Thread: IG: DHS Officers Use as Many as 17 Different Systems to Verify Identity of Foreign Na

IG: DHS Officers Use as Many as 17 Different Systems to Verify Identity of Foreign Nationals

By Melanie Hunter
September 11, 2012
CNS News

(CNSNews.com) – Acting Inspector General for the Homeland Security Department, Charles Edwards testified before Congress Tuesday that “DHS officers at any of the 327 air, sea, or land border ports of entry have to access as many as 17 different DHS systems to verify the identity of foreign nationals and make admission decisions.”

“Some components have made progress in streamlining their systems. However, mobile devices such as use by some CBP officers and border patrol agents continue to lack adequate bandwidth and technology. This can hinder officers in the field attempting to fingerprint aliens or accessing law enforcement and immigrant databases,” Edwards said.

“In addition, longstanding mission overlap and inadequate information-sharing between CBP and ICE agents at the northern border have sometimes led to duplication of effort and concerns over officer safety,” Edwards told the House Homeland Security Subcommittee on Border and Maritime Security.

“This process is labor-intensive, and the inefficiency of using multiple data systems hinders border security officers in their efforts to verify or eliminate links to possible terrorism or other derogatory information,” Edwards said in prepared remarks.

“While CBP and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) have developed more streamlined software to conduct immigration inspections, apprehension, and enforcement, DHS officers with more complex border security caseloads still face challenges in data systems,” he added.

Edwards noted that “some ports of entry, land, and maritime border operations had unmet infrastructure needs.”

“For example,” he said, “at some land border ports of entry, limited direct access to law enforcement, intelligence, and immigration databases and high-speed Internet connections had a negative effect on the operations of these locations.”

“Some CBP Officers who conduct outbound screening – and most Border Patrol Agents in the field – use only mobile devices that lack the bandwidth and access to multiple databases that desktop terminals provide,” Edwards added.

IG: DHS Officers Use as Many as 17 Different Systems to Verify Identity of Foreign Nationals | cnsnews.com

Why should they even verify their identity? If they are not crossing at the proper area of the border they probably are not coming in here legally.
I can see it at the border gates but not in the middle of Arizona where they should not be in the first place. If they are not coming through the gates then turn them around and make sure they go back.

“For example,” he said, “at some land border ports of entry, limited direct access to law enforcement, intelligence, and immigration databases and high-speed Internet connections had a negative effect on the operations of these locations.”

Yet we can send men to the moon.

I completely agree.. Do not try to verify them. Just send them home. We can not feed or employ our own people and the bottom line is most of them are either criminals or turn to crime when they get here.
JUST SEND THEM BACK.