Senator raps visitor tracking system for failure to record exits

Senate Judiciary Homeland Security Subcommittee Chairwoman Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., rapped the Homeland Security Department Wednesday for not knowing when foreigners leave the United States, saying the flaw creates "a soft underbelly" for national security that leaves the country vulnerable to attack.

With a stern temperament during her first hearing as head of the subcommittee, Feinstein told Homeland Security officials she wants them to expedite a report to Congress on the US-VISIT foreigner tracking system.

Feinstein said the department has not incorporated into the system a way to verify when foreigners leave the country at land, air and sea ports. By law, the department is required to develop a system that uses biometric identifiers, such as fingerprints, to verify that foreigners leave the country.

Feinstein said 4.6 million people were supposed to leave the United States in 2003 under terms of their visas. "We don't know whether 4.6 million people here on a visa ... ever really followed the visa and left the country," she said.

She said that Zacarias Moussaoui, who was convicted of conspiring to kill Americans as part of the 9/11 attacks, violated the terms of his visa. She added that about one-third of visa holders overstay.

"The numbers are only going to grow," she said.

Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, said about 45 percent of illegal immigrants in the United States came into the country legally but overstayed.

Cornyn added, however, that he is not convinced an exit system will work without adequate immigration reform and law enforcement to track down those who overstay. "Even if you had the exit system up and running 100 percent, the question is: What are you going to do with that information?" he asked.

Homeland Security officials told the subcommittee they are moving toward deploying an exit tracking system that uses biometrics at air and sea ports. But they conceded that their department has stopped testing possible exit systems that could be installed at land crossings.

"Implementing biometric confirmation of the departure of travelers via land ports of entry is significantly more complicated and costly than for the air and sea environments," said Richard Barth, assistant secretary for policy development.

Barth said a land exit system would likely require infrastructure improvements, land acquisition and increased staffing. The department predicts that installing a biometrically based exit system at land crossings would cost at least $3 billion and create major traffic congestion.

Feinstein would not back down. "This to me is the typical bureaucratic argument. We can't do it because it costs too much," she said. "I think this is a real national security issue and hopefully somehow that will get through."

She said the department should consider placing a chip that uses radio frequency identification technology into I-94 forms. The documents are given to travelers when they enter the United States and are supposed to be returned by travelers when they leave the country.

But critics point out that attaching RFID to an I-94 form is not the same as using biometrics, and would only tell the government when the form has left the country, not the person who was given the form.