10 Reasons Why Biometric Exit May Advance in 2014

A feasible and cost effective system used in 17 countries

WASHINGTON, Feb. 3, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- A new backgrounder by the Center for Immigration Studies analyzes the potential for implementation of a biometric exit system to track the departure of foreign visitors. The playing field for considering biometric exit has changed dramatically since the Senate started debating immigration reform last year, and certainly since Congress passed the first of eight statutes requiring an entry-exit system 18 years ago. Actual implementation appears more probable now due to new individuals in positions with the authority to implement the system, advancement in technology, a decrease in the costs, and growing familiarity with the use of biometrics.

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View the entire report at: http://cis.org/10-reasons-why-biometric-exit-may-advance-in-2014

The report details 10 reasons why a biometric exit system may advance in 2014.

1. Congress Is Hot on the Issue.
2. DHS Secretary Napolitano, Who Adamantly Opposed Biometric Exit, Is Gone.
3. CBP Holds Implementation Authority.
4. The Senate Judiciary Committee Markup of S.744 Considered Two Biometric Exit Amendments, Passing One.
5. Senate S.744 Floor Debate Included Repeated Member Support for Biometric Exit. Both Sides of the Aisle Support Biometric Exit.
6. The Confirmation Hearing of DHS Secretary Nominee Jeh Johnson Included Pointed Biometric Exit Implementation Questions.
7. The House Judiciary Committee Included Biometric Exit in the SAFE Act, and Conducted a Full Committee Hearing on the Subject.
8. The House Homeland Security Worked Hard on H.R.3141, "The Biometric Exit Improvement Act of 2013".
9. Implementing Exit Is Feasible and Cost Effective.
10. At Least 17 Countries Have Implemented a Biometric Entry/Exit System Successfully.

The report was authored by Janice Kephart, a former 9/11 Commission counsel and a national security fellow of the Center. She commented: "From the 9/11 hijackers to the Boston Marathon bombers, easy bypassing of our name-based immigration exit system is apparent. The inability of officers to know who is in the country for the purposes of national security and immigration law enforcement makes clear the need for a biometric entry-exit system. But Congress needs to do more than just pass legislation; it has approved eight bills over the past 18 years requiring an exit system. Without close and consistent congressional oversight, a system will never be implemented."

The Center for Immigration Studies is an independent, non-partisan, non-profit research organization founded in 1985. It is the nation's only think tank devoted exclusively to research and policy analysis of the economic, social, demographic, fiscal, and other impacts of immigration on the United States.

CONTACT: Marguerite Telford
[email protected], 202-466-8185

SOURCE Center for Immigration Studies

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