Posted on 03/15/2006 3:42:45 PM PST by Marine Inspector
The United States Government Accountability Office (GAO) has dealt the fatal blow to the controversial concept of Guest Worker Amnesty to 12 million illegal aliens now living in the United States in defiance of our laws. The GAO is the investigative arm of Congress charged with examining matters relating to the receipt and payment of public funds.
In a devastating report released today, the GAO charges the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) – this is the agency under the Department of Homeland Security that would be in charge of proposed Guest Worker Amnesty – with a failed organizational infrastructure and massive mismanagement and corruption.
On the eve of debate in the Senate Judiciary Committee, of the House passed Border Protection, Anti-terrorism, and Illegal Immigration Control Act of 2005 - HR 4437, the GAO report exposes rampant immigration chaos and USCIS corruption. Among the GAO's most alarming findings are that 33 percent of religious worker visas were issued fraudulently. There is documented evidence that radical Islamists, with ties to terrorist organizations, have used the religious worker visa category to gain admission to the United States .
The timing of the report mars the hopes of millions of unethical employers, that on or off their payroll employ 12 million illegal aliens. These crooks were counting on lobbying efforts by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and other pro-illegal immigration advocates, for influencing passage of a Guest Worker Amnesty Bill in the Senate.
The Government agency that would be responsible for administering the controversial Guest Worker Amnesty that would reward 12 million illegal aliens living and working un-lawfully with legal status, is the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).
The Copley News Service reported on March 7 th , that prior to the damning GAO report, “Michael Maxwell stepped down last month as director of the Office of Security at USCIS, and sought protection under the federal whistle-blower protection law. He claims that senior agency officials had been retaliating against him for telling Congress about what he described as serious national security vulnerabilities that persisted despite his warnings to those running the agency.”
In addition, Maxwell claims the agency lacks the resources to handle some 500 allegations of criminal misconduct against agency employees, including allegations of espionage and acceptance of bribes.
Citizenship and Immigration Services spokeswoman Angelica Alfonso declined requests for an interview. She released a statement yesterday that said the agency is confident of its processes, and that it takes the allegations seriously. This has to be taken with a huge grain of salt as the agency has been under investigation since 2001.
One of Maxwell's attorneys, Rosemary Jenks, said his concerns demonstrate an underlying tension between Citizenship and Immigration Services' dual missions of providing immigration benefits to applicants and of protecting national secur ity.”
Why did the GAO conduct a study on the USCIS?
See Full Report here: (http://judiciary.house.gov/media/pdfs/gaoimmbenefits31006.pdfIn 2002)
The just released GAO report documents that immigration benefit fraud was pervasive and significant and the approach to controlling it was fragmented. Experts believe that individuals ineligible for these benefits, including terrorists and criminals, could use fraudulent means to enter or remain in the U.S. The Congress requested that GAO evaluate U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service's (USCIS) anti-fraud efforts.
The report addresses the questions: (1) What do available data and information indicate regarding the nature and extent of fraud? (2) What actions has USCIS taken to improve its ability to detect fraud? (3) What actions does the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) take to sanction those who commit fraud?
Hordes of immigration law attorneys have joined the ranks of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and other organizations dedicated to cheapening the wages of American workers through the oversupply of desperate illegal foreign workers. How? Through massive illegal immigration! Our unprotected borders have been allowed to fester with a booming $140 billion per year in drug trafficking and $10 billion dollar in human trafficking in the name of America 's addiction to cheap illegal labor.
Which immigration law firm would not like to have a client base of 12 million desperate illegal aliens that grows at the rate of 2.5 million per year.
In one of the largest labor certification fraud schemes ever uncovered by the GAO, federal investigators found evidence that a single prominent immigration attorney in the Washington, D.C., area submitted at least 1,436 and perhaps as many as 2,700 fraudulent employment applications between 1998 and 2002. According to the sworn testimony of a Department of Labor (DOL) special agent, this attorney and his associates are alleged to have made at least $11.4 million for the 1,400 applications that the agent reviewed, in all of which he found evidence of fraud, and perhaps as much as $21.6 million if all 2,700 applications were fraudulent, as he strongly suspected.
