{"id":5376,"date":"2013-12-12T10:14:20","date_gmt":"2013-12-12T15:14:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/live-immigrationreform.pantheonsite.io\/?p=5376"},"modified":"2018-12-28T15:23:11","modified_gmt":"2018-12-28T20:23:11","slug":"the-12-days-of-amnesty-on-the-1st-day","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.immigrationreform.com\/2013\/12\/12\/the-12-days-of-amnesty-on-the-1st-day\/","title":{"rendered":"The 12 Days of Amnesty: On the 1st Day\u2026"},"content":{"rendered":"

As Congress prepares to end its legislative session and the year draws to a close, FAIR reflects on the state of immigration.<\/p>\n

\"12On the 1st<\/sup> Day of Amnesty, the DHS revealed to me:<\/p>\n

1.2 million visa overstayers!<\/p>\n

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has lost track<\/a> of 1.2 million visa holders, according to a Government Accountability Office report<\/a> published this year. That means over 1 million people who entered the country legally could still be in the U.S. illegally after their visa expired.<\/p>\n

This is a huge part<\/a> of our illegal immigration problem. 40% of illegal aliens<\/a> currently in the country originally entered legally.<\/p>\n

Luckily, there\u2019s a solution to this problem that\u2019s already required by Congress<\/a> \u2013 a biometric entry-exit system. Since 1996 Congress has mandated an entry- exit data system for airports, seaports, and land ports of entry. The PATRIOT Act required that system to be biometric.<\/p>\n

In 2014, Congress must act to force DHS to stop dragging its feet and finally implement the entry-exit visa tracking system required by current law.