Graft On The Homeland’s Borders

We rang alarms bells about border security in Malaysia. How corruption compromised the immigration process there and increased the terrorism threat to the region and the world.

To keep us from getting cocky about how we do things in this country, a chilling story broke the same day from Los Angeles.

“A former official with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) and his son were found guilty this afternoon of federal corruption charges,” the DOJ release said.

Fernando Jacobs, 72, a supervisory immigration services officer with USCIS in LA, and his son, Patrick Anthony Jacobs, 44, were convicted of conspiracy, bribery, and honest services wire fraud. Fernando Jacobs was also convicted of visa fraud.

The father and son took bribes to speed up immigration case files, leak immigration information from the Department of Homeland Security immigration databases, and give I-551 stamps that authorize aliens to travel to and from the United States.

The elder Jacobs accepted a $1,500 bribe in exchange for helping an alien obtain legal permanent residency. He accessed the alien’s confidential immigration file and provided information to the alien seeking status in the United States.

Two Mexican nationals were given multiple stamps that allowed them to travel to and from the United States.

The father, Fernando Jacobs, now faces up to 110 years in federal prison when he’s sentenced on August 8. His son Patrick could be sentenced to 100 years.