USCIS WEAKNESSES POSE A GREAT THREAT OF TERRORISM
The GAO reports goes on to say, “Some individuals seeking immigration benefits pose a threat to national security and public safety, and white collar and other criminals sometimes facilitate immigration benefit fraud. For example, according to Office of Fraud Detection and National Security ( FDNS ) , each year about 5,200 immigration benefit applicants are identified as potential national security risks, because their personal information matches information contained in U.S. Customs and Border Protection's Interagency Border Inspection System, a database of immigration law violators and people of national security interest. Additionally, according to federal prosecutors, immigration benefit fraud may involve other criminal activity, such as income tax evasion, money laundering, production of fraudulent documents, and conspiracy. Also, organized crime groups have used sophisticated immigration fraud schemes, such as creating shell companies, to bring in aliens ostensibly as employees of these companies. In addition, a number of individuals linked to a hostile foreign power's intelligence service were found to have been employed as temporary alien workers on military research.”
Unethical immigration law attorneys should be charged with aiding and abetting illegal immigrats and in creating an unlawful climate that puts all of us at risk of terrorism. Why? Because o nce one of their clients obtains a temporary work authorization fraudulently, an alien can use it to obtain other valid identity documents such as a temporary social security card and a driver's license, thus facilitating their living and working in the United States . It is important to recognize, in the illegal immigration debate, who butters the immigration attorney's bread.
The GAO found that the USCIS is completely unprepared to handle their 7.5 million case work load with their 3000 employees and this is made all the more unlikely given the management system shortfalls and the brazen level of corruption within the organization. Few if any of the present 500 allegations of criminal misconduct against agency employees will be prosecuted. The GAO finds the agency as it stands will be unable to handle the proposed Guest Worker Amnesty proposals bandied about by President Bush and a bi-partisan group of Senators influenced by tearful pleads accompanied by campaign contributions from employers who currently employ illegal aliens.
USCIS mismanagement and corruption is a menace given that Donna Bucella , the Director of the federal Terrorist Screening Center said Tuesday that the agency maintains a list of 200,000 people known or suspected to be terrorists. She reported yesterday, March 14, 2006, that Police and other government workers in the U.S. have come in contact with terrorists or people suspected of foreign terror ties more than 6,000 times in the past 28 months. In addition, she said, that there have been about 28,000 matches worldwide, many of those from U.S. diplomatic outposts that screen applicants for visas to enter the United States .
Does is seem to you that President Bush is doing all that is possible or necessary to secure our borders and to keep us safe from terrorism by enforcing immigration law? Can we trust the Senate with giving us a Guest Worker Amnesty program that is not tainted by political contributions from illegal alien employers? Can we trust that a Guest Worker Amnesty, if approved, would be adequately administered by the USCIS?
Write and call your Senators and share with them your views on Guest Worker Amnesty for 12 million illegal aliens and 200,000 known terrorists, any one of whom could have already slipped through our unprotected borders, or planning to do so.
It has been four and half years since the findings of the 9/11 Commission. Securing our borders was the number one concern of the Commission. None of its border security recommendation have been enacted much less even funded. That is why I decided to become a candidate for the California 41 st Assembly District. I need and welcome your support and contributions.
The Field Poll of September 2005 shows 81% of Californians are concerned about illegal immigration. The Field Poll of March 2006 shows 57% of registered voters and 71% of Republicans have an unfavorable view of illegal immigration. We can win this race!
Support candidates that stand for border security and immigration law enforcement at every level of government, our nation is in danger.
Tony Dolz
Candidate
California 41 st Assembly District www.dolz.com
Not likely on both.
