Thread: Congress takes shortcuts to Citizenship

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Immigration employees' incentives questioned
Applications fast-tracked to meet Bush's deadline
Sara A. Carter, Staff Writer


Beyond Borders - Special Report on Immigration
VIEW OUR BEYOND
BORDERS BLOG

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service employees were offered financial incentives to push immigration applications through the system quickly and eliminate a backlog of nearly 4 million such applications in time to meet a presidential deadline.

Employees and internal documents obtained by The Sun's sister newspaper, the Ontario-based Inland Valley Daily Bulletin, also reveal that the backlog is not actually gone, but that millions of applications in process have been reclassified to fall outside the backlog definition and help the agency meet an October deadline set by President Bush in 2003.

The pressure to reduce the backlog, combined with the promise of bonuses for faster work, led to application shortcuts that might have compromised the immigrant-screening process, according to current and former agency employees and at least one congressman.

USCIS Director Emilio Gonzalez announced last week that the agency has reduced backlogged applications for green cards, work permits and other immigration benefits from 3.98 million to fewer than 140,000.

"This achievement is a testament to the thousands of USCIS employees who have come in early, stayed late and worked weekends to complete their production goals," Gonzalez wrote in a Sept. 5 e-mail obtained by the Daily Bulletin. "... What's more important, however, is that we have not cut corners, lost our focus on national security, or compromised quality or integrity in the name of production."

A USCIS memo reveals that monetary incentives totaling up to $5 million were promised to USCIS employees nationwide for meeting "production challenges" designed to eliminate the application backlog. The funds are to be disbursed by the end of the fiscal year in the form of $500 bonuses for employees, and to pay for office parties. USCIS officials made the memo public Monday.

A USCIS employee said Sunday that the rush to meet the October deadline, and earn bonus pay, led to mistakes and oversights in processing immigration applications.

"When they started giving incentives, people started cutting corners," said the employee, who spoke on condition of anonymity. "I've worked with adjudicators who have to complete a number of applications per hour to get an award. But when those cases landed on my desk, they were all wrong."

"They told us not to check for aliases because it slows down production," said another adjudicator, from USCIS' central region. "Other employees just wanted to process applications as fast as possible to get the incentives. ... The backlog-reduction awards made people careless because they had to move through so many applications per month."

"We don't sell clothing. We grant benefits that could lead to somebody getting citizenship," said an adjudicator from Texas. "Offering bonuses and incentives shouldn't play a role when it comes to national security."

Chris Bentley, a USCIS spokesman, flatly denied that corners were cut in processing applications.

"USCIS does not grant an immigrant services or benefits until all background national-security checks are complete and we know that the individual is fully eligible for the benefits being sought," he said.

Bentley also defended the bonuses and parties, although he favored another definition of the events.

"I wouldn't call (them) parties," he said. "It's a celebration of something that reflects on the extraordinary work our employees have done. We are commemorating their work to eliminate the backlog. It's a job well done and something we are extremely proud of without compromising national security.

"There are monies set aside for awards," Bentley continued. "It's a proven management tool. It's just like receiving a bonus from any line of work. You reward outstanding work so that your employees continue the great effort."

Bentley said he could not disclose the number of federal employees participating in the incentive program or the full cost of the celebrations until USCIS officials receive word about who will participate. USCIS has more than 15,000 employees nationwide.

The chairman of the House Subcommittee on Terrorism and Nonproliferation criticized the incentives, saying USCIS' priorities are skewed and that taxpayer money is being misspent.

"I thought USCIS got the message (during April committee hearings) to put national security over expediency," said Rep. Ed Royce, R-Fullerton. "I do not want production goals to take priority over fraud prevention."

In an Aug. 30 USCIS memo, Michael Aytes, associate director for USCIS Domestic Operations, advised all service center directors, regional directors, district directors and Director Robert Cowan of the National Benefits Center that employees who have worked with USCIS since at least

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May 30 would be given an individual $500 bonus promised in December 2005 as a reward for backlog reduction.

