VISA REVOCATIONS: CATCHING THE TERRORISTS AMONG US HEARING BEFORE THE SUBCOMMITTEE ON NATIONAL SECURITY, RELATIONS OF THE COMMITTEE ON GOVERNMENT REFORM HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES ONE HUNDRED EIGHTH CONGRESS FIRST SESSION JUNE 18, 2003 Serial No. 108-84 Printed for the use of the Committee on Government Reform Available via the World Wide Web: http://www.gpo.gov/congress/house http://www.house.gov/reform 91-049 PDF U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE WASHINGTON 2004 For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office COMMITTEE ON GOVERNMENT REFORM DAN BURTON, Indiana TOM DAVIS, Virginia, Chairman CHRISTOPHER SHAYS, Connecticut RON LEWIS, Kentucky JO ANN DAVIS, Virginia TODD RUSSELL PLATTS, Pennsylvania ADAM H. PUTNAM, Florida JOHN J. DUNCAN, JR., Tennessee CANDICE S. MILLER, Michigan WILLIAM J. JANKLOW, South Dakota HENRY A. WAXMAN, California JOHN F. TIERNEY, Massachusetts DIANE E. WATSON, California STEPHEN F. LYNCH, Massachusetts CHRIS VAN HOLLEN, Maryland LINDA T. SANCHEZ, California C.A. "DUTCH" RUPPERSBERGER, Maryland ELEANOR HOLMES NORTON, District of Columbia JIM COOPER, Tennessee CHRIS BELL, Texas BERNARD SANDERS, Vermont (Independent) LL CONTENTS Ford, Jess T., Director, International Affairs and Trade Division, U.S. General Accounting Office; Catherine Barry, Managing Director, Office of Visa Services, Bureau of Consular Affairs, U.S. Department of State; Jayson P. Ahern, Assistant Commissioner, Office of Field Operations, Bureau of Customs and Border Protection, U.S. Department of Home- land Security; Charles H. DeMore, Interim Assistant Director for Inves- tigations, Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, U.S. De- partment of Homeland Security; and Steven C. McCraw, Inspector Deputy Assistant Director of Intelligence, Federal Bureau of Investiga- Letters, statements, etc., submitted for the record by: Ahern, Jayson P., Assistant Commissioner, Office of Field Operations, Bureau of Customs and Border Protection, U.S. Department of Home- Information concerning improved Visa revocation and TIPOFF proce- Barry, Catherine, Managing Director, Office of Visa Services, Bureau of Consular Affairs, U.S. Department of State, prepared statement DeMore, Charles H., Interim Assistant Director for Investigations, Bu- reau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, U.S. Department of Homeland Security, prepared statement of Ford, Jess T., Director, International Affairs and Trade Division, U.S. Grassley, Hon. Charles E., a Representative in Congress from the State Maloney, Hon. Carolyn B., a Representative in Congress from the State McCraw, Steven C., Inspector Deputy Assistant Director of Intelligence, Federal Bureau of Investigation, prepared statement of Shays, Hon. Christopher, a Representative in Congress from the State (III) VISA REVOCATIONS: CATCHING THE TERRORISTS AMONG US WEDNESDAY, JUNE 18, 2003 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, SUBCOMMITTEE ON NATIONAL SECURITY, EMERGING COMMITTEE ON GOVERNMENT REFORM, Washington, DC. The subcommittee met, pursuant to notice, at 12:17 p.m., in room 2154, Rayburn House Office Building, Hon. Christopher Shays (chairman of the subcommittee) presiding. Present: Representatives Shays, Janklow, Kucinich, Maloney, Sanchez, and Bell. Staff present: Lawrence Halloran, staff director and counsel; J. Vincent Chase, chief investigator; R. Nicholas Palarino, senior policy advisor; Thomas Costa and Kristine McElroy, professional staff members; Robert A. Briggs, clerk; Chris Skaluba, fellow; David Rapallo, minority counsel; Earley Green, minority chief clerk; and Cecelia Morton, minority office manager. Mr. SHAYS. Good morning. A quorum being present, the_Subcommittee on National Security, Emergency Threats and International Relations hearing entitled, "Visa Revocations: Catching the Terrorists Among Us" is called to order. We are a welcoming Nation. But those from around the world who would visit the United States must ask permission to come here. They apply for a visa. When they do, we have the sovereign right, and the sworn duty, to deny entry to anyone who might pose a threat to our security. Today we ask: If a visa is issued erroneously, or before disqualifying information on possible terrorist connections is obtained, what happens then? The answer: Too little. Revocation of a visa remains a trifurcated bureaucratic shuffle with little imperative for corrective action. The Departments of State, Homeland Security, referred to as DHS, and Justice bring disparate practices, informal customs, and clashing cultures to what should be a seamless process. As a result, one available screen against potentially violent invaders remains dangerously porous, leaving Americans avoidably vulnerable to terror ists in our midst. In an earlier report on visa screening as an antiterrorism tool, the General Accounting Office [GAO], found some aliens, whose visas had been revoked on terrorism grounds, might have entered the United States anyway. So the subcommittee, joined by Senator Charles Grassley of Iowa, asked GAO to look more closely at the (1) |