There was an idiot before him and I'll bet the next guys an idiot also.
Semper Fi
It wont work unless the other major party splits too and there is no need for them to. They will split our vote ... then split our money.
Has the "Newspaper of Record" reported this story yet? Or isn't this news "fit to print"? Everyone should realize that the INS under the Clintoon's pal, Doris Meisner, was for sale, just as was the Commerce Dept. That's why the hijacker of 9/11 were able to kill 3.000 innocents in the twin towers. This can of worms needs to be opened and someone needs to be charged for malfeasance.
The only "guest worker program we should ever consider should be one that's open only to those who have never entered the US illegally and have never been here. Then the employer must pay all their transportation costs, medical costs, and any and all expenses they incur. There would not be one penny of taxpayer money spent on them. Their families could not come in, and no children would be here to fill up our schools and suck up our healthcare.
Also, why must it be only Mexicans who can come work here to work? Millions of others from other countries would love to come work here, but never get a shred of consideration. What makes the Mexcians so special? (Other than Bush selling his soul to give opur sovreignty to them.)
Well, I will not vote for the lesser of two evils again. Voting third party may not do any good, but blindly voting Republican hasn't worked. Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different out come each time is insanity.
I prefer to think I am voting specificly against someone more often the I vote for someone. Semantics I know but ......
I believe the Rep/Dem party wants you to think that way.
Until you can vote for the Constitution Party in all 50 States, it will never be more then a weak 3rd party.
I have other issues with them as well. Back in 2004, I contacted their national headquarters and the supposed Arizona Representative 3 time before the election. Not one response from the party or anyone in the party.
Shorty after the election, I started receiving weekly e-mails and monthly mailers asking for donations. Apparently they got my letters before the election, but my vote was not worth anything to them; yet, now they want my money.
I think not!
"We already have a real conservative party."
The conservative party we have today would be Left of President Kennedy. You call that "a real conservative party.?"
Congress requested the report. Let's see what they do with it.
BUMP
obviously a guest worker program won't fix illegal immegration - it encourages it, but what about the following for an idea.
The reason Mexico encourages illegal immegration is that the money their illegal immigrants send back home is one of the top sources of the country's revenue. And how does an illegal immigrant send money from US to Mexico ... via a Bank Card. They deposit the money in a US bank and a relative withdraws it from the ATM machine in Mexico. Extremely easy.
Let's have the Senate Banking committee draw up a law that prevents intra-country withdrawls and the illegal immigration problem would be dramatically improved.
3 things would happen:
1) Illegalimmigrants in the US couldn't send the US-made money to Mexico. The money would stay in the US (good for America).
2) Since the money wouldn't go to Mexico, there is no reason for Mexico to encourage illegal immigration (bad for Mexico).
3) If an illegal immigrant got a job in the US and kept the money, they would be more likely to pay their own way, less likely to get government handouts (good for America).
Thoughts?
PS: It is my first post - be kind!
They won't want to let this go unspun.
Juan Maria Garcia should immediately be placed in charge of the agency and its hiring policy.
Thanks...exhaling..
The only problem with this is that it would bring ALL international commerce and business to a dead stop. How about we have the corrupt elements in CIS forfeit their pay, pay a fine, and be incarcerated? More laws never fix anything. We have good laws (Immigration Reform Act) already. They need to be applied and enforced correctly.
Let me guess. Falls Church/Alexandria? Maybe Herndon? Mexican restaurants, ethnic grocery stores and immigration attorneys seem to be the big growth businesses there.
"We have a winner here...." Stand by for a ram, fella. That kinda talk is not well tolerated in these parts by many of it's inhabitants. Any abuse of the "R" party is automatically considered to be kiddee rants from Libertarian/Constitution/EtAl party kool-aid drinkers. Only when a thread such as this is well received do they hunker down, only to ambush you on another thread with 'quotes' about your treasonous tendencies.
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