Archive for the ‘DHS’ Category
Posted by Christopher Coen on February 20, 2012
Con artists continue their evil ways with our refugee population, looking to victimize those who are the most vulnerable. Scams include selling immigration forms (these forms are free), and taking money for green cards, 1-94 cards and the immigrant lottery (and then disappearing with the money). Refugees may report scams anonymously, by using the website uscis.gov, or by calling 1-877-382-4357. An article in the Union Leader explains the various cons and how refugees can report them:
…Scams…are occurring daily across New Hampshire and other states, according to local Immigration officials…
“There are people out there that are victimizing members of [the refugee and immigrant] community because they think they won’t be a good witness,” said Alfred Rubega, assistant U.S. attorney for New Hampshire. “I think they are going to find out pretty quickly in New Hampshire that is not at all a good idea.”
On Wednesday, authorities held a news conference to explain the Unlawful Practice of Immigration Law Initiative, a program intended to help catch con artists. The initiative is a joint effort among the USCIS, the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission.
The initiative is built on three pillars: enforcement, education and collaboration. It is intended to stop scams and prosecute those responsible; educate immigrants about scams and how to avoid them; and inform immigrants about the proper, legal immigration process and where to find legitimate legal advice and representation…
…Different cons
One of the more popular scams uses websites to advertise immigration services or pertinent forms for a fee. One clue a website is phony is when it ends in anything other than the “.gov” tag.
“We’ve heard reports that people have fallen victim to these bogus websites,” said Simon Abi Nader, field office director for USCIS’ Bedford branch. “The simple reason is that the general public does not know the difference between ‘.gov’ and ‘.com,’ which is a public domain. The government owns .gov, and no one can imitate that. All USCIS forms are free.”…
…Community groups helping to prevent scams say immigrants in New Hampshire have been fleeced out of thousands of dollars. Cathy Chesley, director of Catholic Charities Office of Immigration and Refugee Services, said she has seen many victims.
“I know one family that’s out $7,000,” said Chesley. “Just gone.”…
…One example
One man accidentally let I-94 cards — temporary visas — for his entire family go through the laundry in his jeans, said Amy Marchildon, director of Services for Lutheran Social Services of New Hampshire. “He paid someone $2,000 to replace one card, and nothing happened,” she said. The legitimate cost of replacing an I-94 is $365.
One immigrant applied for the State Department’s lottery visa program, Nader said.
“This person worked with someone who said they would help her get the papers for the lottery. For months down the road, she received this email saying that she won the lottery and that the next step is you send me $2,500 money order and wire it this way,” Nader said…
…The person disappeared, and her $2,500 disappeared with them.”…
…Nader said individuals could report scams anonymously, by using the website uscis.gov, or by calling 1-877-382-4357… Read more here
Posted in Catholic Charities (Manchester), immigration documents, immigration services, Lutheran Social Services of New Hampshire, New Hampshire, safety, scam, USCIS, visa lottery | Tagged: 1-94 card, catholic charities, green card, immigrant lottery, Lutheran Social Services of New Hampshire, refugees, resettlement, Scams, Unlawful Practice of Immigration Law Initiative, USCIS | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Christopher Coen on February 5, 2012
A senior Obama administration official says that intelligence indicates the security threat is much broader than the two Iraqi refugees arrested in May in Bowling Green, Ky., and accused of plotting to send weapons and cash to al-Qaeda in Iraq. The Obama administration is still trying to come up with a solution that balances national security with its moral obligation to assist Iraqis who cannot safely live in their country. The UNHCR thinks the security net is set too wide. An article in USA Today discusses the issue:
…WASHINGTON – The Obama administration has dramatically slowed the resettlement of Iraqi refugees — including former U.S. military translators and embassy workers — in the midst of growing concerns about al-Qaeda’s potential ties with some asylum seekers, an administration official says.