The memo also directs each office to organize a "celebration of its production accomplishments," for which up to $15 per employee will be provided, though "no individual center or office may spend more than $7,500 for this informal award event."

"Perhaps the public will question the judgment of USCIS to spend millions of dollars on backlog-elimination bonuses and parties at a time when Congress has called for hearings to determine to what extent national security may have been jeopardized by the push to reduce the backlog," said Michael Maxwell, former director of internal affairs for USCIS, who testified before Royce's subcommittee earlier this year about security failures within USCIS.

During a news conference in March, Gonzalez was questioned by reporters about allegations and internal documents that Maxwell had brought to the attention of Congress. One such allegation was that offices and service centers were holding competitions offering incentives for rapid elimination of the backlog, "including cash bonuses, time off, movie tickets, and gift certificates, to employees and/or teams of employees with the fastest processing times."

In an audiotape of the news conference obtained by the Daily Bulletin, Gonzalez dismissed the allegations and said he did not offer incentives for faster processing.

"No, that's not how I do business," he said. "I want to get the job done. I want to get the job done well."

Word about the bonuses program follows last week's call by Royce for a congressional investigation and hearing about screening lapses on applicants for green cards, work permits and other immigration documents at the National Benefits Center in Lee's Summit, Mo. Those lapses were first reported by The Sun and Daily Bulletin on Aug. 23.

Gonzalez's claim that the backlog sits at only 140,000 applications also has been challenged by USCIS employees, outside immigration experts and Royce.

"The agency's own statistics show a pending caseload of some 3 million immigration, naturalization and asylum applications," said Rosemary Jenks, director of government relations at NumbersUSA, a nonprofit organization in Washington, D.C., that lobbies for tougher immigration control.

"Despite their efforts to define these applications away, their victory celebration is about 3 million applications premature."

USCIS documents obtained by the Daily Bulletin show the difference between the pending caseload and the official backlog lies in the definition of "backlog," which USCIS officials have changed at least two times since the president set the elimination deadline.

Under the current definition, the official backlog excludes all pending applications filed within the previous six months; all pending applications that are awaiting action by a third party anything from a security check by the FBI to verific
Immigration employees' incentives questioned
Applications fast-tracked to meet Bush's deadline
Sara A. Carter, Staff Writer


Beyond Borders - Special Report on Immigration
VIEW OUR BEYOND
BORDERS BLOG

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service employees were offered financial incentives to push immigration applications through the system quickly and eliminate a backlog of nearly 4 million such applications in time to meet a presidential deadline.

Employees and internal documents obtained by The Sun's sister newspaper, the Ontario-based Inland Valley Daily Bulletin, also reveal that the backlog is not actually gone, but that millions of applications in process have been reclassified to fall outside the backlog definition and help the agency meet an October deadline set by President Bush in 2003.

The pressure to reduce the backlog, combined with the promise of bonuses for faster work, led to application shortcuts that might have compromised the immigrant-screening process, according to current and former agency employees and at least one congressman.

USCIS Director Emilio Gonzalez announced last week that the agency has reduced backlogged applications for green cards, work permits and other immigration benefits from 3.98 million to fewer than 140,000.

"This achievement is a testament to the thousands of USCIS employees who have come in early, stayed late and worked weekends to complete their production goals," Gonzalez wrote in a Sept. 5 e-mail obtained by the Daily Bulletin. "... What's more important, however, is that we have not cut corners, lost our focus on national security, or compromised quality or integrity in the name of production."

A USCIS memo reveals that monetary incentives totaling up to $5 million were promised to USCIS employees nationwide for meeting "production challenges" designed to eliminate the application backlog. The funds are to be disbursed by the end of the fiscal year in the form of $500 bonuses for employees, and to pay for office parties. USCIS officials made the memo public Monday.

A USCIS employee said Sunday that the rush to meet the October deadline, and earn bonus pay, led to mistakes and oversights in processing immigration applications.

"When they started giving incentives, people started cutting corners," said the employee, who spoke on condition of anonymity. "I've worked with adjudicators who have to complete a number of applications per hour to get an award. But when those cases landed on my desk, they were all wrong."

