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33 Pakistani Immigrants Arrested: pretend religious workers
Thirtythree Pakistani immigrants who came to the United States posing as religious workers were arrested Wednesday, as Homeland Security agents tried to close a commonly exploited avenue for illegal immigration. The aliens arrested Wednesday were held on immigration violations and could face criminal charges. Immigrants who were supposed to be teaching or conducting religious ceremonies were arrested across the East Coast, where authorities said many worked as gas station attendants, taxi drivers, landscapers and factory workers. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials have been scrutinizing the religious worker visa program, which a 2005 review found was rife with problems. Homeland Security officials found fraud in one of every three religious visas they reviewed. "What we see are religious institutions such as churches that may exist only on paper but are sponsoring people," ICE spokesman Dean Boyd said. "Our concern is we don't know who these people are. They're obviously not who they say they are and they don't have religious training." Though most were not performing religious work, authorities said two Massachusetts imams were arrested for using fraudulent documents. In the report released last year, officials found cases where workers could not be found and addresses could not be verified. In one incident, the address on the visa application was found to have been used by a terrorist suspect, though Boyd said there was no indication of a terrorist threat in Wednesday's case. He said the aliens paid large fees to get people or organizations to sponsor them for visas. Arrests were made in Connecticut, Georgia, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Washington, D.C. In June, Washington state pastor Dong Wan Park was convicted of helping South Korean nationals file fraudulent religious visa applications. None of the applicants was ever employed at the church. Boyd said the agency is committed to the visa program, which is said is important for legitimate religious institutions, but said it must not be exploited Posted by: trailing wife 2006-11-16 |
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