The Weekly Senate Select Hearings on Immigration continued today, the Senate Select Committee called Immigration Officer Ady Pacheco to testify.

Her name started getting called as far back as October 2013, when the Won Hong Kim passport scandal broke. She was one of the officers who handled the Won Hong Kim file, which led to a fraudulent passport being issued for this South Korean fugitive.
She has been mentioned dozens of times in the Auditor General’s Report on Immigration, and she was even mentioned in connection with the fraudulent documents granted to the Mexican-American fugitive David Nanes-Schnizter.

PUP Senator, Michel Chebat, who was standing in for Eamon Courtenay, surprised everyone today - even Pacheco herself -  when he hit her with a few questions on the Nanes case. We’ll get to that, but first, here’s Ady Pacheco’s first time answering questions publicly for her role as one of the officers who handled the file for Citizen Kim. She said that she had little involvement with the application of the infamous Won-Hong Kim, who got backdoor access to Belizean nationality and a passport, which he didn’t qualify for:

Hon. Aldo Salazar - Chairman, Senate Select Committee
"You accepted the application for Wong Hong Kim?"

Ady Pacheco - Named in Auditor General's Report
"Yes."

Hon. Aldo Salazar
"Do you recall who gave you this application?"

Ady Pacheco
"Minister Penner."

Hon. Aldo Salazar
"Minister Penner gave it to you personally?"

Ady Pacheco
"Yes. I know he was at the office, he brought it in and I crossed check with my OIC if it was okay to accept."

Hon. Aldo Salazar
"So your understanding was that Wong Hong Kim was not present?"

Ady Pacheco
"I never saw him."

Hon. Aldo Salazar
"Did you inquire whether he was present?"

Ady Pacheco
"No."

Hon. Mark Lizarraga - Business Senator
"Why would you have been given Wong Hong Kim's file directly by the minister when you said previously that normally these would go to the OIC?"

Ady Pacheco
"I perceived the documents from him; my IOC knew the documents were being brought in by the minister."

Hon. Mark Lizarraga
"And this was the first time the minister gave you direct documents?"

Ady Pacheco
"My OIC was present."

Hon. Mark Lizarraga
"Your OIC was present, okay, okay."

Michel Chebat - PUP Senator
"In relation to Wong Hong Kim, did you recall seeing that he had signed the oath of allegiance to Belize?"

Ady Pacheco
"No."

Michel Chebat
"He didn't?"

Ady Pacheco
"I don't remember ever seeing him."

Michel Chebat
"Do you recall seeing any record or are you aware if he ever came to Belize to a swearing in ceremony or so?"

Ady Pacheco
"No sir."

Michel Chebat
"And those are part of the process of obtaining nationality?"

Ady Pacheco
"Yes."