Two Iraqi refugees who resettled in the United States in 2009 were arrested in May in Bowling Green, Ky., and are accused of plotting to send weapons and cash to al-Qaeda in Iraq.
The senior administration official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue, says that intelligence indicates the threat is much broader than the two refugees…
…“That threat stream led us to re-examine our vetting process for this population and really all of the refugee population,” the official said…
…In September, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano told a Senate panel that security checks have been expanded and that more than 57,000 who were already in the United States have been revetted…
…The details of what the enhanced security checks entail are not shared publicly, but refugee information is likely being checked against security, forensic and intelligence databases that were not among those covered by the other security checks, according to the UNHCR…
…”Of course we support the U.S. and all countries having security checks,” UNHCR spokeswoman Charity Tooze said. “It seems that in this instance the net is so wide a huge amount of people who we don’t see as a security threat are getting caught in it.”…
…The Obama administration has held several interagency meetings on the issue since last summer and is trying to come up with a solution that balances national security with its moral obligation to assist Iraqis who cannot safely live in their country, administration officials say…Read more here
Posted in DHS, Iraqi, Obama administration, security/terrorism, UNHCR | Tagged: Al Qaeda, Iraq, national security, Obama administration, security, terrorism, UNHCR | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Christopher Coen on January 7, 2012
Trudy Rubin writing for The Philadelphia Inquirer speculates about the failure of the US government to issue the visas it promised to Iraqis who risked their lives to help us. She thinks that the Obama administration – and the Republicans – have decided not to bring more Iraqis into this country in an election year. The supposed reason for the near halt in security clearances is the two Iraqi refugees in Kentucky accused of having terrorist connections. Yet, these two never worked for Americans and those who did, and who are now stuck, went through many security checks before getting their jobs.
Last week, I spoke on the PBS “NewsHour” about Iraqis who worked for our civilians and military before we left the country – and who now face death threats because we betrayed them…
…How can we get the U.S. government to issue the visas it promised to Iraqis who risked their lives to help us?
I’m ashamed to admit that the U.S. government has abandoned these people. No one seems eager to bring more Iraqis into this country in an election year.
President Obama has failed to keep his 2007 campaign pledge to rescue these Iraqis. A group of concerned senators, mostly Democrats, including Pennsylvania’s Bob Casey, has made inquiries, but gotten no answers from Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta or Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano. Nor has a peep been heard on behalf of the [Iraqi interpreters] from Republican senators who backed our war in Iraq.
State Department officials say they’re working hard to expedite the visa process. Yet the number of visas for Iraqis who helped us slowed to a trickle just when they were most urgently needed, as U.S. troops quit Iraq…
Official figures show that 39,000 Iraqis (including family members) are in the pipeline in the Direct Access program for Iraqis who worked with us. Only 153 of these visas were issued in December. There are about 15,000 (not including family) in the pipeline for the Special Immigrant Visa program. Only 50 SIVs were issued last month.
The supposed reason for the freeze is new security regulations imposed after two Iraqi refugees in Kentucky were accused of having terrorist connections. But these bad apples never worked for Americans. Those who did went through numerous security checks before getting their jobs… Read more here
Posted in Bowling Green, DHS, Iraqi, Kentucky, Obama administration, security/terrorism, SIV (Special Immigrant Visa) immigrants, State Department | Tagged: 2012 election, Bob Casey, Iraqis, Obama, refugees, Republicans, resettlement, security, SIV, Special Immigrant Visa | 8 Comments »
Posted by Christopher Coen on January 2, 2012
The Iraqi Refugee Assistance Project has ideas for clearing the Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) backlog. In addition to the Guam option the group suggests that the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) develop a formal expedite procedure for applicants facing immediate danger, and that the DHS use more resources to clear the security check backlog. (How about shifting some of the billions of DHS dollars wasted on the states with little accountability over how lawmakers spent the money, rather than dumping more public resources down the DHS black hole?) An Op-Ed in The Boston Herald addresses the subject:
…Unless Washington acts to clear the backlog on their visa applications, many may die at the hands of al-Qaeda in Iraq or anti-American militias. Many more will languish as refugees. It does not need to be this way…
…There are steps the Obama administration could take now. First, Homeland Security needs more resources to clear the security check backlog. Second, a formal expedite procedure should be developed for applicants facing immediate danger. Third, there should be a clear process to appeal an incorrect or arbitrary decision. An SIV applicant who is now rejected is told only that there is some “derogatory information” in their file and is barred from appealing or addressing this “information,” even in the case of applicants with nine U.S. military officers recommending them.
