Grassley Demands Answers from CIS About Continued Internal Corruption
GRASSLEY DEMANDS ANSWERS FROM CIS ABOUT CONTINUED INTERNAL CORRUPTION
WASHINGTON - The arrest of a U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services employee for allegedly illegally selling naturalization certificates has sparked further questions from Senator Chuck Grassley about internal corruption within the agency.
Grassley demanded further answers after press reports that a CIS employee was arrested for selling naturalization certificates and other immigration benefits.
"I've heard from whistleblowers, seen GAO reports and now read the newspaper about fraud and corruption within Citizenship and Immigration Services. I don't know what more it's going to take for this agency to clean up its act. It's simply unacceptable for an agency that is supposed to be at the front line of keeping out the bad guys to be giving free passes to enter the United States to the highest bidder," Grassley said.
In February, Grassley expressed concerns that CIS had not sufficiently dealt with internal corruption and benefit fraud especially as they relate to suspected terrorists and associates of terrorists exploiting the immigration system. A Government Accountability Office report reiterated Grassley's concerns. Since then, CIS announced an office reorganization. At the time, Grassley questioned whether just rearranging boxes on an organizational chart would change the culture at CIS.
Here is a copy of Grassley's letter.
July 5, 2006
The Honorable Emilio T. Gonzalez
Director
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service Department of Homeland Security 20 Massachusetts Avenue, NW Washington, D.C. 20529
Dear Director Gonzalez:
As you know, for months, I have been trying to determine the scope and severity of the internal corruption at USCIS. I began asking questions and seeking documents last year in response to the information provided to my office by Mike Maxwell, the former Director of the USCIS internal affairs office. Recent media reports of the arrest of Robert Schofield, a USCIS supervisory adjudicator for selling naturalization certificates and other immigration benefits appear to confirm my worst fears about the integrity of our immigration process.
Some of the details reported about Schofield's history of misconduct are staggering. He had reportedly been demoted for "unbecoming" conduct, had an "inappropriate relationship" with the subject of a criminal probe, and fled to Asia when confronted. As if that weren't enough, while in Asia he made $36,000 in unauthorized purchases on a government credit card. All of this allegedly occurred before DHS was created and the immigration function moved to USCIS. How is it possible a man with this history was in a supervisory position in your organization, where he could exploit his position of trust to sell U.S. citizenship to the highest bidder? How much damage was he able to do to our nation's security before he was caught? What steps are you taking to assess how many ineligible aliens received benefits from him which should be revoked? What is the nature and extent of the involvement of the Office of Security and Investigations in this matter?
In order to answer these and many more questions, I request a staff briefing as soon as possible. My staff will be contacting your staff later today to find a mutually agreeable time. Moreover, I now believe it is necessary to revisit my earlier request for access to all the OSI files, including those that have not been administratively closed. Without full access, it is impossible for Congress to get a clear, independent picture of how serious and pervasive this problem may be.
Thank your for your prompt attention to this request. Please ensure that all replies are faxed to the attention of Jason Foster at (202) 228-0554.
Sincerely,
Charles E. Grassley
Chairman
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