Department of Homeland Security officials can’t say if their program to keep foreign terrorists and criminals from getting U.S. visas is working, according to a government watchdog.
“U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is required to employ mechanisms that measure and accurately report the program’s performance to determine its value,” the DHS inspector general said in a report made public Friday.
“However, current performance measures for the Visa Security Program do not include key aspects to determine its effectiveness,” the DHS IG said.
Federal immigration enforcement officials have failed “to assure that (1) data needed to assess program performance is collected and reported, (2) consular officers receive appropriate advice and training, and (3) Visa Security Program hours are tracked and used to determine staffing and funding needs.”
The IG report was released amid growing worries about the prospect of Islamic State terrorists entering the U.S. and publicly beheading randomly selected individuals on the street.
Australian officials foiled an Islamic State of Iraq and Syria plot to do just that earlier this week, arresting 15 alleged terrorists in Sydney and Brisbane.
Terrorism experts say there could be as many as 100 U.S. citizens fighting with the Islamic State who have valid passports that could enable them to return unobstructed to this country.
There have also been media reports this week of Islamic State operatives in Mexico near the U.S. border.
The U.S. Visa Security Program was created in 2002 when Congress and President George W. Bush created DHS by consolidating 22 separate federal agencies. It is the third largest federal department, with more than 240,000 employees.
The program assigns “special agents with expertise in immigration law and counterterrorism to U.S. diplomatic posts overseas to perform visa security activities.”
The IG also expressed concern that ICE has only set up offices for the program in 20 U.S. posts overseas.
Program officials claim the VSP special agents processed more than 1.3 million visa applications in 2013.
Among the missing performance data cited by the IG was inconsistent or nonexistent reporting of how many applicant investigations were opened and closed, how many times information provided by the VSP special agents resulted in a denied application and how often their work prompted “terrorist watchlist entries, intelligence reports, investigative leads, and identification of terrorist threats and tactics.”
The IG also questioned the accuracy of reporting by special agents of their work hours: “One VSP special agent recorded a total of only 16 hours from Oct. 1, 2012, to April 30, 2013.”
Another agent reported working only 64 hours during the same seven-month period, the IG said.
Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas, who is chairman of the House Committee on Homeland Security, expressed concern about the report, saying “with the current threat of terrorists trying to enter the country, recruit fighters, and plot to harm Americans, it is more important than ever our DHS programs – such as VSP – are working as they should.”
Go here to read the full report.
Mark Tapscott is executive editor of the Washington Examiner.
