Pushing the Border Out on Alien Smuggling: New Tools and Intelligence Initiatives

DIRECTOR MORTON: Good morning Mr. Chairman and distinguished members of the subcommittee. Before I begin, Mr. Chairman, I would like to extend my sincere gratitude to you and the members of your subcommittee for this opportunity to share with you today the mission of the State Department’s Bureau of Diplomatic Security and our significant role in combating alien smuggling. Your interest in our work is greatly appreciated.

Our Secretary, Colin L. Powell, has long recognized the serious threat that unchecked travel document fraud and alien smuggling operations pose to our national security. Through the Secretary’s guidance and approval, we have recently expanded our investigative and enforcement capabilities in this and related criminal areas. Through my testimony, I hope to convey to the subcommittee that Diplomatic Security is a formidable asset to our colleagues at the Department of Homeland Security and other agencies in thwarting alien smuggling before it reaches our borders.

Diplomatic Security––Investigative Mission
More than ever, alien smuggling, terrorism, and other transnational crimes represent a severe threat to American interests. In response, Diplomatic Security (DS) works as a global force in this continuous fight for our nation’s security. As the law enforcement arm of the State Department, DS has statutory responsibility for protecting the integrity of the U.S. passport and visa--the “gold standard” of international travel documents. DS is the most widely represented U.S. security and law enforcement agency worldwide--with over 1,400 special agents serving in the United States and overseas at U.S. diplomatic missions. As our agents assigned to embassies and consulates overseas are the primary U.S. law enforcement officers in most nations, DS fosters cooperation with international police and collaborates with American law enforcement agencies to combat those who endanger our national security.

Travel document fraud and alien smuggling are inextricably linked crimes. As the U.S. passport and visa are the most sought after travel documents in the world, unqualified applicants continue to aggressively pursue ways to illegally obtain them in their quest for permanent residency or illegal entry into the United States.

In 2003, DS witnessed a spike in investigative productivity concerning visa and passport fraud. A total of 762 individuals were arrested on DS charges--642 for passport fraud, 90 for visa fraud, and 30 miscellaneous charges. This represented a record year for DS. Through the first 3 months of 2004, DS has arrested 220 individuals--183 for passport fraud, 12 for visa fraud, and 25 miscellaneous, putting us on pace to surpass last year’s record totals.

Overseas Fraud Prevention
In order to proactively detect fraud and prevent ineligible persons from reaching U.S. borders, DS established 25 investigative positions at typically high-fraud overseas posts such as Nigeria, Mexico, Thailand, the Philippines, and others. DS has already experienced notable successes with this initiative. Over the past 6 months, approximately 200 individuals have been arrested on fraud or fraud-related charges due to cooperative efforts between DS agents and host nation law enforcement. In one of these cases, DS worked seamlessly with the Israeli National Police to disrupt a fraud ring that had facilitated U.S. visa applications of previously deported Israeli citizens by securing fraudulent Israeli passports. In another instance, the superior relationship between the antifraud agent in Jamaica and Jamaican law enforcement led to the arrest of 12 individuals and the break up of a lucrative fraud ring that operated within the Jamaican Passport Office.

Additionally, our antifraud agents have opened over 2,000 investigations and conducted 70 training sessions with embassy consular staff, local immigration, and police officials on proactive fraud detection methods. By implementing this overseas antifraud program, DS is expanding the frontier of document fraud investigations and directly targeting the roots of alien smuggling operations.

DS Initiatives
On the domestic front, DS is making great strides on several initiatives designed to enhance the power behind our enforcement capabilities. DS petitioned the U.S. Sentencing Commission to increase the sentencing guidelines for passport and visa fraud. Scheduled for enactment in November 2004, the increased minimum sentences for passport and visa fraud will strengthen our borders by making our investigations more attractive for prosecution and by serving as a deterrent to criminals who might wish to harm the American public.

DS also applied for admission into the Department of Justice Asset Forfeiture Fund. Our investigations indicate that travel documents are a high-value commodity--commanding as much as $25,000 for one U.S. visa. With forfeiture capabilities, DS will be able to seize the assets of those who profit from passport and visa fraud and further cripple these unlawful operations. A decision on our application into the fund is imminent.

Earlier this January, DS established investigative units at 11 international airports to better identify individuals traveling on counterfeit travel documents, gather intelligence, and develop effective relationships with Department of Homeland Security, Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and airport authorities. Over the first 3 months of the program, 15 individuals were arrested, and another 16 were denied entry into the United States.

Examining New Initiatives
We are also analyzing several of our successful existing programs to determine if similar methods would prove equally effective in combating document fraud and alien smuggling.

The most striking example of our cooperation with other entities is our partnership with the State Department’s Bureau of Consular Affairs (CA). An outgrowth of our shared mission to protect the integrity of the passport and visa issuance process, DS and CA joined together to promote a proactive, zero-tolerance policy on passport and visa malfeasance. One joint initiative was the establishment of the Vulnerability Assessment Unit, which analyzes consular data, systems, and procedures to identify vulnerabilities to the visa issuance process and specific instances of consular malfeasance and internal corruption. Based upon the successes of this proactive analytical unit, DS and CA are looking to expand this concept to encompass external fraud and alien smuggling. When this external fraud unit is formally instituted, DS and CA will be better able to assess criminal intelligence and fraud information from our overseas posts and domestic passport agencies to better target visa and passport brokers who seek to corrupt the system.

Coordination with Department of Homeland Security
No discussion on DS’ alien smuggling initiatives would be complete without highlighting our developing relationship with our colleagues in the Department of Homeland Security. Our two agencies are bound by mutual interests--specifically with regard to passport and visa fraud aspects of alien smuggling investigations. In addition to our airport investigative initiative, DS is working with DHS Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to establish a liaison position and facilitate communication between our agencies. DS expects this position to be staffed within the next 2 months. Additionally, to increase the effectiveness of our overseas antifraud investigations, we look forward to working collaboratively with DHS overseas attaches and immigration inspectors and to benefit from their relationships with host government officials.

As an example of existing cooperation between DS and DHS, we recently began providing support to ICE on their investigations of cases involving the Protect Act of 2003--legislation that allows U.S. law enforcement to prosecute U.S. citizens who commit illicit sexual acts against minors abroad. Due to the presence of DS agents in countries struggling to combat the child sex trade, DS assists investigators by collecting evidence, interviewing alleged victims, and attending court proceedings. To date, DS agents have assisted in 13 cases, resulting in seven arrests in Southeast Asia and Central American and two prosecutions in the United States.

Conclusion
DS travel document fraud investigations go hand-in-glove with combating alien smuggling. We fully ascribe to the belief that interagency cooperation breeds investigative success. For this reason, Diplomatic Security continuously seeks to cultivate relationships with our law enforcement colleagues so that we can best utilize our expertise and unique resources to safeguard our nation’s borders.

Mr. Chairman, I thank you for this opportunity to appear before this subcommittee and I will be happy to answer any questions you and the other members may have.