Foreign Nations Still Not Sharing Info on Terrorists With U.S.

More than a third of foreign nations participating in the U.S. visa waiver program are failing to share the identity of potential terrorists with the U.S. government, according to a new government report, which disclosed that the Department of Homeland Security is also failing to provide Congress with timely information about these security flaws.

The information sharing agreements with 38 foreign governments, which U.S. officials have dubbed “essential for national security,” are not being properly upheld in many cases, according to the Government Accountability Office, which disclosed in a recent report that terrorist identity information is not being delivered to U.S. authorities.

The disclosure comes as lawmakers warn that critical flaws in the U.S. screening process are preventing the Obama administration from properly vetting and tracking foreign individuals who use the visa waiver program to enter America.

The report determined that “more than a third of [visa waiver participant] countries are not sharing terrorist identity information” and that “more than a third of the countries have not yet shared criminal history information.”

A similar number “were not sharing identity information about known or suspected terrorists” required by current agreements.

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