Good morning Chairman Shays and members of the Subcommittee. Thank
you for the opportunity to discuss the missions and objectives of the
Terrorist Screening Center (TSC) as they relate to the visa revocation
process.
Homeland Security
Presidential Directive 6 (HSPD-6), issued on September 16, 2003,
ordered the creation of the TSC, directing its operations to begin
on December 1, 2003. The TSC was created to consolidate the United
States Government’s approach to screening for known and
suspected terrorists and to provide for the appropriate and lawful
use of terrorist information in this process. The TSC ensures that
government investigators, screeners, federal agents, and state and
local law enforcement officers have ready access to the information
and expertise they need in order to respond quickly when a known or
suspected terrorist is encountered here in the United States, at our
borders and at our embassies. Today, I will tell you about our daily
operations as they relate to the U.S. Department of State and the TSC’s
role in the visa revocation process. I will provide as much information
as I can in this open forum, however, I will be happy to provide additional,
classified details in a closed setting at your request.
TSC Operations
The TSC is a multi-agency center, including participants from the
FBI, Departments of Justice, Homeland Security, State, and Treasury.
Being a diverse center manned by personnel from all of those agencies,
we coordinate terrorist screening efforts across the full spectrum
of federal, state and local government agencies, and share information
pursuant to the applicable legal framework.
Since December 1, 2003, TSC has been providing key resources for
screeners and law enforcement personnel. These include: (1) a single
coordination point for terrorist screening data; (2) a 24/7 call center
for encounter identification assistance; (3) access to a coordinated
law enforcement response; (4) a formal process for tracking encounters;
(5) feedback to the appropriate entities; and (6) a process to address
misidentification issues.
The TSC has consolidated
the names of all known or suspected terrorists within the Terrorist
Screening Database (TSDB). TSDB is fed from two primary sources;
international terrorist (IT) information from the Terrorist Threat
Integration Center (TTIC) and domestic terrorist (DT) information
from the FBI. The TSDB has the names of all known and suspected terrorists
in ten (10) of the twelve (12) databases described in the April 2003
GAO report entitled, “Information Technology: Terrorist
Watch Lists Should Be Consolidated to Promote Better Integration and
Sharing.” The ten databases that are currently incorporated into
TSC are:
- Consular Lookout
and Support System (CLASS) – Department
of State
- TIPOFF – Terrorist
Threat Integration Center
- Interagency
Border Inspection System (IBIS) – Department
of Homeland Security
- No-Fly – Department
of Transportation
- Selectee – Department
of Transportation
- National Automated
Immigration Lookout System (NAILS) – Department
of Homeland Security
- Warrant Information – Justice
Department
- Violent Gang
and Terrorist Organization File (VGTOF) – Justice
Department
- Interpol Terrorism
Watch List – Justice Department
- Air Force Top
Ten Fugitive List – Department of Defense
IBIS and CLASS are updated at the TSC daily. Prior to incorporation
with the TSC, these two systems were updated on a weekly basis. The
only two databases not incorporated into TSC at this time are the Automated
Biometric Identification System , which resides with Immigration and
Customs Enforcement (ICE), and the Integrated Automated Fingerprint
Identification System, which is housed at the FBI.
Key to the success
of the TSC’s mission was to push TSDB’s
information out to agencies across the spectrum. This is now being
done. There are three fundamental types of inquiries: interior (within
the U.S.), border (at the points of entry at our borders and ports)
and exterior (outside the border). Interior inquiries will normally
be made by local law enforcement. Border inquiries are made by U.S.
Customs and Border Protection. Exterior inquiries are conducted by
the State Department.
The process for
making an internal inquiry is relatively simple. A police officer
checks the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) database on a
routine traffic stop, and is advised to call the TSC because the
person stopped has similar identifying information to a known or
suspected terrorist. When the officer contacts TSC, we verify and
authenticate the caller’s identity, record the information
and circumstances of the encounter, and check the name through TSDB.
The TSDB includes the name, date of birth, passport number, country
of origin, and other identifying information for known or suspected
international terrorists. The call center quickly researches the underlying
information, including classified, sensitive information and makes
a determination as to whether the person encountered is the same person
as the one in our database, TSDB. If we have a positive match, we forward
the call to our operational component at the FBI’s Counterterrorism
Division, the Counterterrorism Watch Center (CT Watch). CT Watch coordinates
with the officer and directs the law enforcement response. CT Watch
also dispatches the local Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF) to respond.
In some cases, officers provide valuable information from a simple
car stop, and in other cases, JTTF agents will respond to assist.
