Cotton, Johnson Ask DHS for Full Number of People Improperly Granted Citizenship

By Lauretta Brown | October 13, 2016 | 3:18 PM EDT


(CNSNews.com) – Senator Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) and Senator Ron Johnson (R-Wisc.) sent a letter Thursday to Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Jeh Johnson asking for the full number of people subject to deportation who were improperly granted citizenship by the U.S. government.

The letter cites a September DHS Inspector General report which indicated that 858 to 1,811 people subject to deportation were improperly granted citizenship due to gaps in fingerprinting records.

The senators point out the limited scope of the IG’s investigation and are asking DHS for the full number of those subject to deportation who were improperly granted citizenship and other benefits. They believe that number to be significantly larger in scope than the number found by the IG.

“The DHS Inspector General report’s scope was limited in two significant ways,” the senators wrote. “First, it did not report the number of individuals who were improperly granted immigration benefits other than citizenship, and did not cover individuals to whom the DHS may have improperly granted other immigration benefits, such as legal permanent residence, student visas, or various employment-based visas.”

“Second,” they continued, “the Inspector General report focused mainly on individuals granted citizenship who came from special interest countries and countries with high rates of immigration fraud that share a border with a special interest country.”

They note that special interest countries are only “a subset of all the countries from which individuals subject to deportation orders hail.”

The senators add that, “If we take into account all of those countries, the full number of individuals to whom DHS may have improperly granted U.S. citizenship may be far larger than the 858 to 1,811 number contained in the Inspector General report. This possibility was confirmed to our offices in conversations with the DHS Inspector General’s office.

“Being that the DHS failed to digitize the fingerprint records of 148,000 aliens who were either subject to deportation orders or who were criminals or fugitives, the opportunity for fraud is massive.”

The letter asked that Secretary Johnson provide the full number of individuals with deportation orders and no digital fingerprint records who received a series of benefits, including citizenship, so that “the Senate is apprised of the entire scope of the immigration fraud problem DHS is facing.”

“Regardless of whether an individual hailed from a special interest country or country neighboring a special interest country,” they wrote, “please indicate the full number of individuals who fulfill the following three criteria: (i) had final deportation orders under another identity; (ii) became naturalized U.S. citizens; and (iii) did not have a digital fingerprint record available in the DHS fingerprint repository at the time U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services ("USCIS") was reviewing and adjudicating their citizenship application.”

They also ask for the number of individuals with final deportation orders under another identity and no digital fingerprint record that “were granted legal permanent residence,” and the number of those granted an employment-based or student visa, granted a family-based visa, and “granted any other immigration benefit not mentioned.”

“We are confident you agree that U.S. Citizenship is a precious privilege,” the senators write. “The ability to reside and work in the United States, whether temporarily or permanently, should only go to those who legally obtain those rights and not to those who commit fraud.”

http://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/...ed-citizenship

Congress needs more than the number. They need their names, addresses and immigration files so their false citizenship can be revoked with legislation as a matter of law.