Both the service center operations units and district office investigative units may open possible benefit fraud cases on the basis of information that they receive from adjudication officers; from other INS components, including Investigations, Inspections, and Intelligence; from INS regional offices, the public, including informants; and from other federal and local law enforcement agencies. Outcome Measures for Benefit Application Fraud Have Not Been Established

INS does not have established outcome-based performance measures in place that would help it assess the results of its benefit application fraud activities. Additionally, INS has not established outcome-based goals or measurement criteria for the service center operations units that are responsible for fraud investigation activities. Conclusions

Immigration benefit fraud has been a long-standing problem for INS that has grown more intense and serious as criminal aliens and terrorists have used the application process for illegal activities, such as crimes of violence, narcotics trafficking, and terrorism. Institutionally, INS has not done much to combat this significant problem, which threatens the integrity of the legal immigration system because it results in INS’s granting valuable benefits to ineligible aliens. Specifically, any restructuring plan should address the need to coordinate the efforts of the investigation units in the district offices and service centers; balance the responsibility for timely adjudication of immigration benefit applications and the need to detect and investigate fraudulent applications; establish guidance for deciding which immigration fraud investigations to pursue; track immigration benefit fraud investigations; determine the optimum means of providing adjudicators with access to INS’s databases; and establish outcome-based performance measures.
What GAO Found

Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) officials believe that some aliens are using the benefit application process to carry out illegal activities, such as crimes of violence, narcotics trafficking, and terrorism. The extent of immigration benefit fraud is unknown, but INS officials and others believe that this problem will increase as smugglers and other criminal enterprises use fraud to bring illegal aliens, including criminals, into the United States. INS investigative units in both the service centers and the district offices investigate possible benefit fraud on the basis of information they receive from staff who process benefit applications, other INS units, the public, and law enforcement agencies. Providing immigration benefits in a timely manner may conflict with the goal of preserving the integrity of the legal immigration system. Although INS recognizes the need to balance these competing goals, it has not always succeeded. INS has several performance measures in place to gauge the results of its benefit fraud enforcement activities. However, INS has not established outcome-based performance measures to assess the results of fraud activities. Additionally, INS has not established goals or measurement criteria for the service center units that are responsible for fraud investigations.