The federal government’s system of tracking immigration status is so broken that it gives a green light to one in eight aliens who have been ordered deported, according to an audit Tuesday that found the government has gone on to approve some of those who slip through for work in sensitive areas of airports and granted them benefits such as Medicaid or food stamps.
Some of those aliens who should have been kicked out had serious criminal records, including assault and extortion convictions, according to the audit by the Homeland Security Department’s inspector general.
All told, some 800,000 immigrants are living in the U.S. who already have been ordered deported but have not yet left the country or been removed by the government.