Homeland Security misspent $18 Million

[LW]

Homeland Security misspent $18M, probe finds; 146 arrested

WASHINGTON — Investigations by the Homeland Security Department's internal watchdog yielded the arrests of 146 workers and grant recipients and identified $18.5 million in unsupported costs during a six-month period that began last fall.
The semiannual report to Congress, issued by Homeland Security's inspector general, details findings of 325 internal investigations, audits and inspections between October 2004 and March 2005. A copy of the 54-page report, which has not yet been released publicly, was obtained Friday by The Associated Press.

Homeland Security "has made notable progress in securing the homeland and integrating its programs and operations," Acting Inspector General Richard L. Skinner told Secretary Michael Chertoff in a May 1 letter accompanying the report. "However, as you have repeatedly pointed out, further work is needed."

Homeland Security spokesman Brian Roehrkasse declined to comment.

Fines, restitutions and other funds recovered as a result of the investigations totaled $106 million over the six months, the report showed. Of $27.6 million in costs questioned by investigators, $18.5 million were found to be unsupported. Of the 146 arrests, 65 employees, contractors or grant recipients were indicted and 43 convicted. Additionally, 24 personnel actions were taken.

Among the findings:

• Wasteful spending at the Transportation Security Operations Center included $500,000 in authorized decorative artwork and plants and the purchase of extravagant kitchen appliances and excessive fitness center equipment.

• A contract worker with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement sexually abused two male transgender detainees at a correctional facility in San Pedro, Calif. He was sentenced to 36 months probation and required to file as a sexual offender.

• A U.S. Customs and Border Protection officer accepted bribes to, among other cases, help immigrants enter the country. He was indicted on counts of conspiracy, extortion, bribery and other charges and is on unpaid leave awaiting trial.

• A Coast Guard employee stole alcohol worth thousands of dollars from a Coast Guard exchange warehouse. He was fired, sentenced to five years of probation and ordered to pay $30,000 in restitution.

[LW]

WASHINGTON - Red tape is holding up wedding bells for an estimated 10,000 U.S. citizens waiting on the Homeland Security Department to design new paperwork so they can apply for visas for their foreign fiancees.

A new law, approved in January, required Homeland Security to retool visa application forms in an attempt to protect foreign mail-order brides from abusive American spouses. But the department, which oversees immigration services, failed to meet a March 6 deadline to produce the paperwork. And that has had unintended consequences — snarling the immigration process for thousands of other couples.

A Homeland Security spokesman estimated that at least 10,000 couples have had their plans jilted even before they got to the altar.

On Tuesday, the department said it would send out additional forms to the visa seekers for more information that should satisfy the new law's protections.

"Mine never got approved. It's just sitting there," said Bill Hall, 41, a construction foreman from Burlington, Vt. He applied two months ago for a visa for his fiancee, Debbie, to immigrate from Canada with her two sons. In separate interviews, the couple said they have been dating for six years.

Homeland Security acknowledges the bureaucratic delay is "certainly an inconvenience," said Chris Bentley, spokesman for the department's Citizen and Immigration Services.

[Paul]

Homeland Security worrying about spousal abuse? Those ass holes are worrying about stupid shit, in the mean time our country is no better off against a terror strike then it was on 9/11. They should get rid of that waste of tax payer dollars now. It is just unreal, there have been so many blunders by that group of incompetent ass holes it is almost funny.

[KC]

The correct name Homeland Insecurity.

[KC]

Homeland Security accepts fake ID

June 12, 2006 - "At no time was there a threat to any person or property," Mr. Agen said.

DHS' security performance didn't surprise one member of Congress.

"You mean the Department of Homeland Insecurity," said Rep. Elton Gallegly, California Republican and one of the first to introduce a bill in Congress several years ago cracking down on acceptance of the Matricula Consular card. "The real sad story here is that it doesn't surprise me -- in fact it just vindicates all the things I've been saying here, along with so many others."

The Mexican government argues that the cards improve security by giving illegal aliens some form of identification, which assists police and businesses.

Mexico is not the only country to issue such cards, and has in fact issued a form of the Matricula Consular card for decades. But Mr. Gallegly said the Mexicans used to issue few, and only for special circumstances, while in recent years they have issued millions.

Mr. DeCell is a member of 9/11 Families for a Secure America, an organization of families with relatives who died in the September 11 terrorist attacks. He and two other members paid the visit Wednesday to DHS officials.

Mr. DeCell said he keeps the fake ID card in his wallet and often shows it just to see what places will accept it. He keeps his driver's license handy in case the forgery is challenged, he said, but it never has been.

"I'm dismayed," Mr. DeCell said.

Joan Molinaro, who accompanied him, said she was shocked that DHS, of all agencies, accepted the phony ID.

"Homeland Security is not doing their job," she said. "Homeland Security accepted a fraudulent document as a legitimate one."

"At no time was there a threat to any person or property," Mr. Agen said.

DHS' security performance didn't surprise one member of Congress.

"You mean the Department of Homeland Insecurity," said Rep. Elton Gallegly, California Republican and one of the first to introduce a bill in Congress several years ago cracking down on acceptance of the Matricula Consular card. "The real sad story here is that it doesn't surprise me -- in fact it just vindicates all the things I've been saying here, along with so many others."

The Mexican government argues that the cards improve security by giving illegal aliens some form of identification, which assists police and businesses.

Mexico is not the only country to issue such cards, and has in fact issued a form of the Matricula Consular card for decades. But Mr. Gallegly said the Mexicans used to issue few, and only for special circumstances, while in recent years they have issued millions.

Mr. DeCell is a member of 9/11 Families for a Secure America, an organization of families with relatives who died in the September 11 terrorist attacks. He and two other members paid the visit Wednesday to DHS officials.

Mr. DeCell said he keeps the fake ID card in his wallet and often shows it just to see what places will accept it. He keeps his driver's license handy in case the forgery is challenged, he said, but it never has been.

"I'm dismayed," Mr. DeCell said.

Joan Molinaro, who accompanied him, said she was shocked that DHS, of all agencies, accepted the phony ID.

"Homeland Security is not doing their job," she said. "Homeland Security accepted a fraudulent document as a legitimate one."