Department of Homeland Security Deputy Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas exerted “improper influence” on behalf of three applicants for a federal program that grants residency to foreign investors in U.S. projects, including one with links to Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid and another to Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe.
Mayorkas was then director of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services agency with Homeland Security and made multiple changes in the Employment-Based Fifth Preference program even though it represented a tiny slice of his overall responsibilities in the position, according to the Homeland Security inspector general in a report made public Tuesday.
The government received more than 700 EB-5 applications during his tenure at USCIS, but Mayorkas devoted an unusual amount of attention to applicants in three of the agency’s regional centers where decisions were made on applications. The three included the LA Films Regional Center, the Las Vegas Regional Center and the Gulf Coast Funds Management Center.
Mayorkas created a hand-picked “deference review board” that reversed a series of decisions by the LA Films center to reject applications linked to film projects of Sony and Time Warner. “This board did not previously exist and was never used again after it voted to reverse the adjudicators’ proposed denials. Remarkably, there is no record of the proceedings of this board,” the inspector general said.
In the Las Vegas example, Mayorkas intervened at the request of Reid seeking “expedited review of investor petitions involved in funding a Las Vegas hotel and casino, notwithstanding the career staff’s original decision not to do so.” The inspector general said “Mayorkas pressured staff to expedite the review. He also took the extraordinary step of requiring staff to brief Senator Reid’s staff on a weekly basis for several months.”
In the Gulf Coast example, the inspector general said Mayorkas mounted an “unprecedented” intervention in the denial of an EB-5 application for funding of a firm “to manufacture electric cars through investments in a company in which Terry McAuliffe was the board chairman.” The inspector general said that “because of the political prominence of the individuals involved, as well as USCIS’ traditional deference to its administrative appeals process, staff perceived it as politically motivated.”
A spokesman for McAuliffe has been asked by the Examiner for comment.
In all three cases, Mayorkas, the inspector general said, “communicated with stakeholders on substantive issues, outside of the normal adjudicatory process, and intervened with the career USCIS staff in ways that benefited the stakeholders. In each of these three instances, but for Mr. Mayorkas’ intervention, the matter would have been decided differently” and “created an appearance of favoritism and special access.”
The inspector general also pointed to an unusually high number of whistleblowers — “more than 15” — who registered complaints about Mayorkas’ actions.
“The number and variety of witnesses is highly unusual. It is also quite unusual that a significant percentage of the witnesses we interviewed would talk to us only after being assured that their identities would remain confidential. Being a whistleblower is seen to be hazardous in the federal government, and a typical investigation would have one or perhaps two.”
The fact that so many people “were willing to step forward and tell us what happened is evidence of deep resentment about Mr. Mayorkas’ actions related to the EB-5 program.” Among the whistleblowers were employees at the senior executive service level of top management, as well as others in national security, fraud detection and attorneys.
Kristen Orthman, a spokesman for Reid, said the Senate Minority Leader’s action were entirely proper and above board.
“Senator Reid’s work helped get SLS built and created thousands of Nevada jobs. SLS Las Vegas has revitalized the north end of the Las Vegas Strip and, with the coming addition of the Genting Resort, the area will continue to grow.
“Renovations at SLS infused hundreds of millions of dollars into the Las Vegas region and created thousands of jobs. The investments made to secure the SLS project had bipartisan support in Congress and the support of Gov. [Brian] Sandoval. Senator Reid considers it part of his basic responsibility as Nevada’s senator to ensure that projects that benefit Nevada get fair and timely consideration from the federal government. Senator Reid was not involved in the security screening process in any way.
Rep. Michael McCaul, chairman of the House Committee on Homeland Security, said the inspector general’s conclusions are “extremely concerning” and said he would convene a hearing to examine the report in greater detail.
On the Senate side, Sen. Tom Carper of Delaware, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, defended Mayorkas as “a dedicated, thoughtful, and talented public servant” who was “willing to make tough and sometimes unpopular – but necessary – decisions within his authorities in order to improve the complex EB-5 program, particularly its national security and fraud vulnerabilities.”
But Carper acknowledged that “it is concerning that the Inspector General found that a number of employees’ belief that then-Director Mayorkas favored certain EB-5 stakeholders was reasonable. It is important to ensure that the appearance of special access is not created.”
Go here for the full report.
Mark Tapscott is executive editor of the Washington Examiner.
