Tracking Unsolved Murders

Between 1981 and 1990, five Vietnamese-American journalists were killed in what the FBI suspected was a string of political assassinations. Unlike other violent attacks on journalists, these murders garnered relatively little attention.

A Call to Reopen Investigation of Terror Campaign Against Journalists

by A.C. Thompson

May 31, 2016, 1:08 p.m. EDT

An advocacy group says ProPublica and Frontline’s reporting on the murders of Vietnamese-American reporters requires a renewed probe by the FBI.

Collateral Damage: Decades Later, a Suicide Can Be Added to Domestic Terror Campaign’s Toll

by A.C. Thompson

April 13, 2016, 8 a.m. EDT

Before killing himself in Houston in 1988, Pham Dang Cuong was targeted by a violent anti-Communist group of former South Vietnamese military officers, according to interviews and records.

Terror in Little Saigon: An Objection and a Response

by ProPublica

Nov. 13, 2015, 5:43 p.m. EST

Our reporting with Frontline on an unsolved campaign of violence within the Vietnamese-American community has provoked passionate debate.

Watch: The Front on Camera

by A.C. Thompson

Nov. 3, 2015, 11 p.m. EST

ProPublica and Frontline reopen the investigation into a death squad run by former South Vietnamese military men that killed journalists, torched businesses and intimidated those who challenged its dream of re-starting the Vietnam War — all on American soil.

Coming soon: Terror in Little Saigon

by A.C. Thompson

Oct. 26, 2015, 3:23 p.m. EDT

ProPublica and Frontline reopen the investigation into a death squad run by former South Vietnamese military men that killed journalists, torched businesses and intimidated those who challenged its dream of re-starting the Vietnam War — all on American soil.

Follow ProPublica

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Florida Lawmakers to Review Law Targeting Injured Undocumented Workers

By Howard Berkes, NPR, and Michael Grabell, ProPublica, Aug. 24, 2017, 8 a.m.

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<h1>Florida Lawmakers to Review Law Targeting Injured Undocumented Workers</h1>By Howard Berkes, NPR, and Michael Grabell, ProPublica, Aug. 24, 2017, 8 a.m.The second-highest ranking member of the Florida Senate pledged a legislative review of a state law that has allowed injured undocumented workers to be arrested and potentially deported rather than paid workers' compensation benefits."Legitimate injuries shouldn't be denied just because the person was an undocumented immigrant," said Republican Sen. Anitere Flores, the president pro tempore of the state Senate and chair of the Banking and Insurance Committee."One needs to balance the going after fraudulent claims," she said, "with not overcompensating and then denying claims to those individuals who have actually been injured."Flores spoke in response to a recent <a href="http://www.npr.org/2017/08/16/543650270/they-got-hurt-at-work-then-they-got-deported">NPR</a> and <a href="https://www.propublica.org/article/they-got-hurt-at-work-then-they-got-deported">ProPublica</a> investigation and a subsequent statement by the nation's largest insurance fraud group, which called on Florida lawmakers to change the law. The <a href="https://www.insurancefraud.org/blog/aug-2017/florida-loophole-lets-insurers-deny">Coalition Against Insurance Fraud</a> said employers and insurance companies are applying the law in ways that place "the credibility of combating real fraud at risk.""Legislators in the Sunshine State need to correct this loophole so workers hurt on the job get the care they need," said Dennis Jay, executive director of the coalition, which is made up of insurance companies, government agencies, consumer organizations and insurance fraud investigators."I just see the credibility of the anti-fraud effort being hurt by such practices," Jay said in an interview.NPR and ProPublica found that nearly 800 undocumented workers in Florida have been charged with workers' comp fraud for using illicit Social Security numbers to either get their jobs, file for workers' compensation benefits or both. More than 560 didn't actually file workers' comp claims but still were charged with fraud. Another 130 suffered legitimate workplace injuries but were denied benefits and prosecuted. Some were detained by federal immigration authorities and deported.Like most states, Florida provides workers' comp benefits to undocumented workers despite their legal status. The state's workers' comp law was <a href="http://www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&amp;URL=0400-0499/0440/Sections/0440.105.html">amended in 2003</a> to make the use of false identification in obtaining jobs and workers' comp benefits a felony."I don't see how they can legally justify that," Jay said. "It also paints insurers as uncaring, greedy corporations that allow human suffering to make a buck."Some of the insurance companies who have used the Florida law to deny claims are members of Jay's coalition, as is the state agency that administers the law.Jon Moore, spokesman for the <a href="http://www.myfloridacfo.com/Division/DIFS/">Florida Division of Investigative and Forensic Services</a>, said his agency is "obligated to enforce the law as it relates to the workers' compensation system in Florida." But he said, "another look into the questions that are being posed may be warranted. What is the balance between the harm and the benefits that are being produced?"Flores said she is especially concerned about companies who may hire undocumented workers knowing that the threat of prosecution and deportation may keep them from pursuing workers' comp claims if they are injured at work.‘That's borderline unconscionable," Flores said, adding that she'll seek the legislature's review of this use of Florida law as part of a planned broader look at the state's workers' compensation law.John Porreca, the owner of SouthEast Personnel Leasing and subsidiaries Lion Insurance and Packard Claims, did not respond to a request for comment. Porreca's companies were featured in NPR and ProPublica's story and turned in far more injured workers than any others.Steve Cassell, the president of Command Investigations, which investigates the backgrounds of undocumented workers for insurers and features a gallery of injured workers on its website, also did not respond.Brian Carter, a Florida workers' comp attorney, welcomed the call for changes to the Florida law. He says undocumented workers use illicit Social Security numbers because they can't get jobs without them and employers in Florida need those workers."It is illogical to legislatively provide workers' compensation benefits to undocumented workers," Carter said, "and then legislatively make it criminal to use a false Social Security number for identification."&nbsp;Jay added that his group is already engaging Florida lawmakers and will offer assistance in drafting alternative legislation.ProPublica is a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative newsroom. Sign up for their <a href="http://www.propublica.org/forms/newsletter_daily_email">newsletter</a>.<link rel="canonical" href="http://www.propublica.org/article/florida-lawmakers-to-review-law-targeting-injured-undocumented-workers"><meta name="syndication-source" content="http://www.propublica.org/article/florida-lawmakers-to-review-law-targeting-injured-undocumented-workers"><script type="text/javascript" src="http://pixel.propublica.org/pixel.js" async></script>

