Posted on 02/03/2015 6:47:25 AM PST by Liz
ABC-TV reports on suspicious visas being fast-tracked -- and the role top Democrat, Harry Reid, played.
Officials overseeing a federal program that offers an immigration short-cut to wealthy foreign investors have ignored pointed warnings from federal agents and approved visas for some immigrants suspected of having committed fraud, money laundering, and even one applicant with alleged ties to a child porn website, an ABC News investigation has found.
The shortcomings prompted DHS concerns that the boutique immigration program would be exploited by terrorists, according to internal documents obtained by ABC News.
“It is shocking,” said Sen. Charles Grassley, an Iowa Republican. “Particularly when you have F.B.I. and other law enforcement agencies that are saying national security could be compromised or is being compromised -- that's enough for us to be concerned.”
Five different Homeland Security whistleblowers spoke with ABC News about a range of cases where visas were approved despite numerous red flags. They said objections were often ignored because the immigration program is so popular within the Obama Administration and with members of Congress from both parties.
Known as the EB-5 visa program, foreigners who are willing to invest $500,000 in an American business can jump to the front of the line and obtain legal status to live in the U.S. for two years. If the investment is shown to create at least 10 jobs, the investors can receive a “Green Card” -- permanent residency. And only later, buried in the story, is Reid's involvement explained.
In recent years, as the program has grown dramatically in popularity, it has sparked controversy.
In 2013, then-Virginia gubernatorial candidate Terry McAuliffe was accused by political opponents of trying to prod federal officials to approve visas for investors in an electric vehicle start-up venture he ran. He denied that he sought undue influence.
In 2014, questions about an EB-5 investment scheme in South Dakota became grist for political ads targeting then-U.S. Senate candidate Mike Rounds, who was attacked for his role in oversight of investment projects while he was governor. Rounds called the attacks political and "inaccurate" and "defamatory."
Questions about the SLS Hotel project in Las Vegas first gained attention when an article in The Washington Times revealed that Homeland Security expedited the processing of investor visas after Nevada Sen. Harry Reid (D) and his staff began prodding the department to move faster. Reid aides said their push to eliminate longstanding bureaucratic hurdles with the program and was aimed at creating local jobs.
But in a series of interviews, Homeland Security whistleblowers who spoke with ABC News on the condition they not be identified said their greatest concern was that political pressure to expedite the review process has led officials to grant visas to applicants who had significant red flags in their backgrounds.
When the SLS Hotel chain sought to fund construction of a hotel on the Las Vegas strip using foreign investors, Reid and his aides urged immigration officials to speed up their review of the visa applicants, internal emails show. Each visa applicant approval meant another $500,000 could flow into the construction budget, and the developers were anticipating as much as $200 million from foreign investors.
Michael Vannozzi, then a top aide to Senator Reid, wrote to say that a failure by immigration officials to push through approvals could cause the project’s major investor, JP Morgan Chase, to back out.
Emails show Reid personally appealed to the then-head of USCIS, Alijandro N. Mayorkas, to give the matter his attention. Mayorkas, who has since been promoted to deputy secretary, responded to the request by saying he would take “a fresh look” at the issue.
There, fixed that root cause factoid.
You know that you have fallen out of favour when the MSM turns on you. Poor Harry . . . NOT!
200M/500K = 400 new visas needed to build a casino.
Why do we often read about visa fraud but never a follow up about how fraudulent visas were revoked?
“It is shocking,” said Sen. Charles Grassley”
Someone have the picture??
Excellent fix.
Harry must have threatened ValJar. he knows where the political bodies are buried.
Now Harry is not the Senate Majority Leader, so his usefulness to the Bat Lady is minimal.
The “exercise machine” injury was a warning. This, in ABC News, is another.
A wonderful thing to behold.
1) Export of sensitive technology/economic espionage.
2) Use by foreign government agents/espionage.
3) Use by terrorists.
4) Investment fraud by regional center.
5) Investment fraud by investors.
6) Fraud conspiracies by investors and regional center.
7) Illicit finance/money laundering.
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Obama's hand-picked henchman, USCIS' Leon Rodrigues, oversees EB-5 visas. Under Obama/Rodrigues' purview---EB-5's are said to involve major threats to US national security:
NEED TO KNOW----ARE OBAMA/RODRIGUES SELLING US CITIZENSHIP TO:
<><> (a) MEXICAN DRUG CARTELS,
<><>(b) ISIS TERRORISTS,
<><> (c) FOREIGNERS FINANCING THE OVERTHROW OF THE US GOVT.
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Rodriguez's confirmation hearings revealed he was a board member of Casa Maryland---a Third World pressure group pushing for unlimited immigration on behalf of foreign governments. Rodrigues also has connections to foreign pressure groups across the nation.
=================================================
FREEPER ACTION--CONTACT FBI TIPS PAGE WEB SITE---YOU MAY REMAIN ANONYMOUS---https://tips.fbi.gov
<><> Taxpayers demand Rodriguez, USCIS, Casa Maryland, the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, La Raza, and other foreign pressure groups, be investigated.
