House Republicans grilled Department of Homeland Security officials Tuesday morning during a subcommittee hearing after a January report revealed that more than 482,000 individuals overstayed their visas in the United States in 2015.
“Time and time again terrorist have long exploited the visa system, entering the U.S. legally,” said Rep. Martha McSally, chair of the Border and Maritime Security Subcommittee, part of the House Homeland Security Committee.
McSally, who referred to the visa program as the “porous outer ring of border security,” cited that “68 percent of those illegally in the U.S. are vote overstays” and that “historically, the primary entrance for terrorists in the U.S..”
That number is significantly greater than the 261,000 individuals who were caught by Border Patrol officers on the Mexico border. Craig Healy, assistant director for national security investigations, said, “We are not surprised.”
The hearing was held to discuss the failure of DHS on effectively establishing a “biometric exit system,” that would capture fingerprints and photos of travelers to “quickly identify and remove national security and public safety threats.”
“To terrorists travel documents are just as important as weapons,” said Rep. Lou Barletta, “it should be a priority of Congress to address this gaping loophole.”
John Wagner, deputy assistant commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, cited hurdles in establishing the proposed entry/exit systems, and said that determining “lawful status is more complicated than simply matching entry and exit data.”
“The challenge that remains isn’t so much the technology, as it is the infrastructure, our ports of entry were not designed to have department control processing,” added Wagner.
Currently, travelers leaving the U.S. by air or sea provide their information on manifest forms provides by their carrier, but when it comes to travelers coming through the border otherwise, such as by car or bus, there are limited facilities in place to gather their exit data, allowing individuals to exit the country without notice or supplying their information.
By 2018, DHS plans to implement systems that will gather fingerprints and photographs from individuals leaving the country in the highest volume airports, according to Kelli Ann Burriesci, deputy assistant secretary of the Department of Homeland Security’s Screening Coordination Office.
The hearing comes in wake of the historic terror attacks at the World Trade Center in 1993 and Sept. 11, where attackers gained entry to the United States on visas, and the recent attack at Pulse night club in Orlando that left 49 victims dead.
“What happened this weekend in Orlando was tragic. This attack is at the very least inspired by radical Islamic terrorism and once again demonstrates that radical Islam and ISIS are at war with us and want to attack our western values,” said Barletta, “One way that they will do this is through our visa programs, which can be easily exploited.”
Mahmud Abouhalima, the terrorist involved in the bombing of the World Trade Center in 1993, arrived in the U.S. on a tourist visa and would eventually overstay that visa and later be granted amnesty through the Immigration Reform and Control Act after giving false information regarding his profession, according to a report from the Center For Immigration Studies.
Additionally, Satam al Suqami and Nawaf al Hazmi, two of the Sept. 11 attackers, had also overstayed their visas according to a report from FactCheck.org.