Port workers, longshoremen, truckers and others at the ports of , and will begin enrolling individuals in the Department of Homeland Security's Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC) program. The program's goal is to ensure that any individual who has unescorted access to secure areas of port facilities and vessels has received a thorough background check and is not a security threat. Nationwide, more than 1 million workers with unescorted access to secure areas will apply in 2008.
Enrollment launch dates and locations are:
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April 23
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621
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Hours of Operation
M-F: 8 a.m.- 5 p.m.
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April 30
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6000 Broadway,
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Hours of Operation
M-F: 8 a.m.- 5 p.m.
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May 1
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TWIC Enrollment Center
Brazos Mall 100 Hwy 332
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Hours of Operation
M-F: 8 a.m.- 5 p.m.
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, and are among the ports that have begun enrollment in the nationwide program. Ultimately, TSA will establish fixed enrollment centers at 147 ports and will deploy mobile enrollment centers to dozens of other locations as needed.
Workers at the ports are able to pre-enroll for TWIC online at www.tsa.gov/twic or the Coast Guard's Homeport site, http://homeport.uscg.mil. Pre-enrolling speeds up the process by allowing workers to provide biographic information and schedule a time to complete the application process in person. This eliminates waiting at enrollment centers and reduces the time it takes to enroll each individual.