Goodlatte calls on DOJ to take action to crack down on asylum fraud

House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-VA) recently pressed the Department of Justice (DOJ) for answers following reports that the DOJ has failed to detect, prevent and combat asylum fraud.

The Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR), a component agency of the DOJ, has failed to develop policies and procedures to detect and prevent asylum fraud, according to a Government Accountability Office (GAO) report.

The report found that immigration judges had granted asylum to 3,709 aliens connected to attorneys and document preparers convicted of making fraudulent asylum claims after a multi-agency criminal investigation led by the FBI.

The DOJ recently reported to the House Judiciary Committee that no steps have been taken to review the 3,709 cases despite revelations that the cases can likely be linked to fraud.

In a letter to Attorney General Loretta Lynch, Goodlatte called on the DOJ to take “swift action” to review and reopen each of the 3,709 cases referenced in the GAO report.

“As the chief law enforcement officer of the United States, (Lynch), above all others, should be the most vigilant protector of the rights of those who suffer most from asylum fraud: the bona fide asylum seekers, whose claims are stymied by a bureaucratic process that seemingly rewards wrongdoers and cheaters,” Goodlatte wrote.

Those who attained asylum status through fraud should have their asylum revoked, Goodlatte wrote, and they should be removed from the United States.

“Those granted asylum are conferred benefits and privileges that are unavailable to many other aliens,” Goodlatte wrote. “In addition to federal and state welfare benefits and work authorization, they can become lawful permanent residents after one year. Thereafter, they are eligible to become U.S. citizens through naturalization. Once they attain U.S. citizenship, they are eligible to file petitions to obtain immigration benefits for their family members. Thus, tens of thousands of aliens could potentially derive their status and U.S. citizenship through this pervasive fraud.”

Goodlatte called on Lynch to take “immediate action” to review and reopen the 3,709 cases referenced in the GAO report to determine whether fraud occurred.