Thread: Immigration System's Goal To Clear Backlog Poses Grave Dange

http://www.familysecuritymatters.org/ho ... a42be3c8a3

Immigration System's Goal To Clear Backlog Poses Grave Danger To U.S.

Author: Michael Cutler
Source: The Family Security Foundation, Inc.
Date: February 12, 2007

While numerous civil rights groups have filed suit against the U.S. Government for long delays in the naturalization process, FSM Contributing Editor Michael Cutler advises that speeding up an already critically flawed system, without fixing it first, could let even more terrorists and criminals, like the 19 men who perpetrated the 9/11 attacks, slip through the cracks.



Immigration System's Goal To Clear Backlog Poses Grave Danger To U.S.


The dysfunctional immigration system penalizes decent people as much as it creates national security risks for our nation and our citizens. It is certainly frustrating that aliens who legitimately should be naturalized are forced to wait, however, the lawsuit that has been filed to force USCIS to move even more rapidly to clear of the backlog of applications for naturalization will probably force that beleaguered agency to run its conveyor belts more rapidly even as a recent report noted that an estimated 30,000 aliens were naturalized last year without the adjudicators having access to the relating immigration files that may have contained derogatory information about them.



In a Washington Times article titled “U.S. faces lawsuit on citizenship delays,” Audrey Hudson reports:



Several groups filed a class-action lawsuit yesterday against the federal government, saying that years-long delays in background checks during the citizenship process violate immigration laws.



The American Civil Liberties Union, the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) and the Asian Law Caucus filed the suit against the Justice and Homeland Security departments in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, in San Francisco.



"Plaintiffs all have spent many years in the United States and have made this nation their home," the lawsuit says. "They seek to pledge their allegiance to their adopted country and to participate fully in U.S. society as citizens."



Hudson goes on to describe the lawsuit but does not explain what the potential implications would be if the system was made to run even faster in terms of the potential risks to national security.



This administration and administrations before it have not been willing to concede that the entire immigration system represents a major link in the chain called "National Security." The United States does not differentiate between native born United States citizens and naturalized citizens other than where the positions of President and Vice President of the United States are concerned. In fact, there have been those who have suggested that the laws need to be changed to permit naturalized citizens to be eligible to run for those two positions. As it is, Henry Kissinger, a naturalized United States citizen, was the Secretary of State during the Nixon administration and was consequently in the chain of succession to the Presidency.



Naturalized citizens have risen to high positions throughout our government and within the military. Some have also held the highest security clearances and on a few number of instances, made use of those clearances to engage in espionage. Still, It is not that native born citizens have not also exhibited such duplicitous conduct that concerns me the most, it is that our nation’s leaders should recognize the true value and significance of United States citizenship.



When Richard Mueller, the Director of the FBI, testified about so-called "sleeper agents," he was specifically addressing the issue of aliens who gain entry into our country, intent on committing acts of terror (or espionage). These aliens hide in our communities and take "pedestrian" jobs, so as not to call attention to themselves. United States citizenship represents the ultimate camouflage for such a sleeper agent.



The time has come for the government to hire an adequate number of special agents who can conduct background investigations and not just background checks. An investigation requires that an agent knock on doors and make inquiries, whereas a background check generally just entails running a name and fingerprints through a computer database.



As I testified before a Congressional hearing, when an alien acquires United States citizenship through the naturalization process, he or she may elect to change his name on the day that he is sworn in as a United States citizen. This can be done without even paying an additional fee. When such a newly minted United States citizen applies for a United States passport, that passport only reflects the name that new name -- his previous name does not appear. He could then potentially travel into the countries that might be looking for him under his previous name, not realizing that the American citizen that they admitted is really the subject of arrest warrants.



Hypothetically, a terrorist could use this vulnerability to move unimpeded around the world, unwittingly aided and abetted by this flawed process. While I do not have specific examples of anyone doing this, this is an area of vulnerability I have raised and yet, to my knowledge, it has not been addressed. The fix for this problem would cost nearly nothing.



Perhaps we are suffering from a philosophy that was espoused by Doris Meissner, a former Commissioner of the former INS who stated that the INS needed to be "customer oriented." Actually, I agree with her about immigration being customer oriented but where we part company is the question of who the "customer" is. I believe that the customers are the citizens of the United States and she believed the customers were illegal aliens.



I believe that the naturalization process that now exists meets the needs of few people. It fails to protect our nation and our citizens from criminals and terrorists who would game the system to acquire the "keys to the kingdom" because the bureaucracy is forever chasing the elusive backlog. Meanwhile, decent people are made to suffer by having to wait for the wheels of the bureaucracy to turn and the processes completed.



