INS Officer Demanded Sex, Money for Asylum, 2 Chinese Women Say

Two Chinese women seeking political asylum in the United States accused an INS hearing officer Friday of demanding sex and money in exchange for approving their applications.

One of the women charged that officer Thomas Powell came to her home in Monterey Park, sat on her bed, fondled her and tried to remove her clothes.

In a damage claim filed with the Justice Department, Lu Xue, 35, said that when she refused his sexual advances, Powell became angry and threatened to reject her bid for asylum. Five days later, she received an official notice denying her application.

The other woman, who was not identified, said in her damage claim that Powell came to her Los Angeles apartment, asked for money and touched her “improperly and offensively.”

While declining to comment on the allegations, INS officials said Friday that Powell has been on paid administrative leave since June 13 pending the outcome of an internal investigation.

Attempts to reach him for comment were unsuccessful.

He joined the INS as an asylum officer in 1995 after 25 years of government service, an INS spokesman said.

This is the second allegation of staff corruption to hit the Los Angeles regional INS office in the last three months. Jesse Gardona, a member of the INS anti-smuggling squad, was indicted in May on charges of collaborating with an ex-felon to free illegal immigrants from custody and ransom them to relatives in the United States. He has denied the charges.

Douglas G. Ingraham, an attorney representing Xue and the second woman, said Powell is the target of a federal criminal investigation.

He said he has been in contact with officials from the U.S. attorney’s office and the INS inspector general’s office, who indicated they had Powell under suspicion for some time.

Ingraham said he expects an indictment to be sought against Powell in the near future.

Both Women Seeking $10 Million in Damages

Assistant U.S. Atty. Michael Gennaco, who heads the federal prosecutor’s civil rights section, said he could not confirm whether a criminal probe is underway.

Both women are seeking $10 million in damages from the Immigration and Naturalization Service, charging they were subjected to sexual battery, extortion and emotional distress. The administrative claims are a first step before they can file a lawsuit against Powell and the government.

Xue said in her claim that she was first interviewed by Powell at the INS asylum office in Anaheim on Feb. 15, and that about a week later, he phoned her at home, saying he wanted to see her. She said she asked if she should come to the INS office with her lawyer and translator, but that Powell insisted on seeing her alone at her apartment.

On Feb. 26, she said, he showed up and took a seat on her bed, telling her he wanted to help her and indicating he would do so for cash.

When she said she had no money to give him, Powell began fondling her and tried to remove her clothes, saying all the while that he had the power to approve or reject her political asylum request, Xue said.

Xue attended a news conference held by Ingraham and civil rights lawyer Benjamin Schonbrun on Friday on the steps of INS headquarters in downtown Los Angeles. She did not speak, but Ingraham said she is “devastated” and “couldn’t believe that this happened to her.”

Powell’s second alleged victim was not publicly named by Ingraham. He said he feared disclosure might jeopardize a pending hearing on her asylum petition.

In her claim for damages, the unidentified woman said she was initially interviewed by Powell on May 22. About a week later, she said, Powell telephoned, arranging a meeting at her Los Angeles apartment to talk about an offer that he said must remain secret.

When he arrived on June 4, she said, he told her that her application had many problems, but that he could approve it for $2,000. Sitting beside her on a living room couch, she said, Powell “improperly and offensively touched [her] on sensitive parts of her body.” She said Powell visited her again on June 8 and again made improper sexual advances.

Ingraham said the woman paid Powell the $2,000 he demanded.