***Sigh***...
Securing America's Borders Fact Sheet: Border Security - WH Press Release
President Bush, PM Chretien Announce Progress in Smart Border Plan
The Department of Education has published a notice in the Federal Register announcing a computer matching program between the Department of Education and the INS that will permit the Education Department to confirm the immigration status of alien applicants for, or recipients of, Title IV financial aid programs.
Dept. of Education Announces Computer Matching Program with INS September 19, 2002
Attorney General John Ashcroft has announced a new "National Security Entry-Exit System" that would require the registration and monitoring of certain non-immigrants. The proposal contains three major components: fingerprinting at the border, periodic registration of certain aliens, and exit controls.
National Security Entry-Exit System Proposed - June 2002
The Immigration and Naturalization Service has stated that it is now checking the names of all applicants for immigration benefits against a federal database of terrorists and law breakers — even if it means delays for people seeking visas, permanent residence, or citizenship.
INS Expands Checks of Applicants - May 2002
President Bush has signed the Border Security Bill meant to screen out terrorists by using high-tech passports and more border enforcers to check millions of people who enter the United States each year. The new law also will mean closer monitoring of foreign students in the US.
The law also strengthens requirements that planes and passenger ships traveling from other countries provide lists of passengers and crew members to a US border officer before arriving, and reiterates the need for a database of suspected terrorists that federal agencies can use to screen visa applicants. Such a list already exists under the Federal Terrorism Tracking Task Force that Bush created after September 11.
Additionally, the new law creates an elaborate tracking system of foreign students. It will record the admission of non-resident students by educational institutions, the issuance of student visas, and the enrollment of non-Americans in schools. It also will force schools to advise the INS if foreign students do not report for class.
The Bill also authorizes 400 additional immigration investigators, inspectors and other staff for the Immigration and Naturalization Service, subject to Congress financing them.
Bush Signs Border Security Bill - May 2002
Under the legislation, the INS will use a new internet-based system to track about one million foreign students in the country. U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft announced last Friday that all educational institutions eligible to enroll foreign students should have joined the system by the end of January. The bill requires that passports issued after 2003 be tamper- resistant and that visitors carry documents that can be read by machine and identify the bearer with biometrics, such as face recognition or retinal scanning technology.
Bush Signs Bill on Enhanced US Border Security
The US Department of State has announced that effective April 8, 2002, US passports will no longer be issued outside of the US.
US Passports Will No Longer be Issued Abroad – April 2002
President Bush's advisers have recommended merging the Customs Service and the Immigration and Naturalization Service in a sweeping overhaul of US border security in response to the September 11 attacks.
Bush's budget proposal calls for an extra $2.1 billion in spending to secure US borders and keep out foreigners who might try to launch attacks like those on September 11.
The money would be used to hire more border patrol agents, safeguard ports, and track foreign nationals living in the United States
Bush Advisers Propose Merger of INS and Customs Service – March 2002
The US State Department has published an interim rule, effective April 1, 2002, amending 22 CFR § 41.112(d) to preclude automatic revalidation of expired visas under this section for nationals of countries designated as ‘terrorist-sponsoring’ states, and for aliens who apply for new visas during their trip abroad.
State Department Restricts Eligibility for Automatic Revalidation of Expired Visas – Mar 2002