In addition to
serving local law enforcement, the TSC receives a high volume of
calls from Customs and Border Protection (CBP) inspectors who are
stationed on the Nation’s borders. A typical CBP call
involves incoming passengers on an international flight. A CBP inspector
will query the TSC’s data and may receive several possible suspected
terrorist hits from the Interagency Border Information System (IBIS)
and NCIC. The CBP inspector will go through their National Targeting
Center (NTC), where the record will be screened, analyzed, and then
passed to TSC. Our process is the same as it would be for a law enforcement
call, that is, to quickly examine the underlying record, and determine
whether the individual is identical to the person in the Terrorist
Screening Center Database. The TSC then appropriately passes any derogatory
information on the subject, and CBP makes a determination on whether
the individual will be allowed into the United States. One example
happened in June when a family attempted to travel to the U.S. The
father was a positive match with derogatory information. Based on the
derogatory information, the family was denied entry into the U.S. and
their visas were revoked.
Visa Authority
and TSC’s Involvement
Consular officers
are our first line of defense in keeping known and suspected terrorists
out of our Homeland by denying visas to these individuals. In this
regard, State Department assignees at the TSC are continuing the
work of vetting visa applications against the TSDB, a process handled
by Security Advisory Opinions. Since December 1, 2003, when the TSC
began operations, State Department assignees and their staff at the
TSC have reviewed over 90,000 Security Advisory Opinions to determine
if the visa applicants described in these cables were possible matches
with individuals in the TSDB. For example, in December, an individual
with links to a terrorist organization applied for a visa at a U.S.
consulate overseas. As the Department of State has the sole authority
to issue, deny, and revoke visas, the TSC works hand-in-hand with
the Bureau of Consular Affairs on these issues. Accordingly, consular
officials denied the visa based on the TSC’s analysis
that the individual was a match and the TSC’s arranging for the
provision of the background derogatory information to Consular Affairs.
The same process applied to a senior member of a proscribed terrorist
organization based overseas. His visa was also denied.
Cases in which visas were issued before derogatory information
was known about the visa applicant require vetting to determine if
a visa revocation is warranted, the focus of this hearing.
Since the TSC was established, the TSC has alerted the Department
of State to the need to review over 180 cases for possible visa revocation,
as the Department of State has the sole authority to issue, deny, and
revoke visas. Standard Operating Procedures are in place at the TSC
to detail its part in this process, as follows:
- The TSC reviews
and analyzes any possible matches of names derived from this Consular
Consolidated Database (CCD) to determine if a visa holder is a
possible match with an individual in the TSDB. If the individual
is a possible match, the TSC arranges for the Bureau of Consular
Affairs to receive the record’s supporting documentation.
As supporting documentation varies in its depth and detail, the Bureau
of Consular Affairs must examine it carefully to determine whether
it supports revocation. A possible match is defined as having at
least two biographic elements sufficiently in common to warrant acting
on the possibility that the visa holder is the person to whom the
information pertains.
- The Bureau of Consular Affairs notifies the TSC when a visa is
revoked, and the appropriate notations are made in the database
I would like to emphasize that there is no backlog of visa revocation
cases to be reviewed at the TSC at this time. The process of clearing
the backlog for screening purposes was begun at State before its cadre
moved to the TSC, and finished here.
Meeting Challenges and Reform
The TSC, as an interagency entity, is well-positioned to assist communications
between agencies. On May 18, 2004, TSC chaired a meeting of U.S. agencies
involved in the visa revocation process to discuss ways it could assist
in the coordination of actions required after the Department of State
revokes a visa. The TSC has been active in determining whether, for
instance, there are any pending law enforcement investigations on individuals
whose visas are pending revocation or have been revoked. The TSC also
lets ICE know of possible visa revocations to speed the notification
process.
In those circumstances
where a pending investigation has been identified, that FBI Case
Agent is notified of the subject’s status and directed
to coordinate with the local ICE Agent. In many instances, the FBI
Case Agent and local ICE Agent are on the same JTTF (Joint Terrorism
Task Force). In those cases where no investigation has been initiated,
TSC notifies and requests ICE and other FBI entities to locate the
individual. Once located, the local FBI and ICE offices are notified
and directed to coordinate actions which result in the initiation of
an investigation and/or threat assessment. The TSC facilitates communications
between the various agencies so that cases can expeditiously be initiated
on those individuals whose visas have been revoked but remain in the
United States.
Conclusion
TSC is a multi-agency organization, working closely with Departments
of State, Justice, Homeland Security, and Treasury, contributing to
nationwide efforts to keep terrorists out of the U.S. and locate those
who may already be in the country.
Since December 1, 2003, we have screened over 5,000 calls, including
more than 700 exterior inquiries. We have reviewed over 90,000 Security
Advisory Opinions and alerted the Department of State to over 180 possible
visa revocations. We look forward to working with the Subcommittee
in its efforts to on national security matters.