Monday, May 17, 2010

Another vulnerability exposed

From the NY Post:

They come here...with dreams of seeing America, looking for more permanent work, or making new friends, but instead find themselves without a job or a place to live, several students told The Post. Others drift to the more seedy side of Long Island, stripping or dealing drugs to make ends meet.

Even the successful can pose a problem, however. Many — no one knows how many, but it could number in the hundreds each year — stay in the US long after their visas expire. Critics say that’s because there’s little to no oversight of such programs.

“The inability of the federal government to identify, track, and remove foreign nationals who overstay their visas has created a serious security vulnerability that has, and will continue to be, exploited by terrorists,” said Rep. Peter King (R-LI) during a House hearing on the issue in March.

Lawmakers urged the Obama administration to restore the $22 million in the 2011 budget needed to create a centralized system to track visa overstays. The “biometric exit system” involves the collection and analysis of fingerprints and other data that is checked against a database of suspected criminals and illegal immigrants.

But for now, the system remains in limbo — and more temporary visa holders arrive every day.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

This is why terrorism is an ever growing problem. Do we have to wait until we are attacked again to take action? The government should know where all "visitors" are at all times. Failure to do this only puts us in danger.

Anonymous said...

Illegal immigrant strippers: exposing the female body parts that Americans won't expose.

Anonymous said...

The visa program is not hard to implement just the will to ever implement it is the issue.

The Democrats like it just the way it is.