Thread: Republicans Seek Stronger Guards Against Fraud and Abuse in DHS Deferred Action Progr

Republicans Seek Stronger Guards Against Fraud and Abuse in DHS Deferred Action Program

hstoday.us
By: Mickey McCarter
08/14/2012 ( 6:00am)

With the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) set to start its new effort to let certain young illegal aliens remain in the country legally Wednesday, President Barack Obama took the idea to the campaign trail -- literally.

Obama raised the DHS Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program in remarks made at a campaign stop in his hometown of Chicago, Ill., Monday.

Counting off a list of things where Obama disagrees with Republicans, he remarked, "Helping the children of immigrants who have grown up in this country, lived in this country, are Americans in everything except having some papers -- not sending them to countries they, in many cases, they've never even been, but embracing them and giving an opportunity to put a stake down here in the country that they loved -- that was the right thing to do. Mr. [Mitt] Romney has got another idea. That's a choice in this election."

Romney, the Republican presidential candidate, has not yet gone on record as to whether or not he would shutdown the DACA program if elected. According to official transcripts, Obama didn't mention the program at an earlier campaign stop in more conservative Council Bluffs, Iowa.

And a senator from Iowa did indeed object to the DACA program again Monday in a letter to Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano. Sen. Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) and Rep. Lamar Smith (R-Texas), the top Republicans on the Senate and House judiciary committees, wrote to demand more information from Napolitano as to how DHS will prevent fraud and abuse under the DACA program, which generally is open to illegal aliens 16 years or older but also younger than 31-years old who haven't committed any major crimes and have enrolled in or graduated from school.

While the lawmakers raised the question of more stringent verification measures to prevent DACA fraud and abuse, they did not question the authority of DHS to provide deferred action to qualified illegal immigrants as an exercise of its prosecutorial authority on a case-by-case basis.

"While potentially millions of illegal immigrants will be permitted to compete with American workers for jobs, there seems to be little if any mechanism in place for vetting fraudulent applications and documentation submitted by those who seek deferred action," Grassley and Smith wrote Monday. "This administration will undoubtedly preside over one of the most fraud-ridden immigration programs in our history. Illegal immigrants will be eager to purchase or create fake documents showing that they arrived in the United States before the age of 16 and meet the continued physical presence requirements. DHS will be sorely taxed by the burden of disproving the evidence presented in each application."

On Aug. 7, the Migration Policy Institute projected that roughly 1.76 million young illegal aliens could be potentially eligible for the DACA program.

Grassley and Smith pointed to the Special Agriculture Worker (SAW) program of 1986, which provided a legal presence and work authorization for some farmworkers. According to the Commission on Agricultural Workers, up to two-thirds of the applications for those documents were fraudulent, the Republicans said.

They demanded to know more about how US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), the DHS agency responsible for administering the program, would detect and review fraud in the DACA program. Moreover, they insisted that the denial of a DACA applicant should place that applicant into removal proceedings, particularly in the case of fraudulent applications.

The Republicans wrote, "Department officials indicated to committee staff that they would not use fraud prevention and detection measures that you consider 'too expensive' or 'time consuming' or that would 'unduly impact' USCIS's other responsibilities. This attitude blatantly demonstrates that the department has little regard for preventing fraud, especially since the law allows the department to impose fees for the benefit of deferred action. The illegal immigrants themselves, rather than the American taxpayer or legal immigrants, should bear any expense associated with the program."

Grassley and Smith did not set a deadline for responses to their questions but Napolitano has suggested in congressional hearings that 60 days' time is a reasonable response time for most congressional inquiries.

The DACA program does not provide qualified illegal immigrants with any lawful status like legal residency or US citizenship. Napolitano has repeatedly acknowledged that only Congress can do that by changing the law or initiating a comprehensive immigration reform package. Immigrants who receive deferred action and work authorization under DACA must reapply every two years, sustaining their eligibility criteria and paying $465 in fees each time.

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Homeland Security Today: Republicans Seek Stronger Guards Against Fraud and Abuse in DHS Deferred Action Program

"Helping the children of immigrants who have grown up in this country, lived in this country, are Americans in everything except having some papers -- not sending them to countries they, in many cases, they've never even been, but embracing them and giving an opportunity to put a stake down here in the country that they loved -- that was the right thing to do. Mr. [Mitt] Romney has got another idea. That's a choice in this election."

They are Americans because their parents broke the law getting them here???? Helping these children was the right thing to do? I'm sure that all the people that are coming here through proper channels feel like they've been slapped in the face. To have these kids cut to the front of the line because their parents broke the law is absurd!!

Stronger Guards Against Fraud and Abuse in DHS

At this point we need to consider abolishing the Department of Homeland Security as it is obviously filled with more politicians than law enforcement officers.

What needs to happen here is Congress or a court needs to put an injunction in place against Obama's Dictatorial Amnesty plans.

W

Originally Posted by ALIPAC

SNIP

What needs to happen here is Congress or a court needs to put an injunction in place against Obama's Dictatorial Amnesty plans.

W

Rep. Steve King will file lawsuit against President Obama's fiat amnesty by Labor Day King will file lawsuit against president by Labor Day