- MUST READS
- PRODUCTS
- RESOURCES
- MULTIMEDIA
- ENFACTLOPEDIA
- FSM AUTHORS
- ABOUT US
- CONTACT US
- FSM BLOG
- DONATE
- PRESS COVERAGE
SEARCH FSM
- IN THIS SECTION
March 11, 2009
Exclusive: Corruption in Immigration Agency Endangers Americans
This article featured in the Detroit News last Friday was forwarded to me by a now retired former high-ranking INS official who is also a close friend.
While it is a disturbing story as it stands, what was left out was an even bigger story – how a corrupt INS official enabled a once illegal alien to become an FBI special agent and then an employee of the CIA.
I want you to put this into proper perspective. There are, even as you read this, members of Congress and the current administration who are intent on foisting a massive amnesty program on our nation to permit millions of illegal aliens to be rewarded for their having violated our nation' borders and various immigration and other laws, with United States citizenship.
Here is what we don't know and most likely will never find out about these millions of illegal aliens:
- We don't (and won't) know their true identities (including their nationalities).
- We don't (and won't) know about their possible criminal histories in other countries.
- We don't (and won't) know how, where or when they entered the United States. (This means that if an amnesty is enacted that would require that the illegal alien applicant have resided in the United States for a minimum amount of time, there would be no reliable way to determine how long the alien has actually been here.)
- We don't (and won't) know about their possible affiliation with criminal or terrorist organizations. (The Comprehensive Immigration Reform bill that was narrowly defeated in the United States Senate last year actually contained a provision that would have enabled members of violent gangs such as MS-13 so qualify for amnesty if they promised they would not go back to their former gangs.)
- We don't (and won't) know anything about their true intentions.
In the article linked above, you will notice that there was a rather innocuous passage:
Among those who gave Bailey gifts and received favors from Bailey were immigration attorney Namir Daman, who was earlier sentenced to three years' probation; LaShish Restaurants owner Talal Chahine, a fugitive believed to be living in Lebanon; and Leon's Family Dining restaurants owner Samir Leon, who has not been charged with a crime, according to court records filed Friday.
Talal Chahine is indeed a fugitive. He was the person who arranged the marriage fraud than enabled a woman by the name of Nada Nadim Prouty to acquire resident alien status by engaging in a marriage fraud after her 1988-issued student visa to the United States expired. Having acquired lawful immigrant status as a result f that marriage fraud, she ultimately became a United States citizen and then went on to secure a job with the FBI as a special agent! She had a gun, a badge and a security clearance that she apparently put to good use, accessing databases on informants and investigations into Hezbollah, a pernicious terrorist organization. She similarly accessed databases at the CIA when she left the FBI for a job with the CIA. The problem is that in government, it is not enough that you possess the requisite security clearance before you access sensitive files and databases, you must also have the "need to know."
So, while Ms. Prouty had the necessary clearance to access those databases, she had no justification for accessing those databases.
As for Mr. Chahine, he is indeed a fugitive. He is accused of skimming millions of dollars from his restaurant chain and sending that money directly to Hezbollah.
You can read more about this sordid case here.
The terrorists who have operated in our country have always understood that they needed to gain access to our nation and then embed themselves in various communities in the United States to hide in plain sight as they carried out operations related to terrorism and espionage. In addition to physically attacking our nation, terrorists operate in the United States to gather intelligence, establish "safe houses" and engage in various activities to generate money to enable their terrorist organizations to conduct operations around the world.
When an alien is able to acquire lawful immigrant status and especially United States citizenship, that alien is able to move freely among us and also travel easily in and out of the United States.
When such aliens are involved with terrorism or espionage, they are able to acquire jobs that provide them with access to critical infrastructure. Examples of critical infrastructure might well be nuclear power plants, military bases, federal agencies or airports and seaports. It may mean getting a job for a contractor that performs many jobs for the federal government or the United States military. It may even mean getting a job at a food processing plant where it would be relatively easy to contaminate our food supply. (Incredibly, the administration is seemingly oblivious to this potential risk.)
There have been many reports issued by various oversight agencies of the federal government that detailed the multitude of failings of USCIS (United States Citizenship and Immigration Services) and ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) to weed out fraud in the immigration benefits program that provides aliens with a wide spectrum of immigration benefits.
As I have noted before, two years ago the GAO reported on how USCIS claimed to have lost 111,000 immigration alien files relating to aliens seeking all sorts of immigration benefits including some 30,000 who applied for naturalization to acquire United States citizenship. Each and every one of those 111,000 applications including those involving naturalization were adjudicated without providing the adjudicator with those critically important files!
It seems as though the government provided immigration benefits with as much thought being given to the process as did so many banks provide sub-prime mortgages and credit cards to illegal aliens whose identities were unknown and unknowable.
My concerns about the lack of integrity to the immigration benefits program prompted me to write a commentary last year for the Washington Times as Comprehensive Immigration Reform was being debated at the United States Senate.
The large scale apathy demonstrated by citizens of this nation has emboldened elected representatives to all but ignore the needs of the average American citizen in a quest for massive campaign funds and the promises of votes to be ostensibly delivered by special interest groups.
Attorney General Eric Holder accused Americans of being cowards where race was concerned. Perhaps we have indeed become a nation of cowards – not on the issue of race but rather on the issue of immigration.
Lawful immigration, when effectively administered can and does have a positive impact on our nation. When the integrity of the system fails, the results can be nothing short of catastrophic.
Immigration impacts everything from national security and criminal justice to the economy, the environment, healthcare and education.
We live in a perilous world and in a perilous era. The survival of our nation and the lives of our citizens hang in the balance
Family Security Matters Contributing Editor Mike Cutler is a Fellow at the Center for Immigration Studies and a recognized authority who addresses the implications of immigration on national security and criminal justice. Feedback: editorialdirector@familysecuritymatters.org.
Reader Comments: Submit Your Comment (0)
| Print This E-mail This |
|
