Dysfunctional Homeland Security Department to prevent ‘rigged’ elections
A repeatedly proven dysfunctional Department of Homeland Security DHS) is being given the complicated and controversial task of policing the nation’s presidential and local elections, according to President Barack Obama and his Homeland Security secretary, big-time election cash contributor Jeh Johnson.
The task is considered as sensitive and it is difficult since President Obama and the Democrats have repeatedly labeled any action to secure the legitimacy of elections as being Republican anti-black or anti-minority activities. Even more disheartening is the failure of DHS to accomplish the goals it is already saddled with.
For example, DHS’s U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) granted U.S. citizenship to more than 850 individuals from special interest countries — individuals who had been ordered deported or removed under another name. The DHS Inspector General alleges that this snafu occurred because neither the digital fingerprint repository at DHS nor the repository at the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) contains all old fingerprint records of individuals previously deported.
According to IG’s report, approximately 148,000 fingerprint records of aliens from special interest countries –including nations in the Middle East — who were given final deportation orders or who are criminals or fugitives have yet to be digitized.
“This situation created opportunities for individuals to gain the rights and privileges of U.S. citizenship through fraud,” said Inspector General John Roth. “To prevent fraud and ensure thorough review of naturalization applications, USCIS needs access to these fingerprint records. DHS agreed with our recommendations. ICE has plans to digitize and upload all available fingerprint records, and the Department has told us it plans to review the eligibility of each naturalized citizen whose fingerprint records reveal a deportation order under a different identity. We will continue to monitor DHS’ progress.”
In the new report, “Potentially Ineligible Individuals Have Been Granted U.S. Citizenship Because of Incomplete Fingerprint Records,” the Inspector General says he found that records are missing from the DHS repository because paper-based fingerprint cards commonly used prior to 2008 weren’t digitized and uploaded into the repository, according to the Homeland Security News Wire, a private organization unconnected to the DHS or its IG.
According to Homeland Security News Wire, the FBI repository is also missing records because, in the past, fingerprints collected during immigration enforcement encounters weren’t consistently forwarded to the FBI’s fingerprint section.
The IG’s report indicates that “at least three individuals who became naturalized citizens after having been deported under a different identity” achieved having access to credentials to work in national security-sensitive positions at American airports and airlines as well as at U.S. Navy yards and shipping facilities. On a positive note, the IG reported that since being identified, all suspected immigrants have had their security credentials revoked.
