Fifth of visa applications not checked

Houston Chronicle:

The federal government failed to conduct background checks on a fifth of the 7.5 million applicants for U.S. visas last year, posing a serious national security risk, a former Department of Homeland Security official alleged Thursday.

Michael Maxwell, former director of security and investigations at the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services agency, said the mind-set at the agency was "customer service, customer service, customer service" to alleviate the application backlog, which averages two years.

"National security has to be the No. 1 focus" instead, Maxwell said.

The former official, who said he resigned from the agency in February to openly share his misgivings about immigration enforcement, commented during a forum organized by opponents of a Senate immigration bill that would increase the number of available visas.

Maxwell cast doubts on the government's ability to carry out the Senate proposal, which also would allow about 10 million of the 12 million illegal immigrants in the country to apply for so-called earned citizenship after 11 years of meeting various requirements.

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There is obvious reason fo concern about the ability of immigration officials to enforce the provisions of the proposed law, when they are clearly inadequate in enforcing he existing law. What has the Senate proposed to deal with the problem? The reality is they have made it worse.