News Briefs: Illegal Immigrant Allowed To Retrieve $31,700 He Had Buried

A Mexican citizen who was being deported was permitted to return to his home to retrieve $31,700 he had saved and buried in a glass jar in his yard. Over a seven-year period, Cristobal Chavez Torres saved the money in $100 bills from earnings as construction worker, during which he never earnd more than $7.25 an hour. Chavez had been carrying $10,000 in cash in his pockets before opting to store the money in the jar at the mobile home in which he was living. He said he did not open a financial institution account because he was carrying fake documents. Chavez was permitted by the Immigrant and Customs Enforcement office to retrieve the money-and a 16-year-old son, before returning home. The money was turned over to the Mexican consulate and deposited in a financial institution account so it could be transferred to Chavez in Mexico. Chavez was one of 48 workers who were arrested by U.S. authorities.