Rendell Intervened with Immigration Official

By Walter F. Roche Jr.

Former Pennsylvania Gov. Edward G. Rendell personally intervened with a top immigration official in behalf of a California firm seeking approval of a multimillion dollar foreign investment deal for a film company.
Rendell's intervention, which had immediate positive results, was detailed in a length report issued Tuesday by the Inspector General in the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. The report charges that in three separate cases, a top immigration official reversed actions by career staffers involved in running the investor visa program.
The report concludes that the three reversals followed personal pleas by politically connected investors.
Under the controversial program, foreign investors can get green cards by investing as little as $500,000 in a U.S. business.
Rendell, according to the report, contacted Alejandro Mayorkas on July 15, 2011 seeking reconsideration of the rejection of applications under the EB5 investor visa program for the Los Angeles Films Regional Center. Though he has since  been promoted to deputy secretary, Mayorkas at the time was director of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, which administers the program.
Even though he was on vacation at the time he got Rendell's call, Mayorkas immediately ordered a halt to denials of applications by individual foreign investors, the IG found.
"Within an hour of the Rendell phone call, Mr. Mayorkas directed the California Service Center to reopen LA Films denials and to stop processing any more denials," the 99-page report states.
The report notes that Rendell had had prior dealings with Mayorkas regarding an application for the same program involving the Philadelphia Industrial Development Commission.
The company involved in the Philadelphia deal, CanAm Enterprises, was headed by Tom Rosenfeld, who also headed the Los Angeles Film group.
According to the report staffers were surprised by Mayorkas order because it conflicted with decisions issued in virtually identical cases.
Following the 2011 phone call between Mayorkas and Rendell, the two had another conversation on Sept. 13, 2012 regarding the film application and in early 2013 an email from Rendell was forwarded to Mayorkas. Mayorkas subsequently had direct dealings with Rosenfeld by phone and email, despite staff advice that such communications were inappropriate.
Ultimately the applications were all approved over the protests of staffers who already had prepared a draft denial.
One staffer told the IG "the appearance of impropriety was overwhelming."



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