3.6 Million Foreign Visitors Fail To Leave When Required

This is one major aspect of the immigration issue that few have talked about. We already have a strained immigration system under normal day to day conditions- without the added burden of implementing the reforms that are being proposed. As I have pointed out, there is no way that U.S. immigration authorities will have enough manpower & resources to do the job, if the new reforms are ever approved.

But add another problem into the mix. The problem I am referring to is the problem of people who enter the U.S. legally under the legitimate entry system, but fail to report and leave the country once their Visas expire. This is an aspect of the immigration problem that few want to talk about. These millions of foreign visitors become illegal once they fail to leave when required and that will require personnel and equipment to respond to attempt to locate these individuals. This will only become a growing problem since politicians are attempting to put more visitors into the legitimate legal immigration system.

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Article from the L.A. Times

Staying Put When Visas Expire
About 3.6 million people who arrived in the U.S. legally don't leave when they should. They are targeted as the nation debates its immigration policy.

By Anna Gorman, Times Staff Writer
May 22, 2006

Alhaji Kamara, 28, didn't enter the United States by hiding in the trunk of a car or trekking through the desert.The Sierra Leone native arrived legally in 1995 the way millions do every year, with a tourist visa. He later obtained a student visa and was eventually granted temporary protected status because of civil war in his West African homeland.

But when his legal status ended in 2002, Kamara decided to stay put. He said he didn't feel safe returning home."There was nowhere to go back to," the Orange County resident said. "I decided to follow my education here."


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