WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, House Committee on Homeland Security Chairman Mark E. Green, MD (R-TN) sent a letter to Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Inspector General Joseph Cuffari requesting the complete, unredacted version of the DHS Office of Inspector General’s (OIG) recent report which found that DHS is failing to adequately screen and vet asylum seekers and inadmissible aliens who are applying for admission into the United States. The report, initially released by the OIG on June 7, states DHS’s processes of screening and vetting these individuals were “not fully effective,” and cited inaccessibility to federal data, inconsistent inspection, and lack of coordination. Read the full letter here and excerpts below. 

Read more from Stephen Dinan via The Washington Times

In the letter, the Chairman writes, “On June 7, 2024, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Office of Inspector General (OIG) released a redacted report with findings that DHS needs to strengthen its screening and vetting of asylum seekers and noncitizens applying for admission into the United States. The redacted report states, in relevant part: 

‘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. In addition, CBP used varied and sometimes inconsistent inspection procedures for travelers arriving in vehicles at land ports of entry. Finally, CBP does not have the technology to perform biometric matching on travelers arriving in vehicles at land ports of entry.’

The Chairman concludes, “To assist the Committee to better understand the OIG’s findings and evaluate DHS’s handling of this important national security matter, we ask that you please provide the complete unredacted report and case file for OIG-24-27, to include all documents, communications, and other evidence related to the report. Please provide this information as soon as possible, but no later than July 8, 2024.”

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