The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Inspector General has released a report on the screening and vetting of people (illegally) crossing our southern border. While the report includes steps taken by DHS to improve the process, on the whole, this doesn’t look very good. Fox News correspondent Bill Melugin, on X, presents a summary:
NEW: A concerning new report from the DHS Inspector General concludes:
– DHS has not been effectively screening non-citizens & asylum seekers
– CBP can’t access all federal data to complete thorough screening & vetting
– “DHS will remain at risk of admitting dangerous persons… pic.twitter.com/0Hw6IyVy3I— Bill Melugin (@BillMelugin_) June 12, 2024
The full post reads:
NEW: A concerning new report from the DHS Inspector General concludes: – DHS has not been effectively screening non-citizens & asylum seekers – CBP can’t access all federal data to complete thorough screening & vetting –
“DHS will remain at risk of admitting dangerous persons into the country or enabling asylum seekers who may pose significant threats to public safety and national security to continue to reside in the United States,” until these challenges are addressed.
In response to the report, DHS concurred with all five recommendations the OIG made to begin trying to fix the problem.
The risk of admitting dangerous persons is key, and as a matter of record, this has already happened. While we have no idea how many dangerous persons are here in the country already, we know they are here, and we know that at least some of them have ties to known terror groups.
Previously on RedState: Eight Suspected Terrorists With Ties to ISIS Nabbed in Three Separate Cities – All Were ‘Fully Vetted’
ACLU Sues Biden Administration to Stop Border Executive Action
The Inspector General, in the report, summarized the findings thusly:
The Department of Homeland Security’ s technology, procedures, and coordination were not fully effective to screen and vet non citizens applying for admission into the United States or asylum seekers whose asylum applications were pending for an extended period. Although U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP ) deployed new technologies to enhance traveler screening, it could not access all Federal data necessary to enable complete screening and vetting of noncitizens seeking admission into the United States
“Not fully effective” is a polite way, it would seem, of saying “an utter shambles.” The problem is this: The screening and vetting process, all too often, depends on what records an illegal immigrant’s home country has on them, as well as on information provided by the person himself. It’s unclear how much (if any) federal data would exist on a person who has only just entered the United States unless that person is a known member of a gang or terror group or on some other international watch list:
In addition, CBP used varied and sometimes inconsistent inspection procedures for travelers arriving in vehicles at land ports of entry. Finall y, CBP does not have the technology to perform biometric matching on travelers arriving in vehicles at land ports of entry.
“Varied and sometimes inconsistent,” we may well presume, is a polite way of saying that the Border Patrol and other border officials are undermanned and overwhelmed, that the situation on our southern border has exploded beyond any hope of control, and that there are no plans within the current administration to do anything about it.
There is, of course, an obvious solution. Close the border. The people in question are entering the United States illegally. There is a process for applying for a visa, there is a process for applying for political asylum; those procedures should be followed, or else, no entry. Yes, illegal border crossers will still be a problem; this has been a problem as long as there have been nations and those nations have had borders. But current practices incentivize the illegal entries; they know precisely the words to say when they arrive to ensure they will be allowed in, handed a plane ticket and a phone, and given a court date to appear a year, two years, or five years later to have their asylum claim adjudicated. Those people will then disappear, with no intent whatsoever of appearing at any immigration court.
The Biden administration seems to be willfully resisting any substantive action to deal with this crisis. That leaves the only possible solution to this situation: the November election. The current situation cannot continue. We know bad actors have already entered the country due to this policy weakness. As long as the border remains open, the danger grows, every day, and sooner or later, Americans will have to deal with the unpleasant consequences.
