "meet" a spanish speaking person and strike up a conversation. Most are Puerto Rican or Dominican and almost all are truck drivers (the big rigs that crisscross the US daily). Most have relatives living in the US and come for 3-4 months to drive a rig. They make $30-50,000US
driving 16 hrs per day, 7 days per week. Then they return to their home for 8-9 monthsto spend the money they have madeand then start the cycle over again. Most have told us they intend to do this for 10 yrs or so then "retire" permanently to their home where they now have a house,property and money "stashed" to retire in comfort.
Some are legal, some are not but they all are in the US making good money without becoming "drug dealers".
We have a friend who had relatives in the US who own a small trucking company and currently has two trucks sitting idle because they can not get drivers to drive. It is not an easy job to do especially "long" haul driving and so it is a perfect occupation for an ambitious Dominican who wishes to make good bucks relatively quickly , then return home for some R&R with more cash than he would make at home in his lifetime.

Just another bit of anecdotal info from MommC's experience.

 

[Fred]

Strange

MommyC I would not have went to school for 8 years of my life if I could have made $30-50US driving a truck.

Most of my wife's relatives who live in the US make between $7-10 per hour. With this salary they can save $1000 US dollars and use it as a down payment on a house that costs $47,000US. Unlike Canada, housing in certain areas is much cheaper.

From my experience especially with Latin Americans, they tend to over exagerate. Everything that they say I take with a grain of salt.

 

[Janice]

Driving a truck

An Interstate truck driver operating 16 hours a day 7 days a week is more likely to be arrested than the big time drug dealer

State police commercial vehicle enforcement are very vigilant these days, and drivers are routinely arrested, detained etc for messing with log books and not having the required downtime

Janice

 

[Fred]

Good Post Janice

Every Latin American person that I know says that they will return to their country to open a business. Some of these people told me this more than 12 years ago, yet they are still living in the same apartment.

If people were not business people in their own country, very unlikely that they will ever be. I know of a South African family that immigrated to Canada, they were prosperous business people in South Africa, as soon as the sons finished university, they went back into business.

They now run a successful import export business.

 

[Jane J.]

"Businesspeople"

If people were not business people in their own country, very unlikely that they will ever be.

The range of businesses available for them to open is much greater than here in Canada or the U.S. Like, I don't think I would have much success here in Mtl. if I cut a hole into the side of my mother's house and started selling cigarettes and beer out of it. But in the D.R. that's a feasible business opportunity. No Master's Degree required.

Starting one's own negocito could entail opening a little bar, a colmado, buying a car for concho purposes, or several bikes, or a hot dog stand, or whatever that would allow them not to have to work for someone else. I don't think the idea is to get rich with these businesses - just live.

 

[Fred]

True

However, once someone has lived abroad, the expectations and standards become higher. Being able to "Just Live" doesnt work anymore.

People expect more.

 

[MommC]

Well Fred.....

I was going by what the truck company owners tell me that their drivers make. I haven't a clue how they get around the log book thing especially since I know the hwy patrol checks truckers regularly. I was amazed the first time we drove down by the number of truck inspection stations we saw (all open 24 hrs /day) especially in the southern states like Georgia.
I have an employee at home in Canada whose father owns his own rig and makes about $100,000 per year however he does have more expenses that a "driver" would since he owns his rig. He also doesn't do cross country hauls but rather shorter hauls. I do know he complains all the time about how much more American based truckers make without the high taxes that Canadian truckers must factor in.

 

[Hillbilly]

True Story

A friend of mine from Hatico Mao once told me-while he was on vacation here with his Fresian girlfriend-drop dead georgeous but dumb as a horseshoe, like who cared?

anyway, Tico had bought several farms and businesses in and around Mao and while we had a few Presidentes in out place in POP, I asked him straight out: What are you moving? Is it drugs? He looked me in the eye and told me: "It's the only way".

He was a long haul driver for five years....NYC to LA...never caught, never stole the merchandise.

Cosas Veredes, Sancho...


HB

 

[suarezn]

Fred: I just realized this discussion is futile as it is obvious that you've never met any of these people and you do not get the point I'm trying to make. You say no drug dealer would let anyone in on their action. Believe me when I tell you that they don't let them in voluntarily. The Dominicans and Jamaicans are notorious in and around NYC, Boston, Philly, etc. for taking over territory from other groups. In North Philly, for instance the Dominicans (Most of them from where I'm from), have basically taken over the trade there. I was dead serious about the $180,000 figure. At least that's what I heard, and from what this guy owned and the money he spent I believe it. Anyone can probably make this much money. It's not education or sometimes even intelligence that it takes. It's more like luck, guts, lack of conscience, and willingness to do whatever or take out whomever is on their way. IMHO the trip from the DR to the USA is sometimes so hard that by the time people make it they are hardened and willing to do whatever to not go back to the DR without money. On top of that, these people have obligations back home (mortaged house, land, families to take care of, and most importan pride). Going back to The DR without money, is almost unthinkable. It's admiting defeat. You have to understand the Dominican psychic to understand what I mean.
I do agree with you that building wealth, as compared to just being rich, normally takes time and patience, but you're seeing it from your point of view, which is actually how I see it too. The difference is that you and I are not going to do anything illegal to get there, but I also know that I am very different from the typical immigrant.

 

[Fred]

You dont know me

First of all what I was talking about was let's say a Dominican reaches New York. Do you think that any established Dominican drug dealer would let someone he doesnt know in on the action? I doubt it very much.

Secondly, you dont know me, if I was given the opportunity to make $180,000 as you claim, I dont give a rats ass if it is illegal or not, your damm right I would participate. Do you think that I like to work 8-12 hours each day? and not make half that.

What these Dominicans should to to help their families is give them some tools so that they can live better in the DR. Just bringing material goods does not help.

I still doubt that anyone who comes to the US can make that kind of money. I have been to Washington Heights and know how most people live.

 

[Janice]

Illegal entry

It may be tough to enter the US from any country except Canada, there are so many places people can simply walk through the woods or cross a river on the US Canadian Border it is a joke. Once an illegal hits Canada, if they wish to enter the US it is no more difficult than going to the corner grocery.

Many times (pre 9/11) I have had to honk my horn at a remote crossing to simply get the attention of the INS/Customs agent who then waves you through without so much as asking your name

Janice

 

[Fred]

I agrre, however

My wife has a friend from Costa Rica who came to Canada on a vistor's visa(i think) she now has applied for refugee status and is receiving welfare(economic refugee)claiming that if she goes back to Costa Rica her husband will kill her!.

Now what does she do? she receives welfare works under the table for cash money. Okay, when my wife claims that she may not be sure if she can eventually stay in Canada, I told her why doesnt she do some community work or voluteer work to show the Canadian government that she is serious about being a model or good citizen? My wife's reply she is here because she needs money. I rest my case, with that kind of thinking she probably will never be able to stay in Canada.

Then she will regret her decison once she is back in Costa Rica. I dont feel sorry for this type of person. They get what they deserve.

 

[MommC]

Gee that must be why there are so many

MEXICANS in the US.
They all come to Canada on vacation then "walk" over the border!!
I'll have to tell my son that next time I'm in Atlanta........