Inquiry Finds Homeland Security Official Intervened in Visa Cases

New York Times

By Julia Preston and Michael S. Schmidt

March 24, 2015

Inquiry Finds Homeland Security Official Intervened in Visa Cases

After an investigation lasting more than two years, the inspector general of the Department of Homeland Security has found that Alejandro Mayorkas, the deputy secretary, intervened directly to gain fast-track consideration of visas for foreign investors connected to Democrats when he was the head of the visa agency.

In a report published Tuesday, the inspector general, John Roth, said Mr. Mayorkas’s conduct had left “an appearance of favoritism and special access” and created “significant resentment” among employees of the agency, Citizenship and Immigration Services. The report does not suggest illegality or recommend any punishment.

The inquiry, which was prompted by internal complaints from agency employees, found that Mr. Mayorkas had become personally involved and brought pressure to expedite visa reviews in three cases in a program that gives visas to certain foreigners who invest in an American business.

In one, Mr. Mayorkas intervened in a review for an electric car company whose chairman was Terry McAuliffe, a Democrat who is now governor of Virginia. At the time the chief executive of a company channeling the investments was Anthony Rodham, the brother of Hillary Rodham Clinton, the former secretary of state and likely presidential candidate.

In another case, according to the report, Mr. Mayorkas pushed for faster action for Asian investors in a hotel and casino in Las Vegas that was heavily promoted by Senator Harry Reid of Nevada, the Democrat who was then the majority leader.

Senior Obama administration officials rallied to Mr. Mayorkas’s defense. In a lengthy statement, Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson called him “an exceptionally conscientious, honest and patriotic public official.” He said Mr. Mayorkas had been “impatient with our sluggish government bureaucracy” and had been forcefully involved in efforts to make it more efficient.

“I continue to have full confidence in Ali Mayorkas,” Mr. Johnson said. But he said he had “ongoing concerns” about the investor visa program and was ordering new procedures to make it less vulnerable to outside influence.

The chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, Representative Michael McCaul, Republican of Texas, said he planned to hold a hearing this week to review the report’s findings and determine whether “further oversight by my committee is warranted.”

Calling the report’s findings “extremely concerning,” Mr. McCaul added that they appeared at odds with the visa agency’s “expressed mission to administer the nation’s immigration system fairly, honestly and correctly.”

The inspector general’s report is an untimely setback for Mr. Mayorkas, who has been one of the principal architects of President Obama’s embattled executive actions on immigration. Those programs have been halted by a federal judge in Texas.

Mr. Mayorkas, in a statement, said he disagreed with the inspector general’s report but would “certainly learn from it.” As head of the agency from 2009 to 2013, he said, he worked to improve the investor visa program “in a hands-on manner, through cases, policies and sweeping personnel and organizational changes.”

Republicans have long raised questions about Mr. Mayorkas’s handling of investor visas. He was approved to be deputy secretary in late 2013 over the objections of Republicans who said the Senate should wait for the results of the inspector general’s investigation.

Mr. Roth said his report was based on information from “an extraordinary number” of agency employees who came forward to cooperate, including senior managers in a position to witness the events.

The report did not find that Mr. Mayorkas took any direct action to favor investors or improperly sway outcomes, and it cites his explanation that he “intervened to improve” the visa process or “to prevent error.” It notes many instances when Mr. Mayorkas declined to get involved in a visa decision.

But in the three cases, the report notes, “but for Mr. Mayorkas’s intervention, the matter would have been decided differently.”

The cases were part of a visa program known as EB-5. Foreigners can gain permanent resident green cards for themselves and their families if they invest at least $500,000 in the United States and create at least 10 jobs for American workers within two years.

According to the report, after the visa agency denied several applications filed by a company Mr. McAuliffe and Mr. Rodham ran, Mr. McAuliffe reached out to senior Homeland Security officials, seeking their help in getting the decisions overturned.

Mr. Mayorkas then met face to face with Mr. McAuliffe. In a later email to the department, Mr. McAuliffe claimed he had been guaranteed in the meeting that the review of his company’s application would be expedited. Mr. Mayorkas has denied he promised that.

But although agency officials determined that Mr. McAuliffe’s application should be denied, Mr. Mayorkas told his staff that he wanted to review the decision. Many agency officials found “this level of scrutiny unsettling,” because previous directors had not intervened in such matters.

In 2013, Mr. Rodham emailed Mr. Mayorkas, complaining about delays in processing his company’s petitions. Shortly thereafter, Mr. Mayorkas “forwarded the email to the staff with a ‘high importance’ designation,” according to the report. The application was officially approved in February 2014.

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