nonimmigrant visa information and a photograph of the alien. Because of that cooperation, an alien's photograph is now available in secondary inspection to help determine if an alien engaged in fraudulent conduct. That deployment was completed in January 2002. In Miami, where the Consolidated Consular Database was first installed, INS inspectors credit the initiative with detecting 108 fraudulent visa holders in the first six months. INS inspectors using the database in New York caught an alien trying to enter the U.S. on a falsified Russian diplomatic passport. In another instance, a 41-year-old man was discovered using the altered visa of a three-year-old Brazilian boy.

The Interagency Border Inspection System (IBIS), the primary automated screening tool used by both INS and the U.S. Customs Service at ports-of-entry, offers another excellent example of how these lookout systems function. IBIS provides access to many databases, including the FBI National Crime Information Center (NCIC) and includes lookouts from all branches of INS, the FBI, the Customs Service, the Department of State, the Drug Enforcement Administration and various other law enforcement agencies. NCIC is the nation's principal automated law enforcement information-sharing tool, with more than 650,000 federal, state and local officers having on-the-street access to the broad range of information it contains. In addition, IBIS is currently being used to screen applicants in the U.S. for all benefits under immigration laws.

IBIS is supplemented by IDENT, an INS computer system that uses fingerprints to identify aliens our agents and inspectors encounter at U.S. borders. We have successfully integrated "wants and warrants" on foreign-born persons from the NCIC and the FBI into IDENT. As a result, over the past year we have apprehended almost 3,000 aliens wanted for murder, sexual assault and other outstanding criminal charges. With the recent deployment of IDENT to INS offices in the interior, we are now better able to identify criminal aliens residing in the United States.

Another initiative was have undertaken is to expand our knowledge through the National Security Entry-Exit Registration System (NSEERS), which INS began to implement at U.S. ports-of-entry on September 11, 2002. Under NSEERS, INS is fingerprinting and photographing nonimmigrant aliens who may potentially pose a national security risk upon their arrival in the United States. In addition, nonimmigrant aliens are required to register periodically with the INS, allowing us to better verify that they are complying with their nonimmigrant status.

Information technical also plays a vital role in enhancing our working relations with state and local law enforcement agencies who are the first responders to a crisis. The primary tool used for integrating these agencies into our work is the INS Law Enforcement Support Center (LESC) located in Williston, Vermont. Currently, 46 states are linked to the LESC, with the four remaining states, as well as Puerto Rico, in the process of being linked.

The LESC gives all law enforcement officers around-the-clock access to INS records, as well as a link to the NCIC. When a police officer arrests an alien, the LESC can provide vital information and, if necessary, put the officer in touch with an INS officer in the field. The LESC routinely uses a number of INS-maintained databases, including a National Automated Immigration Lookout System (NAILS). INS has a longstanding Memorandum of Understand with the Department of State, under which

suspected terrorists and associates are entered into NAILS. This is being done using a dedicated system known as TIPOFF, which is administered by the Department of State. When an INS officer has a "hit," our Lookout Unit is contacted, which in turn notifies the Department of State and the INS National Security Unit (NSU). The NSU ensures that local INS or FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force agents are notified and appropriate action taken.

This initaitive highlights both a major advantage and a major disadvantage INS has in the fight against terrorism. I will begin with the latter. As INS currently has no automated information system authorized for the use, processing, or maintenance of classified information, information that the intelligence community provides to Department of State officials for inclusion in TIPOFF must be sanitized before it is uploaded into NAILS. As a result, the information uploaded into NAILS contains no more than names, aliases, and biographic information.

In addition, limits imposed by classification also affects the flexibility of the INS to act on cables it receives from the intelligence community because of the absence of a classified infrastructure. Cable traffic received from the intelligence community is funneled into the INS Command Center, a component of the Headquarters Intelligence Division, and then is sorted through daily by intelligence analysts and agents. Some information we receive cannot, because of its classification level, be transmitted to the INS field offices in its classified form. Since such cables are frequently time-sensitive, it is a challenge, given our resources, to translate the cable into timely action.

