Since then, INS  officials told us that they have de-obligated over $6.6 million that they had  obligated after August 2, 2002, and reclassified those obligations to other  available sources of base “Enforcement and Border Affairs” fiscal year  2002 funding. Under this strategy, INS intends to acquire the system in two phases. Key processes include the following:    Acquisition planning. However, INS obligated entry exit system funding before  submitting the plan. Other Observations: Planned Entry Exit Capabilities Are Aligned with Legislation, but Future Expenditure Plans Need to Be Improved

Recent legislation has defined the capabilities that the entry exit system is  to provide, and INS’s preliminary plans show that it intends for the system  to provide these capabilities. Without sufficiently detailed information on system plans and  progress, the Congress will be impeded in its efforts to oversee the system  and constrained in its ability to provide timely guidance and release of  funding. For example,  the system must, among other things, (1) collect and match alien arrival  and departure data electronically; (2) be accessible to the border  management community, including consular officers, federal inspection  agents, and law enforcement and intelligence agencies responsible for the  identification and investigation of foreign nationals; and (3) support  machine-readable, tamper-resistant documents containing biometric  identifiers at U.S. ports of entry. Notify appropriate authorities as required. Additionally, we recommend that the Secretary ensure that future  expenditure plans (1) be provided to the department’s Senate and House  Appropriations Subcommittees in advance of entry exit system funds  being obligated and (2) fully disclose what entry exit system capabilities  and benefits are to be delivered, by when, and at what cost, and how it  intends to manage the acquisition to provide reasonable assurance that  these system capability, benefit, schedule, and cost commitments will be  met. Second, it stated that it had addressed the development of a system  security plan and privacy impact assessment and provided a draft  document entitled Technical Architecture and Security Requirements  that it said addressed these issues. An additional GAO contact and staff  acknowledgments are listed in appendix V.

Appendix I: Objectives, Scope, and Methodology

The Congress limited the ability of the Immigration and Naturalization  Service (INS) to obligate funds for the entry exit system until INS  submitted an expenditure plan (1) that meets the capital planning and  investment control review requirements established by the Office of  Management and Budget (OMB), including Circular A-11, part 3; (2) that  complies with the acquisition rules, requirements, and guidelines and  systems acquisition management practices of the federal government; and  (3) that is reviewed by us. To satisfy our legislative mandate, our  objectives were to review INS’s expenditure plan to (1) determine whether  the plan satisfied the legislative conditions and (2) provide observations  about the expenditure plan and INS’s management of the entry exit  system. Our review focused not only on the plan, but also on related  system documentation and plans.
Why GAO Did This Study

Pursuant to legislative direction, the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS), now part of the Department of Homeland Security, plans to acquire and deploy an entry exit system to assist in monitoring the flow of foreign nationals in and out of the United States. By separate legislative direction, INS must submit to the Senate and House Committees on Appropriations a plan for this system that meets certain conditions, including being reviewed by GAO, before funds can be obligated. This report satisfies GAO's mandated review obligation by (1) addressing whether the plan submitted by INS, along with related INS documentation and plans, meets required conditions and (2) providing observations about the plan and INS's management of the system.

What GAO Found

INS's initial expenditure plan and associated system acquisition documentation and plans for the entry exit system partially meet the legislative conditions imposed by the Congress. That is, INS has implemented or has defined plans for implementing most of the legislatively mandated requirements for the plan's content, which include such areas as capital planning and investment control, acquisition, and systems acquisition management. However, key issues related to understanding and implementing system requirements, such as developing a system security plan and assessing system impact on the privacy of individuals, remain to be addressed. Moreover, INS reported that it had obligated some entry exit funding before it submitted the plan to the Appropriations Committees. Since then, INS officials told GAO that they have de-obligated and reclassified these obligations to other available funding sources. GAO observed that INS has preliminary plans showing that it intends to acquire and deploy a system that has functional and performance capabilities that satisfy the general scope of capabilities required under various laws. These include the capability to (1) collect and match alien arrival and departure data electronically; (2) be accessible to the border management community (including consular officers, federal inspection agents, and law enforcement and intelligence agencies responsible for identifying and investigating foreign nationals); and (3) support machine-readable, tamper-resistant documents with biometric identifiers at ports of entry. Each of these capabilities is integral to supporting our nation's border security process. However, GAO also observed that the initial plan does not provide sufficient information about INS commitments for the system, such as what specific system capabilities and benefits will be delivered, by when, and at what cost, and how INS intends to manage the acquisition to provide reasonable assurance that it will meet these commitments. Without sufficiently detailed information on system plans and progress, the Congress will be impeded in its efforts to oversee the system.