Susie
09-27-2007, 05:38 AM
http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/metro/stories/MYSA092507.03A.diversityvisa.31c99d1.html
Report warns of flaws in 'diversity visa' plan
Web Posted: 09/25/2007 12:16 AM CDT
Hernán Rozemberg
Express-News Immigration Hernán Rozemberg
Express-News Staff Writer
A program meant to diversify the annual immigration pool could be the next loophole used by terrorists to legally enter the United States, according to a new government report.
The "diversity visa" program has allowed nearly 10,000 immigrants from countries designated as sponsors of terrorism — Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Sudan and Syria — in the past seven years, concluded the report released Friday by the Government Accountability Office, the internal congressional watchdog agency.
None of those immigrants has been linked to terrorist investigations or acts. But the program should be overhauled, the 51-page report concluded, because the risk remains high and there are other lingering problems, such as rampant fraud.
The State Department, which runs the program, strongly opposed the report's findings.
Unlike other immigrants going through the more typical family or work sponsorship, millions of diversity visa applicants don't pay fees and aren't criminally screened. Only the 55,000 annual winners, chosen randomly through a computerized lottery, are screened.
Bottom line, the program's risks possibly outweigh its benefits, the GAO concluded.
"There have been very limited attempts by State (Department) and the Department of Homeland Security to evaluate the effectiveness of the program and its impact," the report said.
The nucleus of the security concerns stem from an internal State Department report that first raised the terrorism issue.
Anne Patterson, the department's deputy inspector general, discussed the report during a 2004 congressional testimony, noting the diversity visa program "contains significant vulnerabilities to national security as hostile intelligence officers, criminals and terrorists attempt to use it to enter the United States as permanent residents."
The State Department countered the GAO report, arguing that its investigators performed shoddy work by reaching unfounded conclusions and failing to acknowledge recent improvements.
The department's response letter disputed the idea that the program is fraught with fraud, noting it has added upgrades such as accepting only online applications and using facial recognition software to identify applicants.
"We are disappointed with the report's findings and do not agree with the recommendations," wrote Sid Kaplan, acting chief financial officer. "The Department of State has administered this Congressionally mandated program with diligence and creativity and believes the report does not reflect this."
Analyzing the GAO's recommendations to ramp up accountability and security, Kaplan noted the program is exposed to the same degree of fraud as all other visas. He rejected the idea of teaming with local groups to help applicants. He also bristled at the notion of tracking winners once they immigrate to the United States. That would be homeland security's job, he said.
The GAO report provided fodder for politicians longing to get rid of diversity visas.
U.S. Rep. Bob Goodlatte, R-Va., has introduced unsuccessful bills since 2005 seeking to abolish the program. This year's version, the Security and Fairness Enhancement for America Act, still sits in the House Judiciary Committee.
Report warns of flaws in 'diversity visa' plan
Web Posted: 09/25/2007 12:16 AM CDT
Hernán Rozemberg
Express-News Immigration Hernán Rozemberg
Express-News Staff Writer
A program meant to diversify the annual immigration pool could be the next loophole used by terrorists to legally enter the United States, according to a new government report.
The "diversity visa" program has allowed nearly 10,000 immigrants from countries designated as sponsors of terrorism — Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Sudan and Syria — in the past seven years, concluded the report released Friday by the Government Accountability Office, the internal congressional watchdog agency.
None of those immigrants has been linked to terrorist investigations or acts. But the program should be overhauled, the 51-page report concluded, because the risk remains high and there are other lingering problems, such as rampant fraud.
The State Department, which runs the program, strongly opposed the report's findings.
Unlike other immigrants going through the more typical family or work sponsorship, millions of diversity visa applicants don't pay fees and aren't criminally screened. Only the 55,000 annual winners, chosen randomly through a computerized lottery, are screened.
Bottom line, the program's risks possibly outweigh its benefits, the GAO concluded.
"There have been very limited attempts by State (Department) and the Department of Homeland Security to evaluate the effectiveness of the program and its impact," the report said.
The nucleus of the security concerns stem from an internal State Department report that first raised the terrorism issue.
Anne Patterson, the department's deputy inspector general, discussed the report during a 2004 congressional testimony, noting the diversity visa program "contains significant vulnerabilities to national security as hostile intelligence officers, criminals and terrorists attempt to use it to enter the United States as permanent residents."
The State Department countered the GAO report, arguing that its investigators performed shoddy work by reaching unfounded conclusions and failing to acknowledge recent improvements.
The department's response letter disputed the idea that the program is fraught with fraud, noting it has added upgrades such as accepting only online applications and using facial recognition software to identify applicants.
"We are disappointed with the report's findings and do not agree with the recommendations," wrote Sid Kaplan, acting chief financial officer. "The Department of State has administered this Congressionally mandated program with diligence and creativity and believes the report does not reflect this."
Analyzing the GAO's recommendations to ramp up accountability and security, Kaplan noted the program is exposed to the same degree of fraud as all other visas. He rejected the idea of teaming with local groups to help applicants. He also bristled at the notion of tracking winners once they immigrate to the United States. That would be homeland security's job, he said.
The GAO report provided fodder for politicians longing to get rid of diversity visas.
U.S. Rep. Bob Goodlatte, R-Va., has introduced unsuccessful bills since 2005 seeking to abolish the program. This year's version, the Security and Fairness Enhancement for America Act, still sits in the House Judiciary Committee.