DHS Faces Growing Corruption Problem

"A dilemma confronts the nation's immigration work force, one that goes far beyond sealing borders to would-be terrorists, drug smugglers and undocumented migrants, one that is particularly unsettling in a post-Sept. 11 world. How do you secure the homeland if some of those guarding the gates are dishonest?" the Washington Post writes. "Consider: On the California border, at least nine immigration officers have been arrested or sentenced on corruption-related charges in the past 12 months. One of those convicted of smuggling in illegal immigrants turned out to be an illegal immigrant himself, who had used a fake birth certificate to get hired by the Border Patrol."

"After the next attack, when they find out that an employee was bribed by a terrorist or bribed by a spy, it's going to be too late,' said Michael Maxwell, an ex-police chief who headed internal affairs at U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) . . . In February, Maxwell resigned as director of the USCIS Office of Security and Investigations and sought whistleblower protection after he began complaining to Congress about what he describes as rampant corruption that's going unprobed."

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