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38
In April 1974, at the time the problem with the INS begun, Moon
emphasized the importance of foreign members to his plans in the United States
and spoke of preventing their deportation by U.S. authorities:
"And right now our foremost problem is the difficulty with the Immigration
Department. Unless we can. successfully obtain legitimate residency for our
foreign members, our movement will suffer a setback. We cannot fail to do this. If
we do f.ail, my entire strategy will be totally altered, because all the foreign
members here will have to leave. Therefore, by all means, at any cost, we must
win the immigration battle."(344)
In a later speech he said: "The Immigration Office is planning to send back
the Unification Church members from other countries. Very possibly the
Communists are behind this."(345)
As a result of U.S. pressure, Moon eventually sent several hundred foreign
members out of the United States before any proceedings were brought against
them. The INS took no action to enforce the departure of UC members found to
be violating their visa status, pending administrative proceedings and appeals;
this process has taken several years. (346)
As a result, numerous aliens have
been able to continue carrying on their fundraising activities with little or no
interference from U.S. authorities. In the meantime, other aliens had been
arriving and departing, (347) and violations of visa regulations continued.
As indicated in the above passages, the Moon Organization tried to and did
exploit the inadequacies of U.S. immigration laws and enforcement mechanisms,
or ignored them. Both the fundraising and business activities violated the terms
of tourist and other visas. People stayed beyond the length of their visas, thereby
becoming illegal aliens. In addition, the UC took advantage of cumbersome INS
procedures to delay deportations and apply for changes of status for UC
members.
In the case of one of the key members of the UC, Takeru Kamiyama, the
Moon Organization, through a financial sleight-of-hand, was able to have his visa
status changed to one which would permit him to stay in the United States.
Kamiyama applied for an E-2 "Treaty Investor" status in 1973 on the grounds that
he was a Japanese national engaging in a trading enterprise in the United
States, that is, Tong Il Enterprises. (348)
When he first applied, Kamiyama
owned 5 percent of Tong Il's stock, the balance being owned by Moon and other
Korean and American UC members. When it was discovered that INS
regulations required that the trading company be more than 50 percent owned by
members of the same nationality, Kamiyama, a Japanese, was awarded 54
percent ownership of Tong Il's stock, making him eligible for trader's status. This
he received on January 21, 1975. (349) By this simple maneuver, the Moon
Organization was able to overcome a potential INS problem. The incident shows
the advantages of having the components of the organization work together as a
cohesive unit.
The importance to the Moon Organization of free transfers of money and
personnel across international boundaries and back and
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