An “Answer” From DHS

I received a letter from Senator Ben Nighthorse Campbell who forwarded the response he received from US Customs and Border Protection. More specifically Richard F. Quinn, Acting Assistant Commissioner for the Office of Congressional Affairs regarding my complaint and Beate’s situation.

Unfortunately, it looks as though they didn’t do much of an investigation and failed to research the facts available to them to verify if what they are saying was true.

Here is an outline of the discrepancies:

They say that Beate mentioned in her “sworn statement” (that Barry Carter typed) that she stated she was in the United States from April 02 to April 03 and again from May 03 to August 03.

The TRUE dates (that they have record of and could have looked up if they had chosen to) are 03 April 2003 to 28 April 2003 and 16 May 2003 to 11 August 2003.

Why they try to say that she was in the US for a year is a mystery since they could look in their system or in their physical records to find the true dates. Furthermore they could verify the dates on the visa application, or by looking at the stamps in her passport. Even Barry Carter, the Agent who dealt with Beate, had no problem with the true dates she was in the States.

She never overstayed a visa or visa waiver at any time. Beate has proof that she was not in the States for a year, in fact she graduated from University in Europe in June 2002, and we didn’t get together romantically until sometime after that.

They try to make a point of Beate holding health insurance, which was paid for by me, as proof that she resides permanently in the US. It is true that Beate had a medical insurance ID card; it is not true that it showed or indicated that she was a dependant of mine. The fact that I paid to have her insured (anywhere in the world) does not say or prove that she is residing in the US, nor does it prove that she has no foreign domicile.

I have the right to pay for health insurance for anyone I choose. It’s not a crime, nor does it indicate that she lives with me. Any intelligent person with the means to has health insurance; I fail to see this as compelling evidence for anything other than good sense.

Why did it take so long to get a wrong answer based on inaccurate information to a potentially very easy investigation?

This is just ridiculous and is not over.

Does The DHS/INS/DOJ Know What The Privacy Act Is?

Pam Zubeck, the reporter from the Gazette who broke our story back in October, wrote to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and made several requests under the freedom of information act for all records pertaining to Beate’s case. She received a response from them denying the request based on the privacy act, stating that they could not release Beate’s information without a signed notarized release from Beate permitting them to release the information to Pam or the media.

A few weeks later, Pam received a package in the mail from INS/DOJ, the contents of this package where indeed everything the DHS said was protected under the privacy act. Pam now has everything the Bureau of Immigration and Border Protection photocopied and wrote about Beate including finger print cards and Beate’s diary.

When I heard that they refused to release this information to Pam I wondered why a German citizen was protected under the privacy act, but reasoned it away thinking that perhaps because it was the US Government that obtained this information from her, they had to be held to our laws….

Now I don’t know what to think except that the Department of Homeland Security is very confused or is breaking the law.

Pam is planning another story soon. Given that she now has everything the BIBP has the story should have a unique insight. I wonder if DHS, BIBP, or maybe even Barry himself will give her a statement this time….