Popular Publications:

Overview

Through the exploitation of a flawed U.S. immigration system, terrorists are threatening U.S. national security. Approximately two-thirds of terrorists caught in the United States have engaged in some form of immigration fraud. Most frequently, it is fraudulent requests for marriage in order to gain permanent resident or naturalized citizen status, or an overstayer on a temporary non-immigrant visa. Additionally, the two-thirds of terrorists who engaged in immigration fraud committed more than one immigration violation.

The terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, affected perspectives on many issues, including immigration. A total of 20 foreign-born terrorists were involved, 19 of whom took part in the attack that resulted in nearly 3,000 deaths. The terrorists had entered the country on tourist or student visas. Four of them, however, had overstayed their visas and become illegal aliens and the others should not have been granted visas for various immigration control reasons. The attack exposed long-standing holes in our immigration system that included failures at visa processing, internal enforcement, and information sharing.

One of those failures was associated with the Visa Waiver Program; a program that allows citizens of certain countries to travel to the U.S. for up to 90 days without a visa. Suspected September 11th terrorist, Zacarias Moussaoui, entered the U.S. under the Visa Waiver Program. The program was established in 1986, to help boost the economy through tourism with reduced border controls and easier entry processes, due to a shortened screening process. However, the program has since resulted in several points of concern due to its lack of security and resources.

To counter some of these concerns, DHS established US-VISIT, which mandated that visa waiver passports as well as issued visas include biometric technology. The technology includes taking an individual’s fingerprints and photograph, then comparing them to a database of terrorists and criminals. The Department of Homeland Security has summarized their current strategy as “Keeping America’s Doors Open and Our Nation Secure.” In spite of this, the biggest risk with US-VISIT is its inability to track individuals once they enter the U.S. and overstay their visa. Of the 11 to 12 million illegal immigrants currently in the U.S., between 27 and 57 percent are estimated visa overstays. The inability of US-VISIT to track individuals jeopardizes the security added by using biometric technology.

All Related Publications: