INS Isn’t Subsidizing Hermandad, Officials Say

Responding to a letter from five members of the Orange County congressional delegation, Immigration and Naturalization Service officials emphasized Friday that they do not subsidize Hermandad Mexicana Nacional or other community-based organizations that offer citizenship classes.

“We’re looking at the letter and we will be officially responding, but based on our research, it appears there is no money from INS to Hermandad,” said INS spokesman Russ Bergeron.

The letter, written by Rep. Dana Rohrabacher and signed by Christopher Cox, Ron Packard, Ed Royce and Jay C. Kim, all Republicans, said, “we are requesting that you immediately discontinue further taxpayer subsidy of this organization.”

The letter also expressed concern that the INS is planning to withdraw two agents from the Anaheim City Jail due to a lack of funds, and suggested that the agency could save money by severing ties with Hermandad.

The letter refers to allegations that Hermandad registered clients to vote at its Santa Ana office before they became citizens. The secretary of State and Orange County district attorney’s office are investigating the allegations, and seized documents and computers Tuesday from the Hermandad office in Santa Ana.

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Bergeron pointed out that the INS has stopped conducting interviews at Hermandad’s Santa Ana office pending state and local investigations into the allegations. Interviews at four other Hermandad locations in Southern California were also suspended, but the agency is now reviewing their operations to see if improper voter registration took place there.

Already interviews have resumed at Hermandad’s Perris office, and may soon be resumed at Ontario, Los Angeles and North Hollywood.

Robert K. Dornan, the former Republican congressman who lost his seat to Democrat Loretta Sanchez, contended immediately after the election that the process was tainted by fraud, including voting by noncitizens. He has asked the House of Representatives to overturn the election results.

Dornan’s complaints eventually led to the state and local investigations.

INS officers began conducting interviews at community-based nonprofit organizations such as Hermandad about two years ago, when unprecedented numbers of immigrants applied for citizenship. The outreach interviews now account for nearly one-fifth of interviews conducted by the immigration agency.

“We are extremely concerned with allegations concerning any aspect of the citizenship process and that’s why we are cooperating with the investigations that are taking place,” Bergeron said. “The bottom line on it is that we don’t give Hermandad money, and we will prepare an appropriate response to the congressmen.”

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Hermandad officials conceded that some clients voted before becoming citizens but said the problem was due to misunderstandings and their eagerness to vote. They also blamed part of the problem on a congratulatory letter given by INS officers to applicants after they passed the citizenship test, which Hermandad officials said was misleading.

In a new draft of the letter, applicants are warned in the second paragraph, “You cannot vote or register to vote until you are sworn in as a United States citizen.”

Meanwhile Friday, Hermandad officials sent a letter to the U.S. attorney’s office asking that federal investigators monitor the state and local probes.

“Many recent naturalized citizens were questioned, and the line of questioning included threats of deportation and other intimidating fear tactics on a population unfamiliar with due process,” wrote Bert Corona, the Los Angeles-based executive director of Hermandad.

“We are convinced, based on our conversations with some of the ‘victims,’ that your comprehensive review and this nontraditional extraordinary participation is the only protection available to these citizens and their psychological well-being,” Corona wrote.

“When you see the fear and look in these people’s faces, that has been instilled under color of law . . . that manifestation on injustice is patently inconsistent with Democratic principles and citizen, human and individual rights,” he said.

Dist. Atty. Michael R. Capizzi was not immediately available for comment. But he has said he is merely doing his job by investigating. He said he “is an equal-opportunity” prosecutor who investigates allegations impartially.