McCaskill calls for suspension of electronic immigration system

U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-MO) recently called for answers regarding a U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Inspector General (IG) report that stated U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services is planning to continue the use of a computer program that allowed 175 individuals to receive U.S. citizenship without going through the proper background checks.

The DHS IG report recommended that U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services suspend the use of the electronic immigration system (EIS) after it was determined that the system had mishandled casework and appointments, along with allowing 175 individuals to receive full citizenship prior to passing the required background checks. Included in the report was the erroneous issuance of approximately 20,000 Green Cards in Nov. 2016.

“U.S. taxpayers are footing the bill for a computer program that’s simply not working—and if it’s not corrected it could endanger our national security,” McCaskill said. “I’ll be asking the Department of Homeland Security for information about this contract, until I’m satisfied our tax dollars are being well spent and Americans are safe.”

McCaskill spent her first Senate term combating wasteful wartime contracting practices in Iraq and Afghanistan, along with conducting oversight of federal contracts within the U.S. Departments of Energy, Personnel Management, and Defense.