Reply With QuoteWhich is just crazy.Originally Posted by Mr. JOSHUA
Fraud Found In Religous Worker Visas
Fraud found in religious worker visas
By Mimi Hall, USA TODAY
The Homeland Security Department plans to begin inspecting religious organizations in an effort to prevent radical groups from using a special government visa program to get terrorists into the country.
Officials say they have uncovered rampant fraud in a religious worker visa program that allows thousands of foreigners into the USA each year.
"We found that the program had been compromised and the fraud rate was excessively high," said Emilio Gonzalez, head of Citizen and
Immigration Services at Homeland Security.
Government investigators first uncovered problems with the visa program in 1999, including applicants who were unqualified for the jobs they were hired for. Last year, a fraud-detection unit in the Homeland Security
Department found that 33% of the visas investigators examined were granted based on fraudulent information.
The visa program was established in 1990 to allow churches, synagogues and mosques struggling to fill jobs to hire qualified foreigners. Under the program, applicants must have a sponsor in the USA and attest that they are qualified to fill a particular job.
Homeland Security's proposed rules, to be released today, would allow inspectors and Customs officials to:
• Inspect religious organizations sponsoring applicants to make sure they are legitimate. In 2004, Muhammad Khalil was convicted of filing more than 200 false applications. His mosque, which was in the basement of a store in Brooklyn, was smaller than he had portrayed it and could not employ all the people he wanted to hire, according to court documents.
Under the new rules, which should take effect by fall, "we're going to visit" the religious organization before an application is approved, Gonzalez said.
• Require more proof from applicants that they are trained and qualified to for the job they're being hired to do.
• Review W-2 forms or other proof of employment after one year on the job before extending the visa.
Laila Al-Qatami of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee said she understands "their desire to tighten up the program." But she said she hopes Homeland Security will ensure that inspectors are educated about Islam. "In particular with mosques," she said, "we've found people are generally suspicious of them."
http://www.usatoday.com/news/washing...s_N.htm?csp=34
http://www.homestead.com/prosites-prs/index.html
Which is just crazy.
Is the US in the position to judge what religious denomination is valid, given that the Constitution guarantees freedom of religion and worship?Inspect religious organizations sponsoring applicants to make sure they are legitimate.
I think this may be a slippery slope towards the regulation and state sanction of religious practices. A violation of the 1st Amendment.
By legitimate, I think the article means, is the application legitimate, not the actual religion.
NN
There was a case in Philly of a fraud case involving a Muslim school that was sucking up State or Federal funds. Don't think it was tied to fundamentalism but agents went into the school and didn't find one desk/teacher/blackboard or rug for that matter.
They could've done it the other way and get tax exempt status or register as a non-profit.
Yeah it was something along those lines, but it was not on the up-and-up, that much was clear.
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