US federal agencies are failing to verify the correct legal status of immigrants applying for benefits, Sputnik reported.
“[F]rom fiscal year 2012 through fiscal year 2016, GAO found that the majority of SAVE [Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements] user agencies that received a SAVE response prompting them to institute additional verification did not complete the required additional steps to verify the benefit applicant's immigration status,” the report stated on Thursday.
The US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) does not have sufficient controls to help ensure agencies are completing the necessary steps because of inconsistent guidance the procedure, the GAO added.
The GAO found that only four of 40 agencies monitored from fiscal years 2013 through 2015 had improved their compliance with requirements to complete additional verification when prompted, the report noted.
The Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS)