New Alien Identification System--Little Help in Stopping Illegal Aliens

In recent years there has been increased entry of illegal aliens into the United States. A review was made of the new system used by the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) for documenting legal aliens. The system, called the Alien Documentation, Identification, and Telecommunication (ADIT) System, is intended to prevent aliens from using fraudulent identity cards to enter the United States. By using a machine-verifiable card with features making it hard to tamper with, the INS hopes to detect illegal entry more easily. Another feature will be a central database containing additional data which federal inspectors can use to question aliens. INS statistics for fiscal years 1974 through 1977 show that 89 percent of the deportable aliens who were apprehended had entered without inspection.