Speech #1090098992

USVISIT has caught more than 900 murderers. pedophiles. and other dangerous criminals attempting to enter the United States. Still. the system records only a fraction of foreign arrivals and does not yet record when foreign travelers leave the country. While USVISIT is presently being used at some of the busiest border crossings. the Department has yet to deploy the tracking system at all land border ports of entry. The development of the systems exit component has also been slow. and thus our government does not yet have a reliable way of tracking visa overstays. In addition. the 9/11 Commission and other recent reports have highlighted the need for the Department to improve the interoperability of USVISIT and its other immigration screening systems to ensure that terrorists and criminals do not slip through the cracks. The Department of Homeland Security is already working on a plan to expand USVISIT and eventually track every foreign visitor entering and leaving the country. My amendment would simply require the Department to update Congress on the progress of this plan by submitting a detailed time line for equipping all land borders with the USVISIT system. developing and deploying the exit component of the system at all land borders. and making all immigration screening systems operated by the Department compatible with one another. Improving the quantity and quality of the information in USVISIT will undoubtedly enhance our ability to better track and identify potential security threats to our Nation. The Department already has a plan to do this. and my amendment will ensure that Congress is updated on the status of this important process.