ImmigrationUSCIS looking to fill 1,000 positions in response to Obama’s executive order
An internal memo from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) notes that the federal government is seeking to fill 1,000 full-time permanent and temporary positions at a new “operational center” in Crystal City, Arlington, Virginia, in response to the Obama administration’s executive actions to allow some five million undocumented immigrants have their deportation deferred, apply for driver’s licenses in most states, and apply for two-year work permits.
An internal memo from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) notes that the federal government is seeking to fill 1,000 full-time permanent and temporary positions at a new “operational center” in Crystal City, Arlington, Virginia, in response to the Obama administration’s executive actions to allow some five million undocumented immigrants have their deportation deferred, apply for driver’s licenses in most states, and apply for two-year work permits. Open position titles include special assistant, program analyst, immigration services officer, and more, with salaries as high as $157,100. “The initial workload will include cases filed as a result of the executive actions on immigration announced on Nov. 20, 2014,” the bulletin read. “Many job opportunities at the operational center will be announced in the coming days and please continue to monitor USAJOBS if you are interested.”
USCIS is aiming to have its operation in order before the agency begins to receive applications from undocumented immigrants. “Increasing staffing will ensure that every case received by USCIS receives a thorough review under our guidelines,” the agency said late Wednesday.
Many of the job postings were issued the day after President Barack Obama announced his executive actions, and some of those postings have already expired, suggesting the agency has already hired some staff for the new “operational center.” Ken Palinkas, head of National Citizenship and Immigration Services Council, the USCIS union, is concerned with USCIS’ move to quickly hire new staff. He argues that it is nearly impossible, given the limited amount of time, to hire enough good people to accurately process the expected number of applications. “I can’t see how they could,” he told TheWashington Times. “I think what they’re leaning toward is just getting the paperwork done regardless of who does it. You have to vet these people.”
Louis D. Crocetti Jr., head of Fraud Detection and National Security (FDNS) with the USCIS until he retired in 2011, said it would take about a year for the agency to properly hire and train staff. “I don’t see how they could possibly recruit, hire, screen, go through all the national security background checks and train everyone within six months,” said Crocetti, who is now principal at the Immigration Integrity Group. “That would be a very, very steep challenge, one that could only result in consequences of poorly trained staff.” A poorly trained staff could lead to fraudulent applications being approved, Crocetti warns.
DHS chief Jeh Johnson has acknowledged the potential for fraud in Obama’s immigration plan. “Fraudulent applications have the potential to undermine the whole process,” he told the House Committee on Homeland Security. “In the planning for the implementation, I want to be sure that we take a hard look at best practices to avoid fraudulent applications, fraudulent misuse of the program. That’s a priority of mine.”
TheTimes notes that out of the 1,000 new jobs advertised for the new “operational center,” only seven are designated as part of the fraud-detection unit.
