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American Morning
Tracking Troubles at Immigration and Naturalization Service
Aired June 18, 2003 - 07:36 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: An estimated 30 suspected terrorists may be living right here in the U.S. Their visas have been pulled, but because of communication and procedural problems, the government doesn't know where they are. That is according to the investigative arm of Congress, the General Accounting Office. This morning, the House Government Reform Committee will look into this.
Bob Franken is live in Washington with more.
Bob -- good morning.
BOB FRANKEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning.
And you can sum up this report by going back to the movie, "Cool Hand Luke." What we have here is a failure to communicate, and as a result of the fact that the State Department doesnt seem to communicate, according to the GAO, very well with the Immigration and Naturalization Service and the FBI -- quoting from the report: "At least 30 individuals whose visas were revoked on terrorism grounds may still remain in the country."
According to the GAO, the INS and the FBI did not routinely attempt to locate or investigate any of the individuals. And the reason for that, as we pointed out, is that the U.S. government has no written policy on the use of visa revocations as an anti-terrorism tool. So, there is not a routine way that the organizations talk to one another.
And then going on in the report: "As a result, there is a heightened risk that suspected terrorists could enter the country with a revoked visa, or be allowed to remain after their visa is revoked without undergoing investigation or monitoring."
Now, this is the kind of report that we've heard before. It is an ongoing problem. It is something that the government says it is trying to correct. The creation of the Homeland Security Department, of course, is to try and improve on the coordination.
The hearing is going to be the result of an inquiry, which came from a member of Congress. That was actually the result of an inquiry from a newspaper. It is an ongoing story. The problem is, of course, that you have a bureaucracy that is very slow, very cumbersome. That's the nature of a bureaucracy. The problem is the nature of any terrorist organization is it's quite agile -- Daryn.
KAGAN: Bob Franken in Washington -- Bob, thank you.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.
Service>
Aired June 18, 2003 - 07:36 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: An estimated 30 suspected terrorists may be living right here in the U.S. Their visas have been pulled, but because of communication and procedural problems, the government doesn't know where they are. That is according to the investigative arm of Congress, the General Accounting Office. This morning, the House Government Reform Committee will look into this.
Bob Franken is live in Washington with more.
Bob -- good morning.
BOB FRANKEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning.
And you can sum up this report by going back to the movie, "Cool Hand Luke." What we have here is a failure to communicate, and as a result of the fact that the State Department doesnt seem to communicate, according to the GAO, very well with the Immigration and Naturalization Service and the FBI -- quoting from the report: "At least 30 individuals whose visas were revoked on terrorism grounds may still remain in the country."
According to the GAO, the INS and the FBI did not routinely attempt to locate or investigate any of the individuals. And the reason for that, as we pointed out, is that the U.S. government has no written policy on the use of visa revocations as an anti-terrorism tool. So, there is not a routine way that the organizations talk to one another.
And then going on in the report: "As a result, there is a heightened risk that suspected terrorists could enter the country with a revoked visa, or be allowed to remain after their visa is revoked without undergoing investigation or monitoring."
Now, this is the kind of report that we've heard before. It is an ongoing problem. It is something that the government says it is trying to correct. The creation of the Homeland Security Department, of course, is to try and improve on the coordination.
The hearing is going to be the result of an inquiry, which came from a member of Congress. That was actually the result of an inquiry from a newspaper. It is an ongoing story. The problem is, of course, that you have a bureaucracy that is very slow, very cumbersome. That's the nature of a bureaucracy. The problem is the nature of any terrorist organization is it's quite agile -- Daryn.
KAGAN: Bob Franken in Washington -- Bob, thank you.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.
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