Via FCW.com
02/13/2006

The honeymoon appears to be over for the Homeland Security Department’s system for spotting criminal aliens when they cross U.S. borders.

For the past three years, the U.S. Visitor and Immigrant Status Indicator Technology program had escaped much of the criticism other DHS programs received. Congress generally praised the program’s progress since its creation in 2003 in response to the 2001 terrorist attacks. The 9/11 Public Discourse Project, successor to the 9/11 Commission, gave US-VISIT a B, the highest grade it gave to any DHS program, when its members issued a final report last December.

Last month, however, the Senate Appropriations Committee’s Homeland Security Subcommittee and the Government Accountability Office said they had concerns about whether US-VISIT is effective and well-managed.