Report criticizes official who helped Dems with visa program

FILE - In this July 25, 2013 file photo, Alejandro Mayorkas, then-President Obama's nominee to become deputy secretary of the Homeland Security Department, testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington. A new inspector general’s report has concluded that Mayorkas, now the No. 2 official at the Homeland Security Department improperly intervened on behalf of foreign investors. It happened in three cases involving the U.S. government soliciting foreign investments in exchange for American visas. Investigators said Tuesday that his involvement created the appearance of favoritism and special access. The investigation could not suggest a motive for his involvement. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File) FILE - In this July 25, 2013 file photo, Alejandro Mayorkas, then-President Obama's nominee to become deputy secretary of the Homeland Security Department, testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington. A new inspector general’s report has concluded that Mayorkas, now the No. 2 official at the Homeland Security Department improperly intervened on behalf of foreign investors. It happened in three cases involving the U.S. government soliciting foreign investments in exchange for American visas. Investigators said Tuesday that his involvement created the appearance of favoritism and special access. The investigation could not suggest a motive for his involvement. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)

By Associated Press March 25, 2015 1 min read

WASHINGTON (AP) – When influential Democrats with stakes in different investment groups needed help securing visas as part of a complicated foreign investor program, they sought out a fellow Democrat. That Democrat happened to be in charge of the immigration agency overseeing their applications.

A report by the Homeland Security Department’s inspector general says the head of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services at the time, Homeland Security Deputy Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, improperly intervened in three cases involving prominent Democrats.

One of the cases involved a company run by the youngest brother of likely Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton.

The report released Tuesday doesn’t accuse Mayorkas of violating any laws. Mayorkas says he disagrees with the findings but that he will learn from the report and from the process.