Before we permit history to once again repeat itself, I would urge that you read the transcript of a hearing that was conducted by the House Subcommittee on Immigration and Claims on September 7, 2000 entitled, "JUSTICE DEPARTMENT INSPECTOR GENERAL'S INVESTIGATION OF CITIZENSHIP USA". The link to that hearing is:



http://commdocs.house.gov/committees/ju ... 7344_0.HTM



I have attached a portion of the prepared testimony of Congressman Lamar Smith at that hearing below. At the time, Congressman Smith was the Chairman of the Immigration Subcommittee. Ironically, the hearing about the disastrous situation at the former INS was conducted one year and four days before the attacks of September 11, 2001. Findings of the 9/11 Commission indicate that the terrorists who savagely attacked our nation on that horrific day were able to enter our country and embed themselves within its borders by exploiting vulnerabilities in the immigration system. Today, Congressman Smith is the ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee. Here is a segment of his testimony:



The Inspector General's investigation of Citizenship USA was the most expensive in its history. The OIG released its report at the beginning of the August recess and requested a public hearing, which we are having at the earliest opportunity.

Streamlining the naturalization process and reducing waiting times are legitimate goals that I have strongly supported through congressional oversight and allocation of funds, but there is no excuse any time or anywhere for officials to use the people's government for partisan advantage. Millions of Americans pay for government services expecting that they will be provided impartially, for the good of all, and without putting them at risk.

To become a citizen, an alien must be a legal permanent resident for 5 years, pass an English and civics test, and demonstrate good moral character. Citizenship may be denied to aliens who have committed crimes, fraud, domestic violence, or failed to meet other legal obligations. The INS checks criminal backgrounds by submitting applicants' fingerprints to the FBI, which sends back criminal histories or rap sheets to the INS.

INS Commissioner Doris Meissner, in part because of a backlog of applications, initiated the Citizenship USA program, which ran from September 1995 to September 1996. Previously the INS granted citizenship to 300,000 to 400,000 aliens per year, but under CUSA that increased to 1.1 million cases, three times the previous pace. About two-thirds of the CUSA cases were granted during the second half of the program, from March to September 1996.

Beginning in May 1996, the media reported that the speed of CUSA was seriously degrading the integrity of the naturalization process. To achieve production goals, the INS management sacrificed the quality of adjudications. The recordkeeping system collapsed under the strain. Applicants who were ineligible because of criminal records, or because they fraudulently obtained green cards, were granted citizenship because the INS was moving too fast to check their records.

INS employees alleged that CUSA was accelerated for political reasons. The White House and Vice President Gore's office were accused of pressuring the INS to naturalize aliens by September 1996 in hopes of getting their votes in the November 1996 elections.

In public statements, the INS tried to minimize CUSA's shortcomings, but after the election the Justice Department stepped in to conduct its own review. DOJ hired the accounting firm of KPMG Peat Marwick to conduct audits. The Justice Department Inspector General's Office also began an investigation of CUSA in April 1997.

KPMG did statistical analysis of the naturalization of ineligible criminals and released a report in December 1997. They determined that INS naturalized more than 180,000 aliens without doing fingerprint checks. In addition, more than 80,000 aliens had fingerprint checks that generated criminal records, but they were naturalized anyway.

Of the individuals with confirmed criminal records, DOJ selected 6,300 of the most serious cases for denaturalization. The INS tried to use an administrative procedure for denaturalization but was blocked by Federal court decisions. To date, INS has succeeded in denaturalizing only six criminal aliens.

KPMG also did a sample file review and reported in February 1998 that more than 90 percent of all CUSA cases were adjudicated improperly, including more than 70 percent with defective or nonexistent fingerprint checks. The study concluded that a bare minimum of 11,500 individuals, and perhaps many more, were naturalized despite their disqualifying criminal records.

In March 1999, the INS discovered an additional 70,000 CUSA cases that were adjudicated near the end of the program, when the rate of errors was highest. Had those cases been included in the KPMG audits, the numbers of naturalized criminals would have been higher.



It is because of these failings that I am also gravely concerned about any Guest Worker Amnesty program. Our government could not even begin to effectively administer such a huge program and create even a shred of integrity.



Children are taught a basic principle that needs to apply to our government especially in this perilous age: "Safety First!"



Lead, follow or get out of the way!

As the system is clear, anyone want to bet? Immigration cannot filter out criminals on a day to day basis.

At least these people are being screened which is good but its the illegals that I am more afraid of. We don't know anything about them let alone who they really are. This has to end as it is the largest security risk. They kill more people in many cases than a terrorist attack.

ANYONE NOT BORN IN THE UNITED STATES SHOULD NOT BECOME PRESIDENT. KEEP YOUR HANDS OFF OUR CONSTITUTION AND BILL OF RIGHTS.

KEEP DOING THE NECESSARY CRIMINAL AND BACK ROUND CHECKS, IF IT'S NOT WORTH THE WAIT, LET IT GO AND GET OUT!!

REALLY SOUNDS LIKE WE ARE READY TO PROCESS 10 TO 12 MILLION, HOW LONG WILL WE HAVE TO STOP ENFORCEING LAWS AGAIN WHILE THEY DO THIS, 7, 8, 10, YEARS HOW MANY WIILL COME IN THE MEAN TIME. NONE OF THIS IS GOING TO WORK CAN'T THEY SEE THIS!!!

I agree if the wait is too long they should leave. But we must protect our borders and make it much harder for illegals to get work. As long as there is a backlog for green cards there many be more illegals from other countries.