The balance sheet was published by the Department of National Security of the United States and suggests that some of the immigrants used fake names and birth dates in order to achieve USA citizenship from the Immigration Service.
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According to the Associated Press, the immigrants were from “countries of concern to national security or with high rates of immigration fraud who had pending deportation orders”, though the specific countries were not named.
An internal Homeland Security audit showed that at least 858 immigrants who had pending deportation orders were mistakenly granted US citizenship, AP reported Monday. The report states that the immigrants were granted citizenship because neither the DHS or the Federal Bureau of Investigation contains all fingerprints of individuals who had been previously deported.
“[U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS)] granted U.S. citizenship to at least 858 individuals ordered deported or removed under another identity when, during the naturalization process, their digital fingerprint records were not available”.
The individuals slipped through the system because their digital fingerprint records were not in the DHS’s or FBI’s databases, according to the audit. “Just another day at DHS: 858 criminal aliens from “special interest countries” wrongly granted citizenship”.
Fingerprint records are said to be missing because paper-based fingerprint cards used before 2008 were not consistently digitized, the report says.
In three cases, people who are alleged to have committed immigration fraud received security clearance at airports, ports, or aboard ships, according to the report.
The agency might also refer the case to Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
The FBI has had its own digital fingerprint repository since 1999.
This seems like precisely the kind of lapse in security the Obama administration has claimed is impossible because of the multiple layers of checks they perform.
Investigators recommended establishing a plan for evaluating each of the new naturalized citizens who used multiple identities.
“The fact that fingerprint records in these cases may have been incomplete at the time of the naturalization interview does not necessarily mean that the applicant was in fact granted naturalization, or that the applicant obtained naturalization fraudulently”, DHS spokesperson Neema Hakim told CNN. An additional 26 cases have been declined. Their credentials were revoked after they were identified as having been granted citizenship improperly, Roth said in his report. Opponents say Obama’s plan to flood the USA with unvetted Middle Eastern refugees will afford ISIS and other terrorist organizations further opportunities to embed jihadists in the country.
These issues represent a major problem for immigration officials, who are now under probation.
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A fourth person is now a law enforcement officer. DHS officials agreed with the recommendations and said the agency is working to implement the changes.
