There is always so much to write about and so little time. This story is over a week old, but better late then never.
We told you some time ago that there was a whole industry developing around the Asylum business. Asylees basically either got into the US illegally or present themselves at some port of entry as an asylee. An asylee is someone who is afraid if he or she returns to their home country they will in some way be persecuted and in danger. If granted asylum, the immigrant can avail himself of all the perks and privileges of the refugee program.
Last year Patrick Tzeuton was indicted for falsifying documents of clients who sought asylum and earlier this month he was convicted. Tzeuton himself is from Africa and most of his clients were as well. From the Washington Post:
A Silver Spring lawyer was convicted in federal court yesterday on charges of fabricating asylum applications for immigrants trying to stay in the United States.
Patrick G. Tzeuton, 42, who is from Cameroon and worked with many people from West Africa, signed off on clients’ fraudulent paperwork and coached them to lie during interviews with immigration lawyers, prosecutors said.
During a four-week trial in U.S. District Court in Greenbelt, prosecutors alleged that Tzeuton carried out the scheme from 2002 to 2005.
Tzeuton was taken into custody after the jury’s verdict and is scheduled to be sentenced April 29 by Judge Peter J. Messitte. Tzeuton faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison for conspiracy, 10 years for immigration fraud and 20 years for obstruction of official proceedings.
More information on how Tzeuton perpetrated the fraud is here, at a Dept. of Justice press release at the time of his indictment.
Defendants Allegedly Coached Aliens to Tell False Stories of Fear of Persecution
Tzeuton operated a law firm known as the Law Offices of Patrick Tzeuton & Associates (the “Tzeuton Law Firm”) located at 8121 Georgia Avenue, Suite 102 in Silver Spring and 8401 Colesville Road also in Silver Spring, which employed Henri Nzone as a legal assistant. Tzeuton represented hundreds of clients as an attorney in immigration matters before U.S. immigration officials.
According to the 15 count indictment, from May 2002 to at least October 2005, Tzeuton and Nzone prepared false asylum applications, together with false and fraudulent supporting affidavits and documents, and presented them to the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS), U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), and the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR). The asylum applications contained false statements regarding (1) the alleged basis for the alien’s fear of future persecution in his or her home country; (2) the date and circumstances of the alien’s entries into the United States; and (3) the alien’s marital status, spouse, and children. In addition, Nzone translated and notarized false and fraudulent letters purporting to be from the alien’s relatives and other witnesses; and included false and fraudulent documents bearing forged notary stamps and signatures.
Ironically Tzeuton is quoted in a Washington Post story from 2005 saying he welcomed more scrutiny of the growing Immigration Consultant business.
Now, here is one of the questions I have, what happens to all those asylees Tzeuton coached to lie and were then granted the right to stay in the United States. Do they get prosecuted for immigration fraud or do they just get to stay?
And, here is the other question. How many Patrick Tzeutons are out there? We granted asylum to 81,183 asylees in 2007 alone. How many of those were legitimate?