A Nigerian man who entered
this nation on a stolen British passport, fraudulently obtained U.S.
citizenship and ended up working as a federal immigration officer has, lastly,
landed in courtroom.

Modestus Nwagubwu Ifemembi, 48, faces a single depend of “unlawfully procuring U.S. citizenship.” However this weird, two-decade-long chain of occasions raises numerous intriguing questions.

First, the background.  

Ifemembi entered the U.S. on
a France-to-Chicago flight in 2000. After immigration brokers within the Windy Metropolis
detained Ifemembi – who admitted to passport fraud – he was granted asylum.
Approval was based mostly on false claims that his title was “Karlos Mourfy” and a
native of Sierra Leone.

Ifemembi/Mourfy went on to
attend the College of California, Berkeley and acquire a legislation diploma from the
College of Oregon. In 2010, “Karlos Mourfy” utilized for U.S. citizenship as
Ifemembi. It was granted in 2011. In 2013, he was employed by U.S. Citizenship and
Immigration Providers (USCIS), the place he labored as an immigration officer for
seven years.

Analyzing this twisted path of deceit and bureaucratic fumbles, Robert Regulation of the Middle for Immigration Research questioned:

  • How did
    immigration screeners fail to find that Ifemembi was from Nigeria and never
    Sierra Leone when he utilized for asylum?
  • How did
    USCIS fail to find the fraud when he subsequently utilized to regulate standing?
  • How did
    USCIS (underneath then-Director Alejandro Mayorkas) fail to find the fraud
    when it authorized Ifemembi’s naturalization?
  • How did
    Ifemembi move background and safety checks when USCIS employed him, once more throughout
    Mayorkas’ tenure?
  • What was
    Ifemembi’s portfolio as an immigration officer? Will all of his casework be
    reviewed?
  • Given
    Mayorkas’ “get to sure” method to immigration advantages, did the
    company’s political management overrule any purple flags recognized by
    adjudicators?
  • As
    Division of Homeland Safety (DHS) secretary, will Mayorkas be sure that
    Ifemembi is denaturalized promptly upon conviction?
  • Will the
    Biden administration deport Ifemembi?

A few of these institutional points
are past the scope of Ifemembi’s upcoming trial, however they’re all pertinent
questions that demand straight solutions and acceptable motion.