As INS works to better integrate itself with the overall domestic security mission electronically through the expanded use of information technology, the agency is also acting to improve its effectiveness by strengthening its relationship and formal liaison with other agencies. Face-to-face contact with other agencies, especially when it occurs routinely, can best foster cooperation and coordination in ways that can never be duplicated by employing computer systems and other information technology, no matter how sophisticated it may be.

INS actively participates in a variety of task forces that were established to deal exclusively with terrorism-related issues. our most extensive direct interaction with other members of the intelligence community occurs through our participation in Joint Terrorism Task Forces (JTTF). INS has been a long-time participant in these FBI-led, multi-agency task forces, which are in place in key metropolitan areas nationwide. JTTF agents are a critical component in our national efforts to root out terrorists and their supporters, and they have done much to increase the level of domestic security. INS Special Agents assigned to JTTFs have conducted more than 6,500 joint interviews since September 11, 2001. In general, we have found our participation, which is coordinated through our National Security Unit (NSU), to be extremely beneficial.

INS also participates in the Attorney General-directed Anti-Terrorist Task Force (ATTF), recently created within U.S. Attorney's offices. In one sense, the ATTFs are similar to the Law Enforcement Coordinating Committees set up years ago under the auspices of the U.S. Attorney. They are a consultative mechanism used to bring together top field officers from various law enforcement agencies to discuss pertinent counterterrorism issues. In another sense, they are quite different in that they can function in a very specific operational manner on selected initiatives, such as the Attorney General's

Voluntary Interview program.

On October 29, 2001, as a result of the issuance of a Presidential Executive Order, the Department of Justice created the Foreign Terrorist Tracking Task Force (FTTTF). The INS has provided key personnel to help ensure the mission fo the FTTTF: to coordinate federal agencies' efforts to identify potential terrorists attempting to enter or remain in the United States.

In addition to these three initiatives, INS has four full-time special agents from our NSU assigned to the National Security Division at FBI headquarters and two assigned to the CIA's Counterterrorist Center. The INS is equipped to immediately supplement NSU resources when events warrant. For example, immediately following September 11, the INS dedicated additional investigators and INS attorneys to the NSU.

Perhaps the greatest impediment to enhancing integration and information-sharing within the intelligence community is resource limitations. As the number of Joint Terrorism Task Force locations have expanded to all federal Judicial Districts, INS has found it difficult to keep pace. We have roughly 2,000 special agents worldwide. In addition to their counterterrorism work, these agents are also responsible for combating alien smuggling, investigating immigration fraud, identifying employers who have violated immigration laws, and other activities that are an essential part of INS' mission.

With our resources at maximum capacity, it is not surprising that among the challenges facing INS is to thoroughly analyze the information it collects or receives from other agencies. In terms of our antiterrorism efforts, this may be our greatest challenge. The utility of intelligence information is only as good as our capacity to properly analyze it. Currently, the INS has a cadre of only 200 intelligence officers and analysts worldwide. This small cadre of employees provides a great service to the INS and the other intelligence community and law enforcement agencies. The critical nature of this analytical capability is amplified in light of our limited resources, which we must strategically apply to those who pose the greatest potential threat.

While we recognize all the efforts to improve intelligence analysis and sharing, we also understand that more still needs to be done. INS is deeply committed to that effort. We look forward to working with you to continue providing the American people with the level of security that they demand and deserve.

TESTIMONY OF JOSEPH GREENE, ASSISTANT COMMISSIONER FOR INVESTIGATIONS, U.S. IMMIGRATION AND NATURALIZATION SERVICE

Mr. GREENE. I would like to thank you for the opportunity to testify today on behalf of the INS concerning information and intelligence-sharing within the Federal Government and between Federal, State and local agencies.

INS sees its function in the war against terrorism in two distinct areas: An external role of safeguarding the borders of the United States against the entry of terrorists and their supporters, and an internal role of identifying, locating, apprehending and deporting aliens who pose a threat to the domestic security of the United States or aliens who offer support and assistance to those who might pose such a threat.

