The Biden team “needs to strengthen its screening of asylum seekers applying for entry into the United States,” according to a recent assessment from the Office of Inspector General at the Department of Homeland Security.
In a report dated June 7, the audit findings of the DHS’s vetting processes for undocumented immigrants allowed into the interior of the nation were made public.
“A varied and perhaps uneven inspection process.”
The study stated, “We carried out this audit to ascertain the efficacy of DHS’s technology, protocols, and coordination to screen and vet noncitizens and asylum claimants.”
“It was not entirely effective to screen and vet noncitizens applying for entry into the US or asylum seekers whose applications were pending for an extended period,” according to the audit’s findings about the DHS’s procedures.
It stated that in order to facilitate thorough screening and vetting of undocumented immigrants, Customs and Border Protection is not able to “access all Federal data necessary.” The audit also disclosed that CBP has employed “varied and sometimes inconsistent inspection processes” and lacks the equipment necessary to perform biometric matching at land ports of entry.
At three land ports of entry, Border Patrol agents “did not look into all vehicle occupants to identify warrants, national security issues, or border crossing history before they admited them into the country,” the inspector general’s office discovered during its investigation. ” The investigation stated that the officers claimed that management “often directed” them to “query only drivers to speed processing.”
“Timely screenings of over 400,000 asylum applicants who filed between Oct. 2017 and March 2023” were another thing that US Citizenship and Immigration Services did not perform.
A “dedicated mechanism or comprehensive technology solution to execute interim screening of asylum seekers whose applications were not adjudicated within the required 180-day period” has not been put in place by the agency, according to the study. Therefore, if an illegal alien is already living in the United States, USCIS may not be able to identify them “with negative information.”
Asserting that the DHS “will be at risk of admitting dangerous people into the nation or enabling asylum seekers who may pose great threats to national security to continue to reside in the US,” the inspector general report concluded, offering five recommendations.
In response to the report, the DHS announced that CBP will be able to utilize an “automated biometric entrance and exit system.” The inspector general made many recommendations to enhance the vetting process, all of which the department agreed with.