<><> Supboena official filings, phone records, emails, snail mail copies, hard drives, bank accounts, checking accounts, credit cards, debit cards, wire transfers, social media contacts, and the like.
<><> Taxpayers demand to know if govt factorum Leon Rodriguez, and the aforementioned tax-funded groups, (1) are consorting with violent organizations advocating the overthrow of the US govt, (2) and/or are paid agents of foreign governments.
<><> TAXPAYERS demand to know who these people are communicating with, and who is directing their activities.
How many were involved in espionage?I guess we’ll never know.
What was Harry Rieds payoff?
Treason and Infanticide, it’s what Democrats do.
I never bought that exercise bicycle story----
----a skinny runt like Harry needs exercise?
How long until Holder announces charges against DHS employees who leaked the weasels living in the hen house?
So when does the shriveled up old hag go to jail?
PING
Harry did take a beating. I’d guess it was a Val-Jar proxy beating. It was meant to be visible to his peers and collegues.
Obama’s big budget speech is scheduled at the DHS, with their operations as a large talking point. I’d say this was a message from the employees who care. I’d also say this puts pressure on Obama he didn’t need at this point. His speech may be relocated and rescheduled.
Whistleblowers: US Gave Visas to Suspected Forgers, Fraudsters, Criminals
Feb 3, 2015, 7:30 AM ET
By BRIAN ROSS and MATTHEW MOSK
via NIGHTLINE
++++++++++
http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/md4bush/index?tab=articles
Keyword: MD4BUSH
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2557475/posts
FR Exclusive- Possible “Journolist” activism hit here
(National Review) – More than 5.46 million foreign nationals received work permits from the federal government since 2009, according to a new report from the Center for Immigration Studies.
Data uncovered from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) agency reveal that approximately 982,000 work permits were given to illegal immigrants and other foreign nationals unqualified for admission, most of whom crossed the border without inspection.
USCIS is the agency within DHS responsible for issuing work permits and processing applications related to President Obama’s executive action on immigration. On Tuesday, the Senate is scheduled to vote on a bill that funds DHS, while blocking funding that would allow USCIS to implement the president’s executive action.
The remarkable number of work permits granted by the federal government to law-breaking aliens better explains how all net jobs growth since 2007 has gone to immigrants. The government issued approximately 1.7 million work permits since 2009 to aliens whose status was not known, not recorded, or not disclosed by USCIS, according to the report.
The report says employment is not authorized by law for approximately 1.2 million immigrants who collected work permits while having a temporary visa status. And the data show that approximately 1,200 new work permits went to unlawful entrants who were denied asylum, were suspected of using fraudulent documentation, were stowaways, or were refused at a port of entry.
Approximately 1.1 million legal immigrants and 700,000 guest workers enter the country every year along with the millions of foreign nationals that have received work permits from the federal government, according to a statement from CIS.
“I was astonished at the huge number of work permits that are being issued by the Obama administration outside the legal immigration system through executive discretion, especially at a time of high unemployment and stagnant wages,” said Jessica Vaughan the director of policy studies at CIS in a statement. “Besides the effect on the American worker, it encourages and rewards more illegal immigration.”
http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/397713/report-federal-government-issued-nearly-55-million-work-permits-foreign-nationals-2009 -
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SOURCE: See more at: http://www.teaparty.org/shadow-immigration-system-obama-admin-doles-out-millions-of-unauthorized-work-permits-80791/
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More on USCIS below.
Sessions called Obama’s amnesty a scheme Congress had explicitly rejected. “The House said no, and the American people said no. Congress said no, and the president has gone forward.”
Sessions observed that disparate groups wanted amnesty: Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY), some Republicans, business groups, La Raza, and the ACLU.
After assuring Americans he had no plans to do so, Obama was forced to reveal his plans to shower illegals w/ US benefits.... work permits, photo IDs, Social Security and Medicare....tax subsidized benefits rejected by Congress.
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8/13/14 -- NRO.online.com -- Sen Jeff Sessions Warns of ‘Chilling’ Obama Immigration Plotting / By Joel Gehrke Sen Sessions (Rep-Ala.) called for Americans to pressure their senators to vote against Obama’s expected executive orders on immigration, which Sessions described as a “chilling” plot---colluding with latino activists to undermine national laws (and US national security).
“Open-borders groups have grown bolder and louder in their unlawful demands, launching a campaign for the president to ‘go big,’ and demanding that he ‘stand up’ to Congress and ‘expand DACA,’” he added, citing an AP report that administration officials were meeting with immigration activists, and the Chamber of Commerce. “It is chilling to consider now that these groups, frustrated in their aims by our Constitutional system of government, are plotting with the Obama administration to collect their spoils through executive fiat,” he said.
“The steps that must be taken are clear: the Senate must vote on the House-passed measure to stop these unlawful actions. It is true that Majority Leader Reid is blocking it from a vote. But Reid acts only with the blessing of his members in the Democrat conference — so the American people have the power to force it to a vote through their elected senators,” Sessions said. “That begins with asking a simple question: Where do your senators stand?”
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