Testimony of Mark Tanner, Foreign Terrorist Tracking Task
Force (FTTTF), FBI
Before the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration, Border
Security and Claims
October 16, 2003
"Foreign
Terrorist Tracking Task Force (FTTTF)"
Chairman
Hostettler, Ranking Member Jackson-Lee, and Members of the
Subcommittee, the Federal Bureau of Investigation is pleased
to have the opportunity to appear before you today to discuss
the important issue of nonimmigrant aliens who overstay their
lawful admission and their relationship to terrorism. The
Department of Justice and the FBI have been charged by the
President, with the support of Congress, to protect the American
people from the continuing threats of terrorism and the crimes
associated therewith. It is in the context of our post-9/11
world that we present our views and concerns to the Subcommittee
today.
As represented in the GAO report, which is the focus of this
hearing, the number of foreign visitors to the U.S. who fail
to leave as required by their respective visa is significant.
The quality and completeness of government information concerning
an individual's correct identity, location and status has
a direct impact on the effectiveness and efficiency of our
efforts to locate them. The enormous number of visitors to
the U.S. and avenues of entry and exit makes it inordinately
difficult, if not impossible, to accurately account for each
entrant. Nonetheless, the Department of Justice and the FBI,
in partnership with other law enforcement agencies, the intelligence
community, the defense community and foreign nations are devising
and have implemented processes and specialized operational
units to mitigate the risks imposed by such overstays.
One such specialized organization is the Foreign Terrorist
Tracking Task Force or FTTTF. The participants in the FTTTF
include the Department of Defense, the Department of Homeland
Security's Bureaus of Immigration and Customs Enforcement
and the Customs and Border Protection, the State Department,
the Social Security Administration, the Office of Personnel
Management, the Department of Energy, and the Central Intelligence
Agency. To date, we also have established liaison with Canada,
Australia, and the United Kingdom. The mission of the FTTTF
is to provide information that helps keep foreign terrorists
and their supporters out of the U.S. or leads to their removal,
detention, prosecution or other legal action. To accomplish
this mission, the FTTTF has facilitated and coordinated information
sharing agreements among these participating agencies and
other public and proprietary companies to assist in locating
terrorists and their supporters who are, or have been, in
the U.S. The quality and completeness of the data directly
impacts our efficiency and effectiveness.
Among our sources of data are the I-94s, which were a focus
of the GAO study. The I-94 is collected by the Bureau of Immigration
and Customs Enforcement, after being completed by a foreign
traveler. It is recognized that the quality of data on the
I-94, which is self-reported, is rarely complete. This factor
is compensated, by our use, when appropriate, of other sources
of confirming data. These additional data sources, increase
the quality and therefore usefulness of our efforts. For example,
as terrorist subjects are identified by law enforcement or
the intelligence community, the FTTTF typically searches other
sources of data to assist in developing investigative leads.
If there is an I-94 record for that same subject, it may be
compared to other government, public, and proprietary sources
of data in order to verify or refute its accuracy, with our
ultimate goal to locate the individual.
In addition to supporting the specific investigations of terrorists,
FTTTF has supported the Department of Homeland Security's
National Security Entry/Exit Registration System (NSEERS)
by vetting over a quarter of a million NSEERS registrants
in order to assist in the location of absconders.
The newly created Terrorist Screening Center, as required
by Homeland Security Presidential Directive - 6, will further
enhance our capabilities to keep terrorists and their supporters
out of the U.S. or locate them. HSPD-6 requires that the Terrorist
Screening Center provide information to support screening
processes at all opportunities. Such information will be made
accessible when appropriate to State, local, territorial,
and tribal authorities to support their screening processes
and otherwise enable them to identify, or assist in identifying
such individuals. Additionally, mechanisms will be hosted,
to the extent permitted by law, to support appropriate private
sector organizations and foreign governments' cooperation
with the U.S. in the war on terrorism.
Efforts such as these, and the cooperation between the Department
of Homeland Security, the Department of Justice, and other
law enforcement agencies significantly mitigate the risk imposed
by the visa overstay problem. It bears noting, however, that
the critical point of risk mitigation is to keep terrorists
and their supporters out of the U.S. The earliest opportunity
that the government has to encounter and identify terrorists
and criminals is during the visa application process or at
their initial border inspection. The recent GAO study suggests
there is room for improvement in the current processes.
In the event that someone penetrates the border or comes to
law enforcement attention for serious criminal activities
after their legal entry, the FTTTF and Terrorist Screening
Center will work to locate them. Whether or not there is an
accurate record of their lawful and timely departure, we must
assume they may still be in the U.S. or have returned undetected,
and thus we remain vigilant in our efforts to locate them.
The fact that they are able to overstay their visa authority,
affects the timing of their plans, but not their intent. As
you can well appreciate, our mission requires that we remain
as vigilant about serious criminal activities by foreign visitors
during their lawful stay, as during any subsequent overstay.
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