Yellow Card: Enforcing Immigration
IMPLEMENT THE BIOMETRIC ENTRY/EXIT VISA TRACKING PROGRAM
“Will you implement the biometric Entry/Exit Visa system mandated by law?”
Background
According to government estimates, as many as 40 percent of the illegal immigrants currently in the United States are foreign visitors who arrived legally, with entry visas in hand, but who chose not to leave when their visas expired.
Knowing which foreign visitors are inside the United States at any given time is an important part of immigration control, with a significant impact on national security. Tracking both arrivals and departures is crucial – without departure tracking, there is no way to know if or when foreign visitors have left as they were required to by the terms of their visa.
The 2013 Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act included language mandating the establishment and implementation of a comprehensive biographic (such as names or passport numbers) and biometric (such as photos or fingerprints) entry/exit visa tracking system.
For More Information
Center for Immigration Studies: Implementation of an Entry-Exit System