A recent report has found that Immigration Service Officers (ISOs), with the important role of deciding whether a person can gain citizenship or not, have limited time and training to make such decisions, according to the Office of Inspector General (OIG).
According to the report, 43.4 percent of ISOs “have serious concerns” that their time allowed for interviewing is too short to make an adequate decision.
Meanwhile, 46.6 percent say if their time allowance were to change to just “a limited extent,” it would suffice.
OIG interviewed 147 managers and staff, and received 256 responses to an online survey sent to a random selection of all 26 of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) district offices.
Finding out if USCIS is doing well in fraud detection was the goal.
The investigation was prompted by Sen. Chuck Grassley in March 2011. The results were released on Jan. 5.
A Get-to-Say-Yes Culture
This is not the first time the USCIS has faced complaints of this kind.
In 2000, the OIG found evidence that workers are pressured to approve certain cases. Authorities also requested case transfers to “adjudicators perceived as more lenient,” according to the report.
“A particular ISO may have enhanced skills in adjudicating specific cases,” said USCIS in response.
Based on the interviewee’s answers, a “get-to-say-yes culture” still exists in the USCIS, according to the report.
“The report indicates they’re willing to exercise all sorts of pressure on officers, so they can fall in line with what the administration wants them to do,” said Ira Mehlman, media director of Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR).
According to Mehlman, these time limits are given so that political appointees can carry out their agendas.
If employees do not follow orders, they are “given do-nothing kinds of jobs,” Mehlman said. In some cases employees are threatened to be relocated.
According to Mehlman, all federal agencies give political appointees leadership positions to set an agenda, “but I’ve never heard of an instance [like this] when the political agenda is accomplished by intimidating the career of the employees,” he said.
USCIS may be “weighted toward the promotion of immigration, rather than the protection of national security,” says the report. Based on interview and survey results, 51.6 percent of employees agree.
FAIR is worried that the 300,000 pending deportation cases in the next few months may undergo the same type of decision-making, according to their press release.
An array of recommended improvements were suggested by the OIG in areas such as “ training, and collaboration between adjudications and fraud detection staff,” according to the report.
Overall, “USCIS has taken important steps to improve national security and fraud detection ... [and] increased fraud detection resources and training,” according to the report.
“USCIS has concurred with the Inspector General’s recommendations,” said Christopher Bentley, USCIS press secretary.
“[We want to] further enhance the adjudication process and continue to improve fraud detection,” Bentley said.
“USCIS leadership has consistently reinforced a culture of quality and integrity to ensure that every case is decided based on the law and the facts,” he said.
