Asian Journal- The Filipino-American Community Newspaper

LOUIE Camacho went to 50 lawyers from the East to the West Coast – willing to pay their exorbitant costs -- but most of them told him his dream of becoming an American citizen is "hopeless".

"They didn’t give me any hope, once they saw how long my "rap sheet" was," Louie related. "But I continued to look for someone who can help me. And thank God, I found Atty. Joel Bander. What seemed like an impossible dream quickly became a reality."

Born in Manila in 1961, Aurelio Luis "Louie" Camacho studied in Ateneo University from prep to college, graduating with a degree in Economics in 1983.

He immigrated to the US in 1985, when he was 24 years old. In 1988, he became a certified public accountant (CPA). He took up his Masters in Business Administration (MBA) at UCLA and quickly became very successful in his profession. In 1992, Louie became a legal permanent resident.

A series of unfortunate incidents, however, drastically changed Louie’s life. "It was a case of being with the wrong people in the wrong place, at the wrong time," related Camacho, who worked with a law firm which turned out to be the object of an investigation conducted by the Special Investigative Unit (SIU) of the California Insurance Commission for insurance fraud. Fearing that Camacho would testify against them in the insurance fraud investigation and to cover up their own wrongdoings, the firm’s partners fabricated accusations against Louie and filed multiple charges against him for grand theft and forgery. He became a victim of circumstances and the ill will of people who used this criminal case to cover up their own criminal actions.

"I was charged with as much as 25 counts of forgery, grand theft and fraud. I was taken into custody 16 times for criminal complaints filed against me and was detained for about two months," said Louie.

The case dragged on for more than a year. Without income during his detention and unable to find a job after his release on bail, Louie and his family were homeless and without money to support their everyday basic needs.

"I lost everything I have worked so hard for, even my family and friends," Louie added. "I really felt like I died. But, I was determined to redeem my life, my name and my honor. I did everything to rebuild my life again, from nothing."

The cases against Louie were eventually dismissed and his CPA certification was reinstated.

"The judge ordered me to perform 180 hours of community service. This became a blessing in disguise because as I volunteered with many government agencies - City of Hope, LA Ethics Committee, LA Zoo, Juvenile Diabetes Foundation, Cancer Agencies, LA Equestrian Center etc – I got connected to very influential people in LA. And I soon found myself rebuilding my life again," said Camacho.

After 10 long years, Louie has been able to get back the success, honor and wealth that he lost. He is currently the Chief Financial and Operations Officer of Del Rey Properties, LLC and the Los Angeles Equestrian Center, where he has been working since 2002. He has been able to buy properties, a plane, even a couple of horses. He has been happily married to his second wife, Georgina, for the past 14 years. His three children, Angelica, Andrew, Anthony are all honor students while his 7-month old baby, Amanda, is enjoying their good life near the Equestrian Center.

However, there has been one thing that he has been dreaming of and thought he could never get -- American citizenship. The United States government is serious when it comes to excluding and deporting immigrants who have committed a crime. US policy does not take into account whether it tears your family apart. If you have a green card, you can lose your permanent residency and be deported. If you are seeking American citizenship, a criminal conviction can make you ineligible.

Thus, fear has crept into Camacho that his past criminal record could prevent him from becoming naturalized, and could even get him deported.