Singh’s
denaturalization is the first arising out of a growing body of cases
referred to the Department of Justice by United States Citizenship and
Immigration Services (USCIS) as part of Operation Janus. The action against Singh was filed contemporaneously with two other Operation Janus cases, as announced by the Justice Department on Sept. 19, 2017.
A
Department of Homeland Security initiative, Operation Janus, identified
about 315,000 cases where some fingerprint data was missing from the
centralized digital fingerprint repository. Among those cases, some may
have sought to circumvent criminal record and other background checks in
the naturalization process. These cases are the result of an ongoing
collaboration between the two departments to investigate and seek
denaturalization proceedings against those who obtained citizenship
unlawfully.
“The
defendant exploited our immigration system and unlawfully secured the
ultimate immigration benefit of naturalization, which undermines both
the nation’s security and our lawful immigration system,” said Acting
Assistant Attorney General Chad Readler of the Justice Department’s
Civil Division. “The Justice Department will continue to use every tool
to protect the integrity of our nation’s immigration system, including
the use of civil denaturalization.”
USCIS
dedicated a team to review these Operation Janus cases, and the agency
has stated its intention to refer approximately an additional 1,600 for
prosecution.
“We
appreciate the dedication of our Justice Department partners as we work
together to ensure the integrity of our nation’s legal immigration
system,” said USCIS Director L. Francis Cissna. “I hope this case, and
those to follow, send a loud message that attempting to fraudulently
obtain U.S. citizenship will not be tolerated. Our nation’s citizens
deserve nothing less.”
Baljinder
Singh aka Davinder Singh, 43, a native of India, arrived at San
Francisco International Airport on Sept. 25, 1991, without any travel
documents or proof of identity. He claimed his name was Davinder Singh.
He was placed in exclusion proceedings, but failed to appear for his
immigration court hearing and was ordered excluded and deported on Jan.
7, 1992. Four weeks later, on Feb. 6, 1992, he filed an asylum
application under the name Baljinder Singh. He claimed to be an Indian
who entered the United States without inspection. Singh abandoned that
application after he married a U.S. citizen, who filed a visa petition
on his behalf. Singh naturalized under the name Baljinder Singh on July
28, 2006. Singh has been residing in Carteret, New Jersey.
This
case was investigated by USCIS and the Civil Division’s Office of
Immigration Litigation, District Court Section (OIL-DCS). The case was
prosecuted by Counsel for National Security Aaron Petty of OIL-DCS’s National Security and Affirmative Litigation Unit,
with support from Deputy Chief Patrice Rodman of USCIS’s Office of the
Chief Counsel, Northeast Law Division and Immigration Services Officer
Caroline D’Angelo of USCIS’s Field Operations Directorate.