If it is not possible to immediately clear the backlog or expedite the cases of our allies still trapped in Iraq, a more drastic solution is necessary: an airlift to Guam…
…Guamian politicians have already expressed support for the idea… Read more here
Posted in Afghan, DHS, funding, Iraqi, Obama administration, security/terrorism, SIV (Special Immigrant Visa) immigrants | Tagged: DHS.Iraqi.Afghan, Guam, Homeland Security, Iraqi Refugee Assistance Project, refugees, resettlement, security clearance, SIV, Special Immigrant Visa | 1 Comment »
Posted by Christopher Coen on October 18, 2011
Freshman Sen. Rand Paul finally ended his two-week hold on extending Supplemental Security Income to elderly and disabled refugees, by demanding that the Senate Judiciary Committee’s immigration panel hold an oversight hearing on the entry of two terrorism suspects to the country via the refugee program. The SSI benefits expired for about 5,600 elderly and disabled refugees on Sept. 30. A POLITICO article has more:
Ending a two-week standoff, freshman Sen. Rand Paul agreed to lift his hold on a bill extending aid to thousands of elderly and disabled refugees living in the United States.
The Kentucky Republican allowed the bipartisan bill to advance after Democratic leaders promised to hold a congressional hearing into how individuals are selected for refugee status and request an investigation into why two terrorism suspects were admitted to the U.S. through a refugee program, an aide said…
…As part of the agreement with Paul, Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), the bill’s author and chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee’s immigration panel, will hold an oversight hearing examining refugee resettlement in the United States. Paul will be among those testifying. And Schumer and Paul will jointly request the inspectors general at the Homeland Security, State and Health and Human Services departments investigate why the Iraqi terrorism suspects were allowed to enter the country... Read more here
Yet, we already know why the terrorism suspects got through the security barriers. Prior to the December 2009 underwear bombing incident the Department of Homeland Security was not checking refugee applications against a broader set of security data, including fingerprints. So, what then does Sen. Paul intend to do with this oversight hearing?
Posted in Congress, DHS, disabled refugees, elderly refugees, Iraqi, right-wing, security/terrorism, SSI | Tagged: disabled, elderly, Rand Paul, refugees, resettlement, security, Senate Judiciary Committee, SSI | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Christopher Coen on September 22, 2011
A large painting of General Robert E. Lee hangs inside Bedford County criminal court - the only portrait in the courtroom.
The Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition (TIRRC) recently released a report entitled “The Forgotten Constitution – Racial Profiling and Immigration Enforcement in Bedford County, Tennessee.” The 16-page report about this rural county, about an hour south of Nashville, alleges that immigrants and refugees face hostility and discrimination from all aspects of the criminal justice system – including the Shelbyville police, the sheriff’s department and jail, and the local court system.
