GAO – Challenges Facing US-VISIT Program

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) issued a report on strategic, operational, and technological challenges facing the US-VISIT program. It states that federal officials have concluded that, for various reasons, a biometric US-VISIT exit capability cannot now be implemented without incurring a major impact on land ports-of-entry facilities. The system recorded 61 million aliens entering the country and only 4 million departing. Radio frequency identification (RFID) tags are embedded on visitors’ departure forms, but in a recent test, monitoring devices correctly identified only 14% of exiting vehicles with such tags. Billions of dollars have been expended and more will be needed to make this work. Note: The government is learning, albeit belatedly, that technology is not free and is not a panacea. Similar problems exist with the TWIC program. Remember, Congress established both the goal and the means to be used in its accomplishment, as well as the budget. Source: HK Law