Two plead guilty to possessing forged Green Cards

KANSAS CITY, Ks. — A pair of undocumented migrants have pleaded guilty to federal charges of possessing counterfeit green cards.

Back on May 28 U.S. Homeland Security agents arrested 38-year-old Santos Ramirez-Ramirez, of Guatemala, and 32-year-old
Yolanda Mendoza-Emiliano, of Mexico, at a Kansas City, Kansas home on South 16th Street.

Both had permanent resident cards with their respective names and photos on them, however there was one major issue.

The file numbers on the cards belonged to other people.

Court documents say the duo also had falsified Social Security cards with invalid numbers.

“Falsified federal documents often include information that belongs to an actual person,” said U.S. Attorney Ryan A. Kriegshauser. “Victims can have their lives turned upside down with the IRS, creditors, and other entities seeking money they don’t actually owe but are asked to pay because criminals are securing jobs, renting homes, and opening lines of credit using their information.”

Officials say Mendoza-Emiliano is no stranger to border patrol.

During a 10-day period in April 2024, Mendoza-Emiliano was taken into custody on four separate occasions for trying to illegally cross the U.S. border in Arizona. Each time she was allowed to voluntarily return to Mexico.

Three other people unlawfully in the country were arrested with Mendoza-Emiliano and Ramirez-Ramirez.

Their names were not released.