Bedford County is exceptional for its large and vibrant immigrant and refugee communities, who live and work in the rolling hills of this rural county about an hour south of Nashville, Tennessee. Somali and Burmese refugees, Egyptian immigrants, and Latino immigrants are the backbone of local industry, working at poultry plants and on the walking horse farms that make Shelbyville – Bedford’s county seat – famous…
…Despite immigrants’ essential economic contributions to Bedford County, they face hostility and discrimination from all aspects of the criminal justice system, which works in close coordination with federal immigration enforcement authorities. Arrests of Latinos have intensified since Tennessee law changed in January 2011 to require jailers to ask arrestees their citizenship and report this information to ICE. Pervasive anti-immigrant sentiment coupled with misinterpretation of the scope of this law has resulted in an ongoing immigration inquisition by local law enforcement that has caused a steep increase in detention and removal by ICE. Suspected immigrants are subjected to racial profiling and increased police surveillance. They are arrested and detained in county jail for minor traffic violations–often unlawfully–in order to facilitate their deportation. Immigrants and refugees are unable to meaningfully access government services and the court system, which means many of them are unable to vindicate their rights. Immigrants are mistreated by ICE officials, who have collaborated with locals engaged in explicitly racially discriminatory practices to entrap, interrogate, and arrest immigrants who clearly do not fit immigration enforcement priorities. Many immigrant victims of crime no longer trust law enforcement to protect them… To be an immigrant or refugee in Bedford County is to be treated with suspicion or outright hostility by one’s own government, whose offices still exhibit vestiges of the overt racial apartheid of years past…
…Immigrants are targeted at disproportionate rates by officers of Bedford County law enforcement agencies, particularly the Shelbyville Police Department, as a pretext for making arrests that will enable jailers to contact ICE… Local law enforcement agencies’ patrols, traffic stops, and arrests demonstrate a pattern of treating Latinos and other immigrants in a discriminatory manner…
…Immigrants face discrimination in booking and detention procedures at the Bedford County Jail, which is administered by the Bedford County Sheriff’sDepartment and Sheriff Randall Boyce… Immigrants are more likely to be held for long periods of time for minor traffic violations and to be held unlawfully without bond or after posting bond as a “courtesy” for ICE when there is no ICE detainer. Since January 2011, the unlawful practices of the Bedford County Sheriff’s Department have resulted in as much as a tenfold increase in the number of immigrants detained for ICE – all at the expense of Bedford County’s taxpayers. ICE has initiated deportation proceedings against most of those who have been unlawfully detained…
…A large painting of Confederate General Robert E. Lee hangs above the main doorway just inside the Bedford County criminal court, and is the only portrait in the courtroom. There is little justice here for immigrants who walk through these doors, in the shadow of that disciple of state racism and white supremacy…
…Immigrant criminal defendants assigned to the public defender are often not advised of the immigration consequences of a criminal conviction... Recommendations by defense counsel to plead guilty have jeopardized the ability of some long-standing community members to qualify for cancellation of removal or other immigration relief. Finally, some court-appointed attorneys have apparently charged indigent Latino clients for court appearances, despite the fact that these defendants are charged attorney fees by the probation office for the exact same representation and court appearances… Read more here
Posted in Burma/Myanmar, court, ICE, Murfreesboro/Shelbyville, police, poultry production, secondary migration, refugee, Somali, unwelcoming communities, xenophobia/nationalism/isolationism | Tagged: apartheid, Bedford County, courts, criminal justice system, discrimination, immigrants, Latinos, police, racism, refugees, resettlement, Shelbyville, Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition, The Forgotten Constitution, TIRRC | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Christopher Coen on August 16, 2011
The final day for TPS-Haiti beneficiaries to re-register is Aug. 22,
2011. TPS was originally designated for Haiti in January 2010 in
response to a catastrophic earthquake that devastated that country. The current 18-month extension of TPS for Haiti will remain in effect through Jan. 22, 2013. The following three groups are covered under the Haiti TPS extension and re-designation:
1) Individuals filing for the first time
2) Individuals with pending TPS application
3) Individuals re-registering for TPS (Individuals who were initially granted TPS for Haiti through July 22, 2011 and who plan to remain in the United States must re-register no later than Aug. 22, 2011)
Please see USCIS Update for more information.
