Uptick in Foreign Influence Cases in Security Clearance Denials

I have noticed an uptick in the number of Defense Office of Hearing and Appeals cases involving foreign influence. It could be a coincidence, but I suspect it is not, considering the current political environment regarding the focus on foreign nationals living in the United States and Department of Homeland Security deportations. Here is a sampling of a few recent cases where the applicant was denied security clearance eligibility based on foreign influence and other issues present.

• The applicant is a naturalized citizen from El Salvador. He has a wife and six kids who still live there whom he goes to visit twice a month. The wife and children are not U.S. citizens. He also has been delinquent on student loans since 2018 and omitted required information on his SF-86. The DoD also put forth evidence that the applicant may be associated with MS-13, a transnational criminal organization. Clearance eligibility was denied.

• This applicant retired from service with the U.S. Air Force and was married with children. He engaged in an affair with a woman in Niger while working there and provided her with monetary support for a few years. He also engaged in another affair later on with a woman in Belize, whom he met while on vacation there with his spouse. He also provided monetary support to this woman. The applicant claimed that he told his spouse about both affairs and that they had reconciled. The DOHA judge noted the Niger indisivual has extensive issues with terrorist organizations and militants operating in their country. Clearance eligibility was denied.

The nature of a nation’s government, its relationship with the United States, and its human rights record are relevant in assessing the likelihood that an applicant’s family members are vulnerable to government coercion. The risk of coercion, persuasion, or duress is significantly greater if the foreign country has an authoritarian government, a family member is associated with or dependent upon the government, or the country is known to conduct intelligence operations against the United States. The clearances were denied based on these factors.