United States Government Publishing Office publisher pbl distributor dst United States Government Accountability Office author aut Government Organization text government publication eng GAOREPORTS Legislative Agency Publications gao legislative 2010-08-12 U.S. Government Printing Office 2001-08-02 monographic deposited born digital 37 p. GA 1.13:GAO-01-842 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-GAO-01-842 P0b002ee1803988b2 000536350 f:d01842 DGPO 2010-08-12 2011-03-28 GAOREPORTS-GAO-01-842 machine generated eng fdlp REPORT GAOREPORTS-GAO-01-842 GAO-01-842 Illegal aliens Immigration or emigration International relations Performance measures Law enforcement INS Border Safety Initiative INS Automated Biometric Identification System Other Written Product A01319 To deter illegal entry between the nation's ports of entry, the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) developed its Southwest Border Strategy. INS has spent seven years implementing the border strategy, but it may take INS up to a decade longer to fully implement the strategy. This assumes that INS obtains the level of staff, technology, equipment, and fencing it believes it needs to control the Southwest border. Although illegal alien apprehensions have shifted, there is no clear indication that overall illegal entry into the United States along the Southwestern border has declined. INS' current efforts to measure the effectiveness of its border control efforts could be enhanced by analyzing the data in its automated biometric identification system (IDENT). These data offer INS an opportunity to develop additional performance indicators that could be incorporated into its Annual Performance Plan review process and could help INS assess whether its border control efforts are associated with an overall reduction in the flow of illegal aliens across the border. Borderwide analysis of the IDENT data could be used to address several important questions related to illegal entry. The strategy's impact on local communities has been affected by the timing of INS, infusion of agent and other resources intended to protect the local community from a surge in illegal alien traffic; what routes the illegal aliens have used in crossing the border; and INS' involvement with the community. INS has learned the importance of outreach efforts in attempting to mitigate the potential negative effects the strategy can cause a community and the harm that can befall illegal aliens who risk injury and death to cross the border. https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-GAO-01-842/html/GAOREPORTS-GAO-01-842.htm https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-GAO-01-842/pdf/GAOREPORTS-GAO-01-842.pdf GAO-01-842 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-GAO-01-842 Other Written Product GAO-01-842; INS' Southwest Border Strategy: Resource and Impact Issues Remain After Seven Years; Illegal aliens Immigration or emigration International relations Performance measures Law enforcement INS Border Safety Initiative INS Automated Biometric Identification System Public Law 103-62 Public Law 104-208