Washington Post article: D.C. Vendor Arrested in Marriage Fraud Network

By Michael Cutler

Immigration benefit fraud is the issue that few, if any people talk about, but it is a very serious problem. The article I am attaching below, which ran in today's Washington Post, reports on a marriage fraud ring that helped men from the Middle East to apply for resident alien status in the United States and was of apparent concern not only to those charged with enforcing the immigration laws at ICE but to the FBI as well. The easiest way for aliens in the United States to overcome any concerns they may have about being deported from the United States or to be barred from returning to the United States if they depart for a temporary period of time. They simply need to acquire resident alien status in the United States and then all of the efforts of the Border Patrol and other enforcement strategies employed by our government to combat illegal immigration will no longer be of concern to them. An alien who is in possession of a valid Alien Registration Card, or �Green Card� is able to travel freely into and out of the United States. The 9/11 Commission staffers published a volume entitled, �9/11 and Terrorist Travel, Staff Report on the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States� which reported in detail on the way in which the malevolent objectives of the terrorists were dependent on their ability to travel extensively, including into and out of the United States. The article can be found here.

The GAO conducted a study of the problem of immigration benefit fraud roughly 3 years ago and found this to be a serious and pervasive problemthat permeated the immigration benefits program. We have heard much talk about securing our borders by adding new Border Patrol Agents, investing in high tech devices to the border and augmenting the border patrol with the military, but, as I have often pointed out, interior enforcement of the immigration laws is the key to gaining control over illegal immigration. The few people who do speak about the enforcement of the immigration laws from within the interior of the United States, generally the discussion turns to two issues; employer sanctions and the apprehension of criminal aliens and the so-called 'absconders' aliens who have been ordered deported but were then released and they quickly disappeared and are hiding within the large immigrant communities. Employer sanctions is a program in which those who knowingly hire illegal aliens are penalized and, presumably, the illegal aliens found on those jobs are ordered deported. The theory behind this program is that the magnet that draws most of the illegal aliens into the United States is the prospect of securing employment. This program is designed to turn off the current to that magnet. As is the case with virtually everything that we do in attempting to enforce the immigration laws, this program is ineffective because of an extreme lack of resources.

There are members of Congress who wish to significantly increase the number of enforcement personnel who pursue these cases. They also argue against providing driver's licenses and other such documentation to those aliens who are present in our country illegally. I agree with these proposals however, even if we made it impossible for an illegal alien to work in the United States we are overlooking an even more insidious problem; immigration benefit fraud. The fact is that an illegal alien who would not be permitted to work in the United States has two choices, he can go home to his native country or he can attempt to remain in the United States by engaging in a fraud scheme, such as marriage fraud, to obtain the highly coveted 'green card' and then be entitled to work in the United States and gain easy access to our nation's borders. All issues including the investigation of immigration marriage fraud must be addressed simultaneously if we are to gain control over our nation's borders. If you are in a boat that has a number of holes in the bottom of that boat, plugging some of the holes will not keep it from sinking, you must do the best you can to plug all of the holes.

We are engaging in a war on terror in which we are attempting to secure our nation from terrorists. We have seen instances where the terrorists made use of weaknesses in our systems to enter the United States and commit the worst terrorist attack ever carried out within our borders. Our nation needs to confront this problem and provide adequate resources to conduct investigations into the bona fides of applications for immigration benefits and to be able to restore integrity to this process. At present, there is a backlog of millions of applications for immigration benefits. There are serious discussions about a possible amnesty program or guest worker program which would potentially add millions of additional applications to this bureaucracy which is being taxed beyond its limits now.

I would remind you that all 19 terrorists of the attacks of 9/11 entered the United States through ports of entry. The investigations that followed the attack disclosed that the ability to travel freely and 'hide in plain sight' was crucial for them to plan and ultimately carry out the attack. Immigration fraud puts aliens on the path the to obtaining a green card which enables them to gain easy access to our borders as well as the borders of many other countries. That document is second only to a U.S. passport to facilitate their travel. An alien who acquires resident alien status is, in fact, on the path to subsequently becoming a naturalized United States citizen and obtaining that highly regarded U.S. Passport. This hole in the immigration benefits program must be plugged if we are to protect our borders and the security of our nation.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A22597-2005Jan19.html

washingtonpost.com
D.C. Vendor Arrested in Marriage Fraud Network
By Mary Beth Sheridan
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, January 20, 2005; Page B03

FBI and Department of Homeland Security officers have arrested an Egyptian man who allegedly ran a business from a hot dog cart on 17th and L streets NW that provided American brides for Middle Eastern men seeking green cards, officials said yesterday.

Aabid Shoeib, an illegal immigrant, was detained at his home Tuesday in the 1900 block of Ninth Street NW, Homeland Security officials said. According to a criminal complaint, he is believed to have arranged at least 100 phony marriages. Two others accused of involvement in the scheme, a U.S. citizen and a legal resident originally from Egypt, also were arrested.

"These individuals are charged with operating a well-organized marriage fraud network that allegedly helped 100 to 200 people obtain immigration status in this country illegally. We view this type of fraud as a homeland security vulnerability that can be exploited," said Dean Boyd, spokesman for Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which is part of Homeland Security.

Agents have raided Shoeib's home in search of records of the alleged fraudulent marriages.
The three charged in the case could not be contacted yesterday. The investigation was handled by immigration and customs agents working with the FBI on this area's Joint Terrorism Task Force. There was no evidence of a terrorist connection, Boyd said.

The alleged scheme came to light after an Egyptian man, Mohmoud Ahmed, was arrested in 2003 for staying beyond the limit of his tourist visa. As his deportation proceedings began, he suddenly divorced his wife and married an 18-year-old American woman in Arlington.

Ahmed was charged with visa fraud and, in pleading guilty, agreed to cooperate with U.S. authorities, according to the criminal complaint.

Ahmed told authorities that an Egyptian friend, Hassan Serag, advised him he could avoid deportation by marrying a U.S. citizen, the complaint says. Serag then took Ahmed to a man who ran a hot dog stand on 17th and L streets NW, assuring him that the vendor could find a fake spouse, the complaint charges. The vendor allegedly contacted an American friend, Teresa Dunn, who provided the 18-year-old spouse, the documents said. Ahmed said he paid more than $2,000 for the service.

Dunn, who pleaded guilty to immigration fraud in October, told authorities she was paid by Shoeib several times for finding U.S. brides for Middle Eastern men, according to the court documents. She believed "Shoeib had arranged more than 100 to 200 marriages," the complaint said.

Ahmed and his U.S. bride told agents that another person, Joyce Snowden, was involved in the scheme. She allegedly allowed the couple to use the address of her home, on Somerset Place NW, on their immigration forms and prepared a phony lease, the documents said. Serag, Snowden and Shoeib were charged in federal court in the Eastern District of Virginia with conspiracy to commit marriage fraud.
There was no answer last night at Shoeib's home, and Snowden's phone appeared to be out of service. A woman who answered the phone at Serag's home said he was in jail and did not have an attorney. The woman declined to be identified.

Staff researcher Bobbye Pratt contributed to this report.
� 2005 The Washington Post Company

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