I can report to the Joint Committee that since the terrorist attacks on the United States, intelligence-sharing and its application in our work has increased dramatically. Nevertheless, we also recognize that the process of improving intelligence-sharing and joint cooperation in its use is continuous and demands constant commitment on the part of all of the agencies involved.

Regarding our work in safeguarding borders, new cooperation between the INS and the Department of State now permits immigration inspectors to access visa application data during the primary inspection process. These data give inspectors new tools in testing the statements made by an applicant for admission against statements made to consular officers when applying for the visa. In addition, over the past year the use of the Interagency Border Inspection System, IBIS, has been improved with new lookout information, as Ambassador Taylor has indicated, and the INS has expanded the use of that system to include not only applicants for admission into the United States, but also applicants for benefits under the relevant immigration laws.

The most significant changes in information-sharing since the attacks have occurred, however, are in our internal or domestic role. Last month INS began the phased implementation of the National Security Entry-Exit Registration System, NSEERS.

Initially under this system, INŠ is requiring the fingerprinting and photographing on arrival of individuals who might pose a potential national security risk to the United States. In addition, these people are required to register periodically with the INS, allowing us to better verify that they are complying with the conditions of their non-immigrant status.

INS has begun to deploy the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System, SEVIS, an international-based system that will greatly improve our ability to track and monitor foreign students. This system will greatly enhance our ability to detect those who seek to abuse or exploit our educational and training institutions for unlawful or injurious purposes.

INS special agents have participated in the joint terrorism task forces around the country since 1996. Since the attacks, INS and FBI agents have conducted almost 6,500 joint interviews in connection with the investigation of the attacks themselves or with related counterterrorism investigations. These interviews have resulted in the arrest of over 526 immigration violators solely on the

grounds of immigration law violations in addition to other arrests in connection with the investigation itself.

Finally, a word about INS cooperation and information-sharing with State and local law enforcement agencies. The principal vehicle of the INS for information-sharing with local law enforcement has been the Law Enforcement Support Center, as Ms. Hill indicated. The Law Enforcement Support Center provides real-time information from INS databases to police officers across the country. In 46 States, the process of clearing INS databases is an automated function of the record checks local law enforcement officers routinely conduct. The LESC is staffed 24 hours day, 7 days a week, and provides local police officers with the ability to talk directly to an INS law enforcement technician or special agent about the facts surrounding a specific person in custody.

Furthermore, in August INS entered into a written agreement with the State of Florida under which 35 local law enforcement agencies assigned to regional domestic security task forces in that State were trained in immigration law enforcement and certified to enforce immigration law in connection with their domestic security duties. We are currently engaged in discussions with several other States and localities exploring the possibilities of similar arrangements. These designs significantly increase the level of effective cooperation between the INS and State and local law enforcement officials.

While we recognize that significant progress has been made in intelligence-sharing and in improving the connectivity between the different agencies charged with domestic security law enforcement, we also recognize that still more needs to be done. INS is firmly committed to that effort. We look forward to working with you and the Congress as a whole to increase our domestic security and safety to the level demanded and deserved by our people.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I would be happy to take your questions at the end of the statements.

Chairman GRAHAM. Thank you very much, Mr. Greene.
Mr. Andre.

TESTIMONY OF LOUIS ANDRE, SPECIAL ASSISTANT FOR INTELLIGENCE, J-2, DEFENSE INTELLIGENCE AGENCY

Mr. ANDRE. Mr. Chairman, members of the committees, I welcome the opportunity to participate in today's hearings. Thank you very much for the invitation.

The topic of information-sharing is one of exceptional importance and one upon which DIA has focused considerable and specific attention over the past year and a half. Within this topic lies several of the keys to revamping and improving our performance in the war on terrorism.

Within a month of the terrorist attack on the USS Cole in October 2000, DIA took a number of steps to enhance its ability to provide timely, actionable terrorism threat intelligence to Department of Defense entities worldwide. The result of those steps is embodied in the Joint Intelligence Task Force for Combatting Terrorism. This reorganization, and, more importantly, process reengineering, was based on two fundamental and deeply held beliefs. Both have to do with today's topic of information-sharing.