Private businesses such as rental and mortgage companies and car dealers are checking the names of customers against a list of suspected terrorists and drug traffickers made publicly available by the Treasury Department, sometimes (possibly frequently) denying services to ordinary people whose names are similar to those on the list.
No more than a handful of people on the list are U.S. citizens-- but that hasn't stopped U.S. businesses from using it to screen applicants for mortages, car loans, and housing. Post 9/11, the Bush administration hastily pushed through a broadly-worded law that says anyone who does business with a person or group on the list risks penalties of up to $10 million and 10 to 30 years in prison.
"The law is ridiculous," said Tom Hudson, a lawyer in Hanover, Md., who nontheless advises car dealers to use the list to avoid penalties. "It prohibits anyone from doing business with anyone who's on the list. It does not have a minimum dollar amount. The local deli, if it sells a sandwich to someone whose name appears on the list, has violated the law."
Faced with such a long and hard-to-read list, it's not hard to imagine that many business would rather discriminate against innocent folks than face a $10 million fine. Even worse, the Treasury website contains no instructions or procedures for reporting inaccuracies or requesting corrections to the list.
The Washington Post article details several cases of people denied loans and mortages, and whose credit reports remain permanently "black marked" due to similarities to names on the OFAC list. The list contains hundreds of variations on such names as Alvarez, Garcia, Gomez, Gonzalez, Hernandez, Lopez, Munoz, Ramirez, and Rodriguez-- so it's likely that Hispanics are also being victimized disproportionally (in addition to anyone with a remotely Middle-eastern sounding name).
The 2008 elections may be around the corner, but who and when will 7 years of damage be undone?
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