Refugees put through fresh checks

Washington: In a far-reaching inquiry, authorities are rescreening more than 58,000 Iraqi refugees living in the United States amid concerns that lapses in immigration security may have allowed former insurgents and potential terrorists to enter the country, US officials said.

The investigation was given added urgency after US intelligence agencies warned that Al Qaida leaders in Iraq and Yemen had tried to target the US refugee stream, or exploit other immigration loopholes, in an attempt to infiltrate the country with operatives.

The rescreening began late last year after the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) learned that an Iraqi man in Kentucky had participated in roadside bomb attacks in Iraq before he was granted US political asylum in 2009.

He and another Iraqi refugee were arrested in an FBI sting in May on charges of trying to send explosives and missiles to Iraq for use against Americans.

So far, immigration authorities have given the FBI about 300 names of Iraqi refugees for further investigation. The FBI won't say whether any have been arrested or pose a potential threat.

Others under scanner

The names were identified when authorities rechecked phone numbers, e-mail addresses, fingerprints, iris scans and other data in immigration files of Iraqis given asylum since the war began in 2003. They checked the data against military, law enforcement and intelligence databases that were not available or were not utilised during the initial screening process, or were not searched using sufficient Arabic spelling and name variations. It addition to the Iraqis, authorities have rescreened a smaller number of refugees from Yemen, Somalia and other countries where terrorist groups are active.

US officials say they have tried to plug the gaps as quickly as possible. Unlike earlier screenings, for example, immigration officials now must check an army-run biometric database of known and suspected bomb makers and other insurgents in Iraq and Afghanistan before a refugee is admitted from either country. They also have added other background and security checks.

Visa logjam

The enhanced screening procedures have caused a logjam in regular visa admissions from Iraq, even for those who risked their lives to aid American troops and who now fear reprisals as the Obama administration winds down the US military presence.

About 18,000 Iraqi refugees were admitted last year, but the number has fallen sharply since new screening procedures were imposed. About 30,000 Iraqis have applied for asylum. Many worked as interpreters or held other positions with the US military, aid groups or companies in Iraq and say they face reprisals because of those ties.