Last week, I sent a letter with the Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee to the Department of Homeland Security asking for more information about a foreign national who, before his recent arrest, the FBI alleges was planning a bomb attack on a school and a federal building.
According to the FBI, El Medhi Semlali Fathi came to the United States on a student visa, but his visa was terminated after he failed to attend classes. Allegedly, Fathi was subsequently arrested on trespassing charges, when he was transferred to Immigrations and Customs Enforcement personnel. Fathi applied for withholding of removal because he claimed he would be persecuted by his home country. Despite numerous factual inaccuracies and inconsistencies in his application, Fathi’s petition to remain in the United States was granted by an immigration judge.
I’m concerned that this is just one example of the asylum process being abused. In 2009, a U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services fraud assessment found at least 70 percent of asylum applications showed signs of fraud. What makes this fraud even more concerning is that approval rates by asylum officers have nearly doubled since 2007, and approval rates by immigration judges have increased by more than 20 percent.
Chairman Goodlatte and I have asked the Department of Homeland Security to explain the specific case of El Medhi Semlali Fathi as well as the general practice and procedure for granting asylum to ensure people like Mr. Fathi aren’t provided opportunities to harm Americans.