New York Times
By Julia Preston
May 1, 2015
The deputy secretary of Homeland Security, Alejandro Mayorkas, conceded at a congressional hearing on Thursday that his intervention in three cases of visas for foreign investors had created an impression of political favoritism, and he said he regretted fostering that perception. But he defended the results of his involvement, saying he had helped “to make sure we were adhering to the law.”
In a House Homeland Security Committee hearing, Mr. Mayorkas responded to findings in a March report by the department’s inspector general that his actions had led some employees to believe politically connected investors were given special consideration in the visa program.
“I do regret the perceptions that my activities created and I take responsibility for those perceptions,” Mr. Mayorkas said. But he said he had stepped in when the agency seemed to be making bad decisions on complicated legal issues.
“I did not let errors go unchecked, but instead helped ensure that those cases were decided correctly, nothing more and nothing less,” he said. He acknowledged that he had not explained well to employees why he became directly involved in the cases.
The three cases cited by the inspector general, John Roth, involved well-known Democrats who pressed Mr. Mayorkas to review decisions by lower officials in a visa program known as EB-5. The program gives permanent resident green cards to foreigners who invest at least $500,000 in projects that create jobs in the United States. Mr. Mayorkas was director of the visa agency, United States Citizenship and Immigration Services, from 2009 through 2013.
Mr. Mayorkas said he recalled talking by telephone with former Gov. Edward G. Rendell of Pennsylvania about visas for investors in movie projects. In another case, Mr. Mayorkas confirmed he had a meeting, at the request of Janet Napolitano, then the Homeland Security secretary, with Terry McAuliffe about visas for investors in a green car company. Mr. McAuliffe is now the governor of Virginia.
Prodded by committee Democrats, Mr. Mayorkas said he had also received many calls from Republicans about the visas, including Haley Barbour, the former governor of Mississippi.
The committee chairman, Representative Michael McCaul, Republican of Texas, was skeptical of Mr. Mayorkas’s explanation and said he would continue to investigate foreign investors in the car company.
Mr. Mayorkas said when he started at the visa agency he heard “a loud chorus of concerns and complaints,” including from lawmakers on Capitol Hill, about the investor visa program. He said changes he made might have rattled some employees.
He pointed to new guidelines for the EB-5 program proposed Monday by Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson, which would toughen restrictions to bar foreigners with criminal records and increase auditing of investments.
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