George Santos’s Mother Was Not in New York on 9/11, Records Show - The New York Times

New York|George Santos’s Mother Was Not successful New York connected 9/11, Records Show

Representative George Santos of New York has said consistently that his mother, Fatima Devolder, was moving astatine her bureau successful the South Tower of the World Trade Center during the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. Even arsenic helium altered his authoritative biography to region different mendacious claims, Mr. Santos’s relationship of ties to the calamity remained.

But authoritative migration documents reviewed by The New York Times connected Wednesday straight contradict that claim, too.

In an exertion for a visa to participate the United States filed successful 2003, Ms. Devolder said that she had near the state for Brazil successful June 1999 and had not returned since. In earlier paperwork filed successful June 2001, 3 months earlier the attacks, Ms. Devolder said that she had been incapable to instrumentality to the United States since 1999 due to the fact that her greenish paper had been stolen successful Brazil.

A spokeswoman for Mr. Santos, who represents parts of Queens and Long Island, did not instantly respond to an email seeking comment.

Mr. Santos’s seemingly fabricated nexus to Sept. 11 marks yet different introduction successful a agelong database of falsehoods that helium shared arsenic helium sought elected office. He attracted involvement from national and section investigators aft The Times reported past period that helium omitted details from fiscal disclosures and based his transportation to voters successful New York connected a bid of lies astir his existent property holdings, world degrees and Wall Street career.

Even arsenic Mr. Santos’s web of falsehoods has angered his constituents and politicians from some sides of the aisle, lying astir a transportation to Sept. 11 has unsocial resonances successful New York. But the assertion that Mr. Santos’s parent witnessed the Sept. 11 attacks, which remained connected his run website connected Wednesday evening, marks the 3rd notable juncture that Mr. Santos has appeared to falsely nexus himself to notorious tragedies.

In an interrogation aft his election, Mr. Santos, who is gay, said that a institution helium had worked for “lost 4 employees” astatine the Pulse nightclub shooting successful Orlando successful June 2016. The Times reviewed quality sum and obituaries and recovered nary grounds that could enactment the claim.

Mr. Santos, 34, has besides said that his mother’s parents were Jewish refugees who fled persecution successful Ukraine and “survived the Holocaust.” But reports by The Forward, a Jewish publication, and CNN recovered grounds that his grandparents had been calved successful Brazil.

Mr. Santos has said that helium grew up proceeding that his maternal grandparents were Jewish refugees who came to Brazil. But successful migration documents filed with the State Department, Ms. Devolder, who died successful 2016, said that some of her parents were calved successful Brazil.

Those documents, and those that amusement Ms. Devolder was not successful New York connected Sept. 11, were provided to The Times by a researcher, Alex Calzareth, who obtained them done a Freedom of Information Act request. Mr. Calzareth past shared them with The Times and different quality outlets, including The Forward.

Mr. Santos’s links to the Sept. 11 attacks were already the taxable of doubt. In a connection posted connected Twitter successful July 2021, Mr. Santos said that the attacks “claimed my mothers life,” but connected his run website, his biography said that Ms. Devolder “survived the tragic events connected September 11th, but she passed distant a fewer years aboriginal erstwhile she mislaid her conflict to cancer.”

Mr. Santos had besides antecedently said that his parent worked her mode up to go “the archetypal pistillate enforcement astatine a large fiscal institution.” But connected migration documents, she described herself arsenic a housekeeper and location aide.

Mr. Santos’s friends and erstwhile roommates person recalled Ms. Devolder arsenic a hard-working, affable pistillate who made her surviving cleaning homes and selling food. No 1 interviewed by The Times could callback her ever moving successful finance.