Mariya Chernykh, the Russian immigrant whose husband was a co-conspirator in the December 2015 San Bernardino terrorist shooting that killed 14 and seriously injured 22, admitted that her marriage to Enrique Marquez was a sham. Marquez is an Islam convert who purchased two of the guns used in the slaughter.
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| Mariya Chernykh, marriage fraudster linked to San Bernardino massacre. |
Chernykh, who overstayed her three-month J-1 visa, paid Marquez to marry her so she could get legal residency status. Under a plea agreement she made with prosecutors, Chernykh, an asylum applicant, could be sentenced to 20 years in prison and ordered to pay $1 million in fines.
The ugly Chernykh case, with its link to terrorism, gives President Trump new targets to include in his immigration overhaul. First, the J-1 visa should, as CAPS has repeatedly stated, be eliminated. The J, issued to students to allegedly participate in international study and work programs, is fraud-ridden, and displaces young Americans looking for summer employment.
Trump must also crack down on the thousands of annual phony marriages between aliens and citizens. A primary target should be the shameless Internet mail-order bride business that earns millions for its operators, but allows fiancées to come to the United States virtually unrestricted. Pakistan-born Tashfeen Malik, one of the San Bernardino murderers, arrived in the U.S. from Saudi Arabia on a K-1 fiancée visa.
Trump’s recent executive actions prove he’s serious about immigration enforcement. While he’s at it, Trump should end the J and K visas, as well as instruct General John Kelly’s Department of Homeland Security to more vigorously pursue and prosecute marriage fraud.