A top Homeland Department Security official on Wednesday defended the government’s implementation of a system to track the whereabouts of foreign students studying at U.S colleges and universities. Despite glitches in the system, the Student and Exchange Visitor and Information System (SEVIS) is fully deployed and working well, Johnny Williams told the House Judiciary Immigration, Border Security and Claims Subcommittee. Williams is the interim director of immigration enforcement at Homeland Security’s Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which replaced part of the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS). SEVIS was originally conceived from an earlier program to track foreign students that was tested but never fully deployed. After the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, Congress passed laws mandating that immigration officials develop a way for colleges and universities to track their visiting students because several of the terrorists had expired student visas. Lawmakers required that the system be functional by Jan. 1. Full Story
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