Thread: IMMIGRATION RULE ON BACKGROUND CHECKS EASES

Immigration rule on background checks eases

NORTH COUNTY TIMES
SAN DIEGO AND SW RIVERSIDE COUNTY
February 15, 2008


By: EDWARD SIFUENTES - Staff Writer

Green cards could be issued before probes are done

A change in immigration rules will allow thousands of immigrants, already in the United States and applying for legal residency, to get their green cards before FBI background checks are completed, officials said Friday.

Critics said the change could allow criminals to get through and threaten national security.

The change, which affects only legal immigrants already in the country waiting to adjust their status to legal resident, was outlined in a memo dated Feb. 4 written by Michael Aytes, associate director for domestic operations with the Citizenship and Immigration Services.

"In the unlikely event that the FBI name checks reveal actionable information after the immigration judge grants an alien permanent residency status, (the Department of Homeland Security) may detain and initiate removal proceedings against the permanent resident," according to the memo.

One of the reasons for the decision, immigrant rights advocates say, is that the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, the agency responsible for deciding residency applications, is dealing with backlogs that mean years-long waits for some residency applicants.

The change would grant applicants their legal residency, or green cards, if they have been waiting on the back ground checks more than six months.

That worried Rep. Brian Bilbray, R-Solana Beach, who said completing the background checks is a matter of national security. Bilbray is chairman of the Immigration Reform Caucus, which generally favors stricter immigration controls.

"What we're dealing with is not just an inconvenience," Bilbray said in a phone interview from Washington. "It's an exposure to someone that shouldn't be in the country."

A leading critic of the backlogs has been the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services agency's own ombudsman, Prakash Khatri. In a 2007 report, Khatri called the backlogs one of the most "pervasive and serious problems" in the immigration system.

The report said the agency was waiting for FBI name-check results in about 146,000 cases that had been otherwise completed.

On Friday, the agency announced Khatri's resignation, but said his departure had nothing to do with his criticism of the backlogs. A spokesman said Khatri plans to return to the private sector.

Civil rights groups welcomed the change.

"It seems like a step in the right direction," said Julia Harumi Mass, a staff attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union's office in San Francisco.

The civil rights organization has filed several lawsuits on behalf of immigrants applying for citizenship who have had to wait for months and even years for their applications to be processed because of the FBI checks. The group contends that the databases the bureau relies on are riddled with errors that lead to the delays.

Although acknowledging that the process is slow and cumbersome, Jessica Vaughn, a senior policy analyst with the Center for Immigration Studies, a Washington organization that supports stricter immigration controls, said the checks are necessary.

Vaughn said the agency had considered removing the FBI background checks before the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

"The thinking was that there were so few hits that they thought they could deal with a few bad apples," she said. "Of course, that was before 9/11 and they found out what would happen if just a few people got through."

Those who support the agency's change said the suggestion that it could create security problems are unfounded. That's because the FBI checks will continue and the immigrants can be deported if the bureau's investigation discovers a problem.

Frederick Hill, a spokesman for Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Vista, said the congressman supports the change because it speeds the process, but still deports the immigrant if he or she fails the background check. Hill added that Issa supports more funding to reduce the FBI backlog.

"We need to make playing by the rules a more attractive option," Hill said.

Contact staff writer Edward Sifuentes at (760) 740-3511 or esifuentes@nctimes.com.

http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2008/02 ... ogcomments

Our safety compromised once again by the hacks in DC.

And they want to dump another 20 million illegal aliens on this system?

You can email the Department of Homeland Security stating an objection to their policy change at http://www.dhs.gov/ , click on "Open for Business".