Indictments for Shredding INS Documents
Posted Feb 07, 2003

A fear shared by those who are required to submit filings to the INS is the nightmare that the papers will somehow be lost or just disappear. With the long backlogs that are standard, it sometimes seems as if the file surely must be lost, misplaced, or destroyed. In California, between the months of February 2002 to April 2002, workers at the INS data processing center in Laguna Niguel, California decided that making liberal use of the shredder could easily reduce backlogs and realized this fear for many. The two workers allegedly in charge of the shredding operation were indicted on federal criminal charges related to the shredding.

The indictment alleges a scheme that resulted in the destruction of 90,000 documents. Included were INS applications and supporting documentation such as marriage and birth certificates. According to the indictment, a file room manager ordered the document shredding. Her order was allegedly directed to a file room supervisor as well as lower level workers. At the time of the order in February 2002, the backlog was at a level of approximately 90,000 cases. A month later, the backlog disappeared. Even with this reduction, the person responsible for the initial order allegedly directed the continued destruction of incoming filings.

The two under indictment were not INS employees. The file room in Laguna Niguel was operated by a private, third-party contractor under INS supervision. The individuals were both charged with conspiracy and five counts of willfully destroying documents with the INS. The maximum penalty for conspiracy is 5 years in prison; each of the counts of "willfully destroying" carries a maximum 3-year penalty. No INS official has been charged or implicated in this matter. It does not appear that these problems extended beyond the California Service Center or beyond the timeframe of February 2002 to April 2002. There does not appear to be any reason for concern with respect to currently pending cases.

As reported in the MurthyBulletin and on MurthyDotCom, efforts were made to avoid adverse consequences to persons whose materials were shredded. Refer to our June 28, 2002 article, AILA 2002 Conference Report - CSC Update. When the problems were discovered, the INS opened a hotline. According to the INS most of the lost files have been reconstructed. Special consideration was given to persons with documents that could not be replaced.

In response to this fiasco, the INS has increased mailroom oversight. We certainly hope that all appropriate security measures have been put into place and that this case will serve to dissuade from similar actions any other person entrusted with important immigration documents. These files represent lives and futures and should be treated with great care.