[Peace-discuss] Little Brother is peeping

[C. G. Estabrook]

How DHS will track down 757,000 aliens
By Michael Protos
Jul 26, 2011

The Homeland Security Department needs to track down more than 700,000 foreign 
visitors who have overstayed their visas, a DHS official testified.
Collaboration with the intelligence community and other agencies will be 
critical to identifying security threats among those foreign visitors, Rand 
Beers, undersecretary of DHS’ National Protection and Programs Directorate and 
coordinator for counterterrorism, told the Senate Homeland Security and 
Governmental Affairs Committee.

According to Beers’ testimony, posted on DHS’ website, DHS is prioritizing its 
investigations of visitors who have overstayed their official welcome through 
the Advanced Targeting System, which the U.S. Customs and Border Protection 
agency manages. Beers said the system reveals background information about the 
visitors, which DHS uses in conjunction with data from intelligence community 
resources to figure out which visitors the department needs to track down first.

Beers’ testimony follows up an April report by the Government Accountability 
Office that states that as many 1.6 million foreign visitors have overstayed 
their visa. Beers said DHS found 843,000 of those visitors and confirmed that 
they have left the United States or have received a change in their visa status.

Beers also testified that DHS is working to integrate tracking systems that help 
the department and intelligence community identify national security threats, 
which is one of the urgent needs that the terrorist attacks of 2001 exposed.

About the Author
Michael Protos is a web content editor with 1105 Government Information Group.

http://fcw.com/articles/2011/07/26/dhs-tracks-down-757000-foreign-visitors.aspx