Posted in Haitian, TPS (Temporary Protected Status), USCIS | Tagged: Haiti, temporary protected status, TPS, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, USCIS | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Christopher Coen on July 30, 2011
The U.S. Department of State has decided to guarantee funding to the private resettlement agencies this year as if 60,000 refugees had arrived, although the federal government expects less than 55,000 to enter the country this fiscal year. The State Department and their friends in private industry at the agencies are justifying the temporary change in policy by claiming that the agencies rely on per-refugee grants to pay staff, and they would otherwise be unable to keep staff due to the new security screenings that have drastically lowered the number of arriving refugees. (The State Department instituted a similar change in policy in 2001 after the cutoff of refugee arrivals following the terrorist attacks on September 11th.) An article in Christianity Today has more about the issue:
More than 77,000 refugees were expected to come to the United States in 2011. Instead, fewer than 55,000 will arrive, because of new security screening implemented abruptly this winter.
The U.S. State Department works with 11 agencies—including five Christian organizations—to help refugees start their new lives in America. The average number admitted annually since 1980 is 98,000, according to the Refugee Council USA.
Like many other resettlement offices, the World Relief branch in Durham, North Carolina, relies on per-refugee grants to pay staff. When no refugees arrived in Durham between late February and April, the office cut employee pay by 8 hours a week. Nationally, World Relief and Church World Service offices have experienced significant layoffs because of a new Department of Homeland Security (DHS) policy.
In February, World Relief Durham was preparing for new refugees when the arrival flights were suddenly deleted from the tracking system. Resettlement director Andrew Castle says he called headquarters and heard that there were hundreds of unexpectedly canceled flights, attributed to a new DHS policy that requires a pre-departure check to make sure refugees are still eligible to come to the U.S.
“It seems … that even the State Department was somewhat caught off guard,” said Dan Kosten, chair of the Refugee Council USA…
…The State Department responded to resettlement agencies’ concerns about the low number of arrivals by guaranteeing funding for 60,000 refugee admissions. This ensures that agencies will be able to retain staff, no matter how few refugees actually arrive on U.S. soil… Read more here
I guess my question is why the agencies are unable to pay overhead and keep staff during a slowdown in arriving refugees if they are still allowed to use $700 of the State Department’s $1800 per refugee grant. In addition to that, they are supposedly required to give significant private resources of their own toward refugee resettlement. Couldn’t those private resources be diverted from the money they will not need to spend on refugees who will not arrive this year? We will have to continue to speculate until the State Department decides to open up and show the real numbers.
Posted in ceiling limit, refugee annual, DHS, funding, NGO's (Non-governmental organizations), openess and transparency in government, public/private partnership, Raleigh-Durham, State Department, World Relief | Tagged: Andrew Castle, Dan Kosten, Durham, federal grant, government grant, RCUSA, Refugee Council USA, refugee resettlement, refugees, resettlement, security procedures, security screening, State Department, terrorism, World Relief | 5 Comments »
Posted by Christopher Coen on July 29, 2011
In this week of federal debt trauma in walks an employee of U.S. Customs and Border Protection to tell us how federal employees at his agency get overtime pay in exchange for not working. But of course all of us who care about refugees and immigrants, for the human beings they are, already know this about government agency workers, as well as their friends in private industry at the resettlement agencies. Many of them do whatever they want to do, and they suffer no consequences whatsoever. That is why we so desperately need passage of the Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act. Read more in Joe Davidson’s Washington Post column.
During a period when some in Congress and their related policy wonks think federal employees are overpaid, here comes Christian Sanchez, a Border Patrol agent who says he was punished for refusing overtime pay.
His bosses suggested that he get psychological help.
Instead, Sanchez has become a whistleblower, and on Friday he plans to tell gathering on Capitol Hill that he was retaliated against because he would not take overtime for doing no work.
Sanchez is an example of what the Government Accountability Project, a whistleblower advocacy organization, calls “pocketbook whistleblowers.” They allegedly have suffered retaliation for actions that could save the government money.
