US-VISIT: America's Unfinished Welcome Mat

Press Release

Today, the Majority Staff of the Committee on Homeland Security, headed Rep. Bennie G. Thompson (D-MS), Chairman of the Committee on Homeland Security, and Rep. Loretta Sanchez (D-CA), Chairwoman of the Subcommittee on Border, Maritime and Global Counterterrorism, released a report on the state of the US-VISIT program. The report analyzes the current path of US-VISIT while giving recommendations to secure our borders.

Chairman Thompson issued the following statement regarding the report:

"While we understand tracking the entry and exit of foreign nationals is no small task, the Department must take concrete steps towards deploying US-VISIT's exit capabilities before making any drastic changes to the system. Each day the Department delays implementation of a biometric entry and exit system, the nation's vulnerability to terrorist attack grows."

Chairwoman Sanchez added the following:

"Unfortunately four years after the creation of the US-VISIT, the exit component has not been implemented. Today's report signals the need for DHS to work with Congress to efficiently implement the exit component of US-VISIT to improve our nation's security, while minimizing the negative impact on international travel and commerce."

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