Excerpts from an editorial that appeared in Saturday’s Washington Post: What’s in a name? For Ali Rahimian, it may be the difference between a quick path to citizenship and a two-year sentence to immigration purgatory. Dr. Rahimian has lived in the Washington area for 17 years, and, among other useful pursuits, has helped operate a free clinic for people who lack medical insurance. Two years ago, Rahimian, who was born in Iran, applied to become a US citizen. His application was sent to the FBI for what should have been a routine background check, and Rahimian said he has not heard from the bureau since.
The applications of hundreds of thousands of legal immigrants such as Rahimian are mired in FBI bureaucracy, according to a recent audit by the Justice Department inspector general. The audit found that the FBI’s National Name Check Program, designed to be a security vetting of immigrants applying to be citizens, is relying on outdated technology and poorly trained workers.
More than 300,000 citizenship requests were pending as of March, according to the audit.
The problem isn’t just the size of the FBI’s workforce, it’s the agency’s overall approach. The FBI doesn’t have a sound way to measure the program’s effectiveness, so it doesn’t know whether an elaborate name-check process prevents terrorism. To improve the efficiency of the process, the FBI should implement the inspector general’s recommendations, including a formal training curriculum and quality assurance measures. Most important, the FBI should update its name-matching tool, which relies on an algorithm that was developed in the early 1900s.
The FBI has been punishing the immigrants who are most deserving of citizenship: Those who play by the rules.