This emphasis on guarding Uncle Sam’s pocketbook allows whistleblower advocates to broaden the appeal of legislation designed to expand legal protections for employees who disclose government waste, fraud and abuse. Supporting whistleblowers becomes more than helping individual employees who have been mistreated by the system — it becomes into an act of fiscal responsibility.
That approach could increase chances for the Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act. It’s come close to passage during the many years it has lingered in Congress, but proponents have not been able to push it across the finish line.
In a letter last month to President Obama and Congress, a group of federal whistleblowers urged them to approve the legislation, telling them that “you have allowed potentially billions of tax dollars to be wasted because all federal workers know they cannot speak up without engaging in professional suicide.”
Sanchez is speaking up, and he has paid a price.
There is little work to do at the Port Angeles, Wash., station, where he is assigned, he said. He calls it a “black hole” where agents have “no purpose, no mission.”
“The worst fraud on taxpayers is that we are getting paid overtime not to work,” Sanchez said in a prepared statement. When he first started working at the station, “I noticed it was common practice for everyone to get paid overtime not to work… Read more here
Our own experience with Customs and Border Protection also demonstrated how completely corrupt and debased that federal agency is. Before either the Left or the Right try to spin this case for their own interests, I’d like to remind everyone that for decades both the Democrats and the Republicans have repeatedly contributed to corruption by installing their own cronies in the federal agencies and courts, while turning a blind eye to the damage these people have done to the people and the nation.
I nominate Christian Sanchez as hero of the month. It helps to restore my faith in humanity when I see that our country still has people like this among our ranks.
Posted in Congress, funding, Government Accountability Project, immigration services, Obama administration, openess and transparency in government, police, revolving door, U.S. Customs & Border Protection, Washington | Tagged: Border Patrol, Christian Sanchez, Congress, Customs and Border Protection, Democrats, federal government, Government Accountability Project, immigrants, Port Angeles, refugees, Republicans, Washington, whistleblower, Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act | 1 Comment »
Posted by Christopher Coen on July 25, 2011
The Los Angeles Times has a recent article about new procedures the federal government has instituted which will rescreen 58,000 Iraqi refugees who have already been resettled to the U.S. The recheck will include a smaller number of refugees from Yemen, Somalia and other countries where terrorist groups are active.
Reporting from Washington— In a far-reaching inquiry, authorities are rescreening more than 58,000 Iraqi refugees living in the United States amid concerns that lapses in immigration security may have allowed former insurgents and potential terrorists to enter the country, U.S. officials said.
The investigation was given added urgency after U.S. intelligence agencies warned that Al Qaeda leaders in Iraq and Yemen had tried to target the U.S. refugee
stream, or exploit other immigration loopholes, in an attempt to infiltrate the country with operatives.
..So far, immigration authorities have given the FBI about 300 names of Iraqi refugees for further investigation. The FBI won’t say whether any have been arrested or pose a potential threat.
The individuals may have only tenuous links to known or suspected terrorists. The names were identified when authorities rechecked phone numbers, email addresses, fingerprints, iris scans and other data in immigration files of Iraqis given asylum since the war began in 2003.
They checked the data against military, law enforcement and intelligence databases that were not available or were not utilized during the initial screening process, or were not searched using sufficient Arabic spelling and name variations.
It addition to the Iraqis, authorities have rescreened a smaller number of refugees from Yemen, Somalia and other countries where terrorist groups are active.
…The enhanced screening procedures have caused a logjam in regular visa admissions from Iraq, even for those who risked their lives to aid American troops and who now fear reprisals as the Obama administration winds down the U.S. military presence… Read more here
Posted in DHS, FBI, government, Iraqi, security/terrorism, SIV (Special Immigrant Visa) immigrants, Somali, The List Project | Tagged: Al Qaeda, human rights, Iraqi, refugee, resettlement, security screening, Somali, terrorism, visas, Yemen | Leave a Comment »
Christopher Coen
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