"They told us not to check for aliases because it slows down production," said another adjudicator, from USCIS' central region. "Other employees just wanted to process applications as fast as possible to get the incentives. ... The backlog-reduction awards made people careless because they had to move through so many applications per month."

"We don't sell clothing. We grant benefits that could lead to somebody getting citizenship," said an adjudicator from Texas. "Offering bonuses and incentives shouldn't play a role when it comes to national security."

Chris Bentley, a USCIS spokesman, flatly denied that corners were cut in processing applications.

"USCIS does not grant an immigrant services or benefits until all background national-security checks are complete and we know that the individual is fully eligible for the benefits being sought," he said.

Bentley also defended the bonuses and parties, although he favored another definition of the events.

"I wouldn't call (them) parties," he said. "It's a celebration of something that reflects on the extraordinary work our employees have done. We are commemorating their work to eliminate the backlog. It's a job well done and something we are extremely proud of without compromising national security.

"There are monies set aside for awards," Bentley continued. "It's a proven management tool. It's just like receiving a bonus from any line of work. You reward outstanding work so that your employees continue the great effort."

Bentley said he could not disclose the number of federal employees participating in the incentive program or the full cost of the celebrations until USCIS officials receive word about who will participate. USCIS has more than 15,000 employees nationwide.

The chairman of the House Subcommittee on Terrorism and Nonproliferation criticized the incentives, saying USCIS' priorities are skewed and that taxpayer money is being misspent.

"I thought USCIS got the message (during April committee hearings) to put national security over expediency," said Rep. Ed Royce, R-Fullerton. "I do not want production goals to take priority over fraud prevention."

In an Aug. 30 USCIS memo, Michael Aytes, associate director for USCIS Domestic Operations, advised all service center directors, regional directors, district directors and Director Robert Cowan of the National Benefits Center that employees who have worked with USCIS since at least

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May 30 would be given an individual $500 bonus promised in December 2005 as a reward for backlog reduction.

The memo also directs each office to organize a "celebration of its production accomplishments," for which up to $15 per employee will be provided, though "no individual center or office may spend more than $7,500 for this informal award event."

"Perhaps the public will question the judgment of USCIS to spend millions of dollars on backlog-elimination bonuses and parties at a time when Congress has called for hearings to determine to what extent national security may have been jeopardized by the push to reduce the backlog," said Michael Maxwell, former director of internal affairs for USCIS, who testified before Royce's subcommittee earlier this year about security failures within USCIS.

During a news conference in March, Gonzalez was questioned by reporters about allegations and internal documents that Maxwell had brought to the attention of Congress. One such allegation was that offices and service centers were holding competitions offering incentives for rapid elimination of the backlog, "including cash bonuses, time off, movie tickets, and gift certificates, to employees and/or teams of employees with the fastest processing times."

In an audiotape of the news conference obtained by the Daily Bulletin, Gonzalez dismissed the allegations and said he did not offer incentives for faster processing.

"No, that's not how I do business," he said. "I want to get the job done. I want to get the job done well."

Word about the bonuses program follows last week's call by Royce for a congressional investigation and hearing about screening lapses on applicants for green cards, work permits and other immigration documents at the National Benefits Center in Lee's Summit, Mo. Those lapses were first reported by The Sun and Daily Bulletin on Aug. 23.

Gonzalez's claim that the backlog sits at only 140,000 applications also has been challenged by USCIS employees, outside immigration experts and Royce.

"The agency's own statistics show a pending caseload of some 3 million immigration, naturalization and asylum applications," said Rosemary Jenks, director of government relations at NumbersUSA, a nonprofit organization in Washington, D.C., that lobbies for tougher immigration control.

"Despite their efforts to define these applications away, their victory celebration is about 3 million applications premature."

USCIS documents obtained by the Daily Bulletin show the difference between the pending caseload and the official backlog lies in the definition of "backlog," which USCIS officials have changed at least two times since the president set the elimination deadline.

