The U.S. Attorney’s office indicted a U.S. immigration official for allegedly accepting thousands of dollars in bribes, 200 egg rolls, and a sausage in exchange for granting either U.S. citizenship or permanent resident status for immigrants to the U.S.
The indictment came after the arrest of the official by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
The official, Mai Nhu Nguyen, was an immigration service officer with the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration services (USCIS). A three-count indictment was returned by a federal grand jury alleging solicitation and receipt of a bribe by a public official.
Two of the cases allege that Nguyen took thousands of dollars in bribes in exchange for “Green cards,” but one case alleges that she took 200 egg rolls from an immigrant in exchange for U.S. citizenship, according to the U.S. Attorney’s office. However, a deeper look into court documents reveals that Nguyen allegedly took one sausage from an immigrant in exchange for a favor in determining whether or not legal immigration status was approved. Nguyen was in a position to decide who did and did not obtain legal immigration status in the U.S., including citizenship.
Perhaps an even more disturbing case of alleged public corruption involving U.S. immigration officials or employees surfaced in 2012 in Arizona. The case involved Stella Peterson, an employee of U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement, who was charged with knowingly allowing her home to be a stash house in a for-profit human smuggling ring. All charges were dropped against Peterson with no reason or justification given. This despite the charge that she reportedly confessed to her involvement and, according to court documents (see embedded documents below), the local office of the U.S. Attorney’s office had multiple victims to testify against her.
The U.S. Attorney’s office has kept what are generally public records private in the case and will not respond to requests for an explanation.