Visa Lawyer Blog
Practicing Immigration Law in San Diego, just 20 minutes from the largest International crossing border in the world can be very exciting. The stories I hear from clients and our Government workers are amazing. Stories of government employees corruption are not new, and from time to time we hear of a big fish getting caught in the system. A recent New York Times article covers the San Diego and other cities immigration corruption situation.
If you can get a corrupt inspector, you have the keys to the kingdom,” said Andrew P. Black, an F.B.I. agent who supervises a multiagency task force focused on corruption on the San Diego border.
The smugglers use any ruse available to lure border workers but seem to favor deploying attractive women as bait. They flirt and charm and beg the officers, often middle-aged men, to “just this once” let an unauthorized relative or friend through. And then another and another.
Prosecutors believe this is how smugglers ensnared Mr. Gilliland – a local San Diego agent, who eventually pleaded guilty to taking $70,000 to $120,000 in exchange for letting hundreds of illegal immigrants pass through his lane.
We urge the government to exercise better screening in the hiring process of Border Patrol agents as the quality of recent recruits is shameful.
NY Times full story