More links to explore

Terror in Little Saigon

Tracking Unsolved Murders

A Call to Reopen Investigation of Terror Campaign Against Journalists

An advocacy group says ProPublica and Frontline’s reporting on the murders of Vietnamese-American reporters requires a renewed probe by the FBI.

Collateral Damage: Decades Later, a Suicide Can Be Added to Domestic Terror Campaign’s Toll

Before killing himself in Houston in 1988, Pham Dang Cuong was targeted by a violent anti-Communist group of former South Vietnamese military officers, according to interviews and records.

Terror in Little Saigon: An Objection and a Response

Our reporting with Frontline on an unsolved campaign of violence within the Vietnamese-American community has provoked passionate debate.

Watch: The Front on Camera

ProPublica and Frontline reopen the investigation into a death squad run by former South Vietnamese military men that killed journalists, torched businesses and intimidated those who challenged its dream of re-starting the Vietnam War — all on American soil.

Coming soon: Terror in Little Saigon

ProPublica and Frontline reopen the investigation into a death squad run by former South Vietnamese military men that killed journalists, torched businesses and intimidated those who challenged its dream of re-starting the Vietnam War — all on American soil.

Follow ProPublica

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Failing Charter Schools Have a Reincarnation Plan

Attorneys General in 37 States Urge Insurance Industry to Do More to Curb Opioid Epidemic

The Trumps Say They’re Opening Hotels in Dallas, Nashville and Elsewhere. We Couldn’t Find Evidence of Them.

Amid Opioid Crisis, Insurers Restrict Pricey, Less Addictive Painkillers

An advocacy group says ProPublica and Frontline’s reporting on the murders of Vietnamese-American reporters requires a renewed probe by the FBI.

Before killing himself in Houston in 1988, Pham Dang Cuong was targeted by a violent anti-Communist group of former South Vietnamese military officers, according to interviews and records.

Our reporting with Frontline on an unsolved campaign of violence within the Vietnamese-American community has provoked passionate debate.

ProPublica and Frontline reopen the investigation into a death squad run by former South Vietnamese military men that killed journalists, torched businesses and intimidated those who challenged its dream of re-starting the Vietnam War — all on American soil.

ProPublica and Frontline reopen the investigation into a death squad run by former South Vietnamese military men that killed journalists, torched businesses and intimidated those who challenged its dream of re-starting the Vietnam War — all on American soil.

Follow ProPublica

Most Popular Stories

Most Read

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Florida Lawmakers to Review Law Targeting Injured Undocumented Workers

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