The Hill - House Republican Asks if Administration is Preparing New Green Cards
News Article
By Cristina Marcos
Rep. Lou Barletta (R-Pa.) asked the Obama administration to confirm whether it requested stock for new green cards in anticipation of an executive action on immigration.
A solicitation from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS), discovered by Breitbart News, issued a procurement request for as many as 34 million work permits and green cards. Bidders would have to produce a minimum of 4 million cards annually over a five year contract.
In a letter made public Friday to USCIS Director Leon Rodriguez, Barletta questioned whether the Obama administration could actually keep up with the number of work permits, noting that it approved about 1.5 million requests for employment authorizations in 2013.
"Issuing work permits and green cards at these advertised levels would represent an astounding increase in immigration," Barletta wrote.
He argued that the U.S. government would not be able to keep up with background checks for that number of work permits.
"I am very concerned about the impact that such a rapid expansion on the number of work permits and green cards will have on national security, particularly as the Congress has not passed legislation authorizing it," Barletta wrote.
The Pennsylvania Republican requested details by Nov. 20 on whether the requested procurement of green cards is related to the anticipated immigration executive action after the elections. He also asked for information on how and why USCIS determined it needed a minimum of 4 million work permits and green cards on an annual basis.
USCIS has maintained that the solicitation was not out of the ordinary in preparing for contingencies.
"Solicitations of this nature are frequent practice for all USCIS contracts and allow the agency to be prepared for fluctuations in the number of immigration applications received, which can arise for any number of reasons," USCIS spokesman Chris Bently said in a statement.
Source