Can you believe it, she lied to get into the US as a refugee! I’m just shocked!
This is the case (perhaps the end of the many cases) of Beatrice Munyenyezi a refugee from Rwanda resettled in NH who it turns out was involved in the Hutu slaughter of Tutsis in her native Rwanda.
Here are our previous reports on the case(s). Although its not mentioned in today’s story, this was reported in the article I posted on in April 2012 (trial cost millions!):
Two witnesses testified she killed people, including a nun, shooting the nun herself after ordering her to be raped.
And here is the latest news on the sentencing from the Huffington Post (hat tip: Michael):
CONCORD, N.H. — A federal judge on Monday sentenced a New Hampshire woman to the maximum 10 years in prison for lying about her role in the 1994 Rwanda genocide, saying the United States cannot be a haven for those who slaughter out of hatred and ignorance.
Rwanda native Beatrice Munyenyezi declined her right to address the court after U.S. District Judge Steven McAuliffe imposed her sentence.
Munyenyezi, 43, was convicted in February of entering the United States and securing citizenship by lying about her role as a commander of one of the notorious roadblocks where Tutsis were singled out for slaughter. She also denied affiliation with any political party, despite her husband’s leadership role in the extremist Hutu militia party.
“She was not a mere spectator,” McAuliffe said. “I find this defendant was actively involved, actively participated, in the mass killing of men, women and children simply because they were Tutsis.”
McAuliffe acknowledged she has led a crime-free and productive life since her arrival in New Hampshire in 1998 but said it was a life lived under false pretenses. [Really! Read on below!—ed]
[….]
McAuliffe said she effectively stole a citizenship slot away from a deserving refugee, possibly one who also had daughters and was a victim of violence and persecution. Munyenyezi took the oath of citizenship a decade ago in the very same courthouse where she was sentenced. McAuliffe stripped her of that citizenship when she was convicted.
Why should US taxpayers take care of her in prison for ten years if she is going to be deported—just deport her now!
Federal prosecutors had sought the maximum prison sentence, saying she’s as guilty as if she wielded the machete herself.
[….]
Once Munyenyezi serves her prison sentence, she could be deported to Rwanda – a fate her lawyers said would be tantamount to a death sentence.
She flat-out lied!
Prosecutors maintained that she was a liar who “gamed” the immigration system to fraudulently obtain the “golden ticket” of citizenship. She swore on immigration and naturalization forms that she persecuted no one, had no affiliation with any political party and even cast herself as a victim of the genocide by saying family members “disappeared.”
They didn’t disappear in the way you might think.
Munyenyezi’s husband, Arsene Shalom Ntahobali and his mother were convicted of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes of violence and are serving life sentences. [Presumably in Rwanda and not at US taxpayer expense!—ed]
[….]
Munyenyezi’s sister was convicted last summer in Boston on charges of fraudulently obtaining a visa to enter the United States by lying about her own Hutu political party affiliations.
The judge did say (above) that Munyenyezi had a “productive life” in the US. How productive?
Before long, she had a $13-an-hour job working for the city’s housing authority. Her children were enrolled in Catholic school and she attended college and earned an associate’s degree. She financed a comfortable lifestyle through mortgages, loans and credit cards – only to file for bankruptcy in 2008 and have about $400,000 in debt discharged.
The next time someone assures you that refugees are thoroughly screened before entering the US, don’t believe it! And, ask them exactly why is it the responsibility of America to get involved in these civil wars in the first place by bringing some of the participants to your towns and cities! Or, have we run out of destitute Americans who need help?
Photo: Beatrice walked free (temporarily) from the Court House in 2012. To her left is her sister who was convicted of immigration fraud. The woman ‘of the cloth’ in pink is not identified. Concord Monitor photo.