Under the current definition, the official backlog excludes all pending applications filed within the previous six months; all pending applications that are awaiting action by a third party anything from a security check by the FBI to verification of a Mexican birth certificate; and all pending applications for benefits that are not immediately available (for example, if the annual limit on green cards has already been reached).

Royce said USCIS still has an enormous backlog, and that the agency is doing whatever it takes to show a reduction to lend credence to a Senate proposal that offers a guest-worker program and a path to amnesty. President Bush, who favors the Senate proposal over a much harsher House bill, is hoping for an immigration compromise before the end of the year.

"By one estimate, the Senate bill will bring in over 62 million people over the next decade," Royce said. "USCIS will be faced with a challenge of widespread document fraud. We saw it in the (1986) amnesty bill, and we will see it on a much bigger scale this time around."

www.sbsun.com

How about bonuses for our border patrol and ICE agents?

USCIS Director Emilio Gonzalez announced last week that the agency has reduced backlogged applications for green cards, work permits and other immigration benefits from 3.98 million to fewer than 140,000.

Could this be a case of the fox guarding the hen house?

I hate to hear of crap like this. Don't process alies names? Half these guys probably go by the nickname of Pedro because they don't remember who's identity they are at any given time. Bonuses for doing a lousy job. Just wait and see who's hiney is hanging out to dry if they end up processing a terriorist in this "speedy" version. Those high ups are never going to admit this and the fool at the bottom sold theirself out for a piece of pizza.

The rule of unintended consequences could bite them in the buttocks if they grant too many people citizenship before election day. These new voters are not going to be republicans.

Originally Posted by andyt

The rule of unintended consequences could bite them in the buttocks if they grant too many people citizenship before election day. These new voters are not going to be republicans.

They are granting green cards to people who violated the law? In other words they are rewarding them for violating the law. What's going on is a disgrace, thousands of them are getting married to get the papers, and most of them are having anchor babies.

Yesterday I heard a woman telling another one that she got her green card because she had 3 children. I wonder what is this woman contributing to this country other than 3 children getting educated with taxpayer's money, and probably living from food stamps, or welfare? Who needs this?

She is probably contributing 3 more people with an enormous sense of entitlement and nothing to give.

Arriving Aliens in Removal Proceedings Are Now Eligible to Apply for Adjustment of Status
By James E. Root
Los Angeles, CA

On September 30, 2005, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeal has ruled in a case, Bona v. Gonzales, that parolees who are arriving aliens may be able to adjust their status while in removal proceedings. Arriving aliens are people who were permitted to enter the United States but were nevertheless placed into removal proceedings. Parolees are people who are permitted to enter the United States for a specific purpose. For example, often times parolees are allowed to enter the United States to apply for asylum.
In Bona v. Gonzalez an issue was raised regarding the validity of 8 C.F.R. Section 245.1(c)(, a regulation promulgated by the Attorney General in 1997. Under that regulation, an alien who had been granted parolee status and entered the United States, but was placed into removal proceedings, was ineligible to apply for adjustment of status. The court in Bona v. Gonzalez ultimately found that 8 C.F.R. Section 245.1(c)( directly conflicts with 8 U.S.C. Section 1255(a), the code section enacted by Congress, which grants parolees the right to apply for adjustment of status. Because Congressional intent in making policies of who can adjust status takes precedence over the Attorney General’s regulations, arriving aliens in removal proceedings in the Ninth Circuit are now eligible to apply for adjustment of status.
For example, if you came into the United States and were paroled in by immigration officials (to allow you to seek asylum, or to see an immigration judge in removal proceedings in California), and then you subsequently married a United States citizen, you are now (as a result of Bona v. Gonzalez) eligible to apply for adjustment of status before the immigration judge.
In addition, if while you were in removal proceedings in California you were denied adjustment of status in court because you were considered to be an arriving alien, it may be possible to reopen your case in light of this new Ninth Circuit decision.
In Bona v. Gonzalez, Delia Ramos Bona, who is a citizen and native of the Philippines, arrived in the United States in 1991 with her three children. They were paroled into the United States as endangered family members of a serviceman (Mrs. Bona’s husband was then in the United States Navy and now is a United States citizen.) when the volcano Mt. Pinatubo erupted in the Philippines. She was placed into removal proceedings eight years later and was considered an arriving alien because she was paroled into the United States at the time of her arrival in 1991. The Immigration Judge denied her the ability to apply for adjustment of status pursuant to the regulation which made arriving aliens ineligible to apply for adjustment of status. The Board of Immigration Appeals affirmed the Immigration Judge’s decision and refused to remand the case back to the Immigration Judge.
However, the Ninth Circuit court found that Mrs. Bona is entitled to apply for adjustment of status in removal proceedings. Accordingly, the Ninth Circuit court granted the Petition for Review and remanded the case back down to the Board of Immigration Appeals.
Mr. James E. Root exclusively practices US Immigration Law. He has offices in the Los Angeles and Orange Counties. For a free initial consultation please contact 1(88 ROOT-LAW or visit www.RootLaw.com.

