US suspects 4,000 cases of fraud in Iraqi refugee programme

State Department reports show 104,000 refugee applications are being re-examined

A member of Iraqi special forces stands guard in Baghdad's heavily fortified Green Zone, which houses government offices and the US embassy and other international diplomatic missions. EPA

US authorities pursuing a sweeping fraud investigation suspect about 4,000 Iraqis of filing fraudulent applications for resettlement in the United States as refugees.

Officials are re-examining cases involving more than 104,000 others, according to State Department reports reviewed by Reuters.

More than 500 Iraqis already admitted as refugees are implicated in the alleged fraud and could be deported or stripped of their US citizenship, according to one document sent to members of Congress. It said there was "no indication to date that any of these 500+ individuals have ties to terrorism".

The investigation is fuelling reservations among some members of President Joe Biden's administration as they debate whether to create a similar programme to assist Afghan refugees as American troops withdraw after 20 years of war, US officials told Reuters.

The reports show the investigation is more far-reaching and serious than US officials have disclosed since in January announcing a 90-day freeze of the "direct access" Iraqi refugee programme. The suspension, which the State Department extended indefinitely in April, followed the unsealing of an indictment accusing three foreign citizens of fraud, records theft and money laundering.

A State Department representative declined to comment on the scope of the investigation and internal government deliberations, but said the fraud scheme did not affect security vetting of refugees.

"The discovery, investigation and prosecution of individuals involved in the scheme demonstrated the US government's commitment to ensuring the integrity of the programme while upholding our humanitarian tradition," the representative said. "Those who would seek to take advantage of America's generosity in welcoming the most vulnerable people will be held accountable."

The representative did not give a timeline for the investigation, but said the agency would work "as quickly and thoroughly as possible" to complete the review and make any necessary security changes.

Sponsored by the late senator Edward Kennedy, the direct access programme was authorised by Congress four years into the 2003-2011 US occupation of Iraq and the sectarian bloodletting it unleashed. It aimed to speed up resettlement in the United States of Iraqis endangered by working for the US government.

Under pressure from legislators of both parties and advocacy groups, the Biden administration is considering a similar programme for Afghans facing Taliban retribution, according to a State Department official, a congressional aide and a legislator.

But there "are a lot of reservations" about expediting the resettlement of Afghans as refugees in the United States, the State Department official said, citing the problems with the Iraqi programme.

The official pointed to challenges in verifying employment history and other background information "in unstable environments".

Representative Jason Crow, a former Army Ranger who founded a bipartisan group to press Mr Biden to evacuate at-risk Afghans, said State Department officials told him the problems with the Iraqi programme "have given people pause" about creating one for Afghans.

'Master list' of suspects

The Iraqi programme suspension froze the processing of more than 40,000 applications covering more than 104,000 people – 95 per cent of them in Iraq – and all are being re-evaluated, according to one State Department report.

Officials have built a "master list" of "companies and cases with suspected fraud as identified by the investigation," the report said, and that the list includes more than 4,000 people, none of whom have been allowed to travel to the United States.

The State Department reports, the unsealed indictment and court documents do not categorically state the alleged scheme's purpose.

But a State Department investigator's federal court affidavit suggested applicants were paying for stolen case files that helped them pass the screening process and consular interviews and "potentially secure admission to the United States ... when that would not otherwise have occurred".

The indictment unsealed in January accused the suspects of stealing the digital case files of more than 1,900 Iraqis, including highly confidential information such as work histories, military service, accounts of persecution, security check results and proposed US consular interview questions.

"Resettlement is a very scarce and valuable and lifesaving commodity," said Mark Hetfield, president of HIAS, a refugee resettlement agency. "People ... are going to do anything they can to access it."

The programme had shortened the process for Iraqi groups "of special humanitarian concern" to obtain US refugee resettlement, dropping a requirement that they first obtain referrals from the United Nations refugee agency.

Eligible applicants include Iraqis inside or outside Iraq in danger because they worked for the US government, as well as certain family members. Iraqis who worked for US-based media outlets and humanitarian groups or organisations that received US government grants or contracts could also apply.

More than 47,570 Iraqis have been resettled in the United States through the programme, according to one State Department document.

Admissions slowed to a trickle under Republican former president Donald Trump, who set refugee admissions for this year at a record-low 15,000 before leaving office.

The alleged fraud ran from February 2016 until at least April 2019, according to the indictment. The investigation began in February 2019, a State Department document said.

James Miervaldis of No One Left Behind, a non-profit organisation that helps US-affiliated Iraqis and Afghans emigrate to the United States, said it was not known how many have been killed, but they number in the hundreds. Most of the threats were from ISIS remnants and Iran-backed Shiite militias, he said.

"There are still many Iraqis reaching out to us for help," Mr Miervaldis said.