Tancredo Alarmed that Green Cards May Go to Terrorists

Front Page Washington Times Story Shows Widespread Mismanagement at CIS

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Tom Tancredo (R-CO) noted the front page Washington Times article this morning, which alleges widespread mismanagement at the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service including CIS officials who exchanged sexual favors for green cards, were bribed and who granted green cards to persons with terrorist ties.

If the allegations prove true, this is one of the most serious breaches of national security that I have ever seen,” said Tancredo. “Each charge should be investigated expeditiously and thoroughly. Bribery and corruption cannot be tolerated in the frontline of the War on Terror.”

The Washington Times story claims that there are more than 2,500 allegations of misconduct for the mere 15,000 employees at CIS—that’s one charge for every six employees.

The story notes that some employees may have been influenced by foreign governments and that there are concerns that applicants with terrorist backgrounds may have been able to obtain green cards because of incompetence and corruption in CIS.

Up to 1,300 of the 4,000 immigration adjudicators who are supposed to have access to the Treasury Enforcement Communications System (TECS) database have been shut out of it. In some situations, the employees have failed to keep up their certification, while others haven't had the appropriate background checks to maintain access.”

The article continued: “The briefings also covered reports of 1,400 cases in which applicants for entry have shown up on TECS as part of a national security investigation. The special group of adjudicators deciding those cases can tell there is an investigation, but lack credentials to find out what the investigation is about, the sources said.”