Originally Posted by opinion

Arriving Aliens in Removal Proceedings Are Now Eligible to Apply for Adjustment of Status
By James E. Root
Los Angeles, CA

On September 30, 2005, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeal has ruled in a case, Bona v. Gonzales, that parolees who are arriving aliens may be able to adjust their status while in removal proceedings. Arriving aliens are people who were permitted to enter the United States but were nevertheless placed into removal proceedings. Parolees are people who are permitted to enter the United States for a specific purpose. For example, often times parolees are allowed to enter the United States to apply for asylum.
In Bona v. Gonzalez an issue was raised regarding the validity of 8 C.F.R. Section 245.1(c)(, a regulation promulgated by the Attorney General in 1997. Under that regulation, an alien who had been granted parolee status and entered the United States, but was placed into removal proceedings, was ineligible to apply for adjustment of status. The court in Bona v. Gonzalez ultimately found that 8 C.F.R. Section 245.1(c)( directly conflicts with 8 U.S.C. Section 1255(a), the code section enacted by Congress, which grants parolees the right to apply for adjustment of status. Because Congressional intent in making policies of who can adjust status takes precedence over the Attorney General’s regulations, arriving aliens in removal proceedings in the Ninth Circuit are now eligible to apply for adjustment of status.
For example, if you came into the United States and were paroled in by immigration officials (to allow you to seek asylum, or to see an immigration judge in removal proceedings in California), and then you subsequently married a United States citizen, you are now (as a result of Bona v. Gonzalez) eligible to apply for adjustment of status before the immigration judge.
In addition, if while you were in removal proceedings in California you were denied adjustment of status in court because you were considered to be an arriving alien, it may be possible to reopen your case in light of this new Ninth Circuit decision.
In Bona v. Gonzalez, Delia Ramos Bona, who is a citizen and native of the Philippines, arrived in the United States in 1991 with her three children. They were paroled into the United States as endangered family members of a serviceman (Mrs. Bona’s husband was then in the United States Navy and now is a United States citizen.) when the volcano Mt. Pinatubo erupted in the Philippines. She was placed into removal proceedings eight years later and was considered an arriving alien because she was paroled into the United States at the time of her arrival in 1991. The Immigration Judge denied her the ability to apply for adjustment of status pursuant to the regulation which made arriving aliens ineligible to apply for adjustment of status. The Board of Immigration Appeals affirmed the Immigration Judge’s decision and refused to remand the case back to the Immigration Judge.
However, the Ninth Circuit court found that Mrs. Bona is entitled to apply for adjustment of status in removal proceedings. Accordingly, the Ninth Circuit court granted the Petition for Review and remanded the case back down to the Board of Immigration Appeals.
Mr. James E. Root exclusively practices US Immigration Law. He has offices in the Los Angeles and Orange Counties. For a free initial consultation please contact 1(88 ROOT-LAW or visit www.RootLaw.com.

What kind of a joke is this? So if an illegal alien is deported she/he is entitled to apply for adjustment of status in removal proceedings?
So deporting these people is just a joke?

Quick and sloppy.