Smugglers, Illicit Documents, and Schemes Are Undermining U.S. Controls Over Immigration

Two proposals to solve U.S. immigration problems are (1) legislation to prohibit employment of illegal aliens, and (2) issuance of a new alien identification card. U.S. controls over immigration are being undermined by numerous aliens who employ professional smugglers or use illicit documents to enter or remain illegally in this country. These activities are expected to increase as it becomes more difficult to enter or remain illegally in the United States.

The Immigration and Naturalization Service's antismuggling efforts have had some good results, including the immobilization of several large rings; however, problems exist which limit its effectiveness. The Service's work to cut down the use of these documents may have a limited result. Nonimmigrants violate conditions of their temporary entry. Aliens also enter into sham marriages or take advantage of weak, investor-exemption regulations to become legal residents. Proposed changes by the Service and the Department of State to investor-exemption regulations, if put into effect, would be a big step toward assuring that only bona fide investors will be admitted.

Recommendations

Our recommendations from this work are listed below with a Contact for more information. Status will change from "In process" to "Open," "Closed - implemented," or "Closed - not implemented" based on our follow up work.

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