This just amuses me. Any experienced Software Engineer worth his/her salt can come up with a solution to this issue. It isn’t complicated. All the technology is widely available to do this type of stuff and it is done day in and day out in organizations.
I have been across both borders, on foot and also by vehicle and every single time there is an officer at the border. He simply needs to swipe the identity document to record the arrival/departure.. I don’t understand why people have to leave their vehicle, does not even make any sense to go use a kiosk. Infact if you are Canadian you can go online to see your arrival/departure info – Canada’s system tracks this with no issues.
I’d just as soon the US not institute exit controls (what would be required to track visa overstays) under the current authoritarian administration. How long before they’re used to track Americans and deny them exit?
Secondly, it’s a charade …
There’s a lack of will to reform immigration law, yet the economy in many parts of the US depends and thrives due to immigration. Allowing students and tourists to overstay is the way to quietly allow immigration without admitting to it.
Immigration is only a problem because backward parts of the US where no one wants to immigrate consider it a problem. Sadly, the backward parts have more of a vote than the more modern parts, so they quietly have to be smiled and nodded to.
There is a system, but what do you do when someone overstays? You’d have to dispatch an agent to his address of record and find that person. HUGE costs and manpower, bigly.
There’s the case of the Jordanian man born in Syria who had his visa revoked and sent back. While he was being interviewed, CBP asked him about his brother who overstayed and got married and adjusted status.
One solution would be to not allow status adjustment for overstayers who enter inspected, the same way we treat non-inspected border crossers.
Plus Canadians are the biggest overstayers and they benefit from special treatment. They not are required to fill out entry/exit form. But Canada records their re-entry and shares that info with the US. But if Canadians go back through a third country there may not be a record.
All in all, I agree with you spdrun. we have an Ok system. We should be a lot more generous and allow more immigrants, especially refugees. At least 500,000 refugees per year. Exit controls could allow the government to prevent exit. Not having exit control is what makes us more free and special compared to other countries.
I made a donation to International Rescue Commitee, founded by Albert Einstein. They do good work.
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