DHS Inspector General Report Warns Administration’s Screening Efforts Are Not ‘Fully Effective’.
A recent Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Office of Inspector General report revealed that the Biden administration “needs to improve its screening and vetting of non-citizens and asylum seekers applying for admission to the United States.”
The DHS released this report on June 7, detailing the results of its audit of the vetting process for illegal immigrants who were released into the interior of the country.
“Varied and Inconsistent Inspection Procedures”
The report stated, “We conducted this audit to determine the effectiveness and efficiency of DHS technology, procedures, and coordination for screening and vetting asylum seekers and non-citizens.”
The audit revealed that DHS procedures “were ineffective in screening and vetting non-citizens who applied for admission into the United States, or asylum seekers with pending applications for a long period.”
The report noted that Customs and Border Protection (CBP) “cannot access all federal data required to complete the screening and vetting of illegal aliens.” It also revealed that CBP lacked the necessary technology to perform biometric matching at land entry ports and had implemented “varied and sometimes inconsistent inspection procedures.”
During its investigation, the Inspector General’s Office found that Border Patrol agents at three land entry ports “did not query all vehicle passengers in Simplified Arrival for criminal warrants, security concerns, or past border crossings before admitting them to the country.” The report stated that management “frequently instructed” the officers to “question only drivers to expedite processing.”
Additionally, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) did not conduct “timely screenings of more than 400,000 affirmative asylum seekers who applied for asylum between October 2017 and March 2023.”
The report stated that the department had not implemented “a dedicated procedure or comprehensive technological solution to perform an interim screening of asylum seekers whose cases have not been adjudicated within the required 180-day timeframe.” As a result, USCIS might not be able to identify illegal aliens who have “derogatory information” and are already living in the U.S.
The Inspector General report made five recommendations, concluding that DHS should address these issues or risk “allowing dangerous people into the country” or allowing asylum seekers to remain in the United States who could pose a significant threat to public safety or national security.
DHS has responded to the report by announcing that it will implement a “biometric automated entry and exit system” for CBP. The department agreed with the Inspector General’s recommendations for improving vetting processes.
