Hearst Newspapers
WASHINGTON -- The Department of Homeland Security's program for identifying illegal immigrants and terrorists is unable to locate foreign nationals inside the U.S. or determine if they ever leave the country, a senior homeland-security official said Friday.
The DHS's $1.7 billion United States Visitor and Immigrant Status Indicator Technology (US-VISIT) program is responsible for documenting all foreign travelers through use of fingerprints and digital photographs, as well as checking their names against criminal records and watch lists of suspected terrorists.
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Rep. Harold Rogers, R-Ky., said it should be easy to verify when someone leaves the country.
"If Wal-Mart can tie together 2,000 stores with probably 20,000 checkout stations, and they can instantaneously tell you whether your credit's good by swiping your card and checking with some sources —if they can install a system like that, why can't the U.S. government?" Rogers asked Mocny. "Is it that complicated?"
Posted by tyne at February 17, 2007