And there's evidence none of it was approved?
The request is on page 111 of the document I linked to. It reads as follows:
US-VISIT Identity Management a
nd Screening Services ............$11.2M (0 FTE)
The total requested funding for this initiative is $31.2M. An increase of $11.2M supports
efforts to address a growing workload re
sulting from 10 print identifications /
verifications, latent print pro
cessing, data sharing initiatives
(most notably with the FBI),
and support for Secure Communities; extends
the Data Integrity Group’s coverage of
potential in-country overstays to all traveler
s to the United States; and provides a 24/7
operational capability to provide timely response
s to queries from its users. Further, the
increased funding will support information shari
ng and technical assistance with select
foreign governments to promote the adoption
and use of common standards for biometric identity management, facilitating access to
additional information sources for screening
travelers to and workers within the United States.
My understanding is that Congress did fund it. I also understand that it takes time to convert everything to digital images, which can then be accessed by computer. Before 2010, there are literally millions of pages of immigrant data on paper only, which spans more than 50 years. One change in the Obama Administration is that, from that point on, every visitor to the US has his or her fingerprints taken, and a biometric profile is then created. I give Obama credit for that.
The accidental citizenships go back many decades. In fact, 206 of them were identified in 2008, during the Bush administration. Not all of them have been prosecuted, however, as some of them are due to mistakes in paperwork, rather than intent to defraud. One of those is now a police officer.
Fact is, both Democrats and Republicans have been working hard since 2010 to get this loophole removed, and this is not an issue that douche bags, whether Democratic or Republican, should be using to criticize anybody, whether Democratic or Republican.