Southwest Border: Actions Needed to Address Fragmentation in DHS's Processes for Apprehended Family Members
Fast Facts
Homeland Security component agencies collect information on noncitizen family members who are apprehended together at the southwest border. Each component collects the information it needs, but does not always consider the information needed by other DHS components.
Without identifying and sharing this information, DHS risks removing individuals from the country who may be eligible for relief or protection based on their family relationships.
We made 4 recommendations, including linking and sharing collected information on all family members apprehended together so that all DHS components have access to it.
A uniformed agent with a pair of binoculars looks out over a creek
Highlights
What GAO Found
The Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) processes to identify, collect, document, and share information about family members apprehended at the southwest border are fragmented. DHS's U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) apprehends family members and determines how information about each individual—and his or her relationship to other family members—will be collected and documented. Other DHS components, such as U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), use information collected at the time of apprehension to inform how those who are members of a family, including children, will proceed through immigration proceedings. Family members apprehended at the border and placed into expedited removal that indicate an intention to apply for asylum, or a fear of persecution or torture or fear of return to their home country, are referred to DHS's U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) for a credible fear screening. However,
DHS has not identified the information its components collectively need about apprehended family members. Each DHS component collects information to meet its own operational needs, and does not consider the information needs of other components. For example, the information about family members that CBP needs differs from the information about family members that USCIS needs. CBP officials told us they would not generally identify spouses and children age 18 to 21 apprehended with a parent as family members, although USCIS's definition of a dependent for credible fear screening purposes includes spouses and unmarried children under age 21.
CBP collects information about certain family members for its operational purposes, but does not collect and document information at the time of apprehension that other DHS components may later need. Specifically, CBP collects and documents information about parents and their children under age 18 who are apprehended together. However, consistent with regulation, USCIS policy is to include any dependents who arrived concurrently with the principal applicant, such as a spouse or unmarried child under age 21, on a principal applicant's positive credible fear determination if the dependent wants to be included. According to USCIS and ICE officials, it can be difficult to identify spouses and children age 18 to 21 because CBP does not regularly document such family relationships.
DHS does not have a mechanism to link the records of family members apprehended together across its components that need this information. As a result, DHS components may not have access to all the information about family members they need to make effective operational decisions.
Because DHS has not identified the information all of its components collectively need to process family members apprehended at the border, collected and documented that information at the time of apprehension, and evaluated options to share that information across components, consistent with leading practices in collaboration, DHS risks removing individuals from the United States who may have been eligible for relief or protection based on their family relationship.
Why GAO Did This Study
In fiscal year 2019, CBP reported apprehending more than 527,000 noncitizen family unit members (children under 18 and their parents or legal guardians) at or between U.S. ports of entry along the southwest border—a 227 percent increase over fiscal year 2018. GAO was asked to review issues related to families—including family units—arriving at the southwest border.
This report examines the extent to which DHS has identified, collected, documented, and shared information its components need to inform processes for family members apprehended at the border. GAO analyzed DHS documents; interviewed DHS officials; and visited DHS locations in Arizona, California and Texas, where CBP apprehensions of family units increased in 2017. GAO compared the information gathered with leading practices in collaboration to evaluate DHS components' processes for apprehended family members.
Recommendations
GAO is making four recommendations to DHS, including that DHS identify the information its components collectively need to process family members apprehended together, collect and document that information at the time of apprehension, and evaluate options for developing a unique identifier shared across DHS's data systems to link family members apprehended together. DHS concurred with the recommendations.
Recommendations for Executive Action
| Agency Affected | Recommendation | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Department of Homeland Security |
Priority Rec.
The Secretary of Homeland Security should identify the information about family members apprehended together that its components collectively need to process those family members and communicate that information to its components. (Recommendation 1) |
In 2020, we reported that the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) processes to identify, collect, document, and share information about family members apprehended at the southwest border are fragmented . In particular, we found that each DHS component collected information to meet its own operational needs, and did not consider the information needs of other components . Therefore, we recommended that DHS identify the information about family members apprehended together that its components collectively need to process those family members and communicate that information to its components . In response, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), in coordination with DHS's Office of Immigration Statistics (OIS), issued a memorandum in April 2023 with updated, agency-wide guidance on recording, linking, and processing family groups . The guidance applies to four types of family groups, including parents and/or legal guardian(s) with their unmarried adult children between the ages of 18 and 25 . When encountering any such family groups, CBP officers and agents are to record and link all known members of the family group so that the name(s), date(s) of birth, A-number(s), and relationship to other members of the family group are accessible through the system of record . According to DHS OIS officials, they coordinated with other relevant components-U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement-in developing the guidance to ensure the relationships and required data collection identified in CBP's memorandum would meet their operational needs . Identifying and communicating department-wide information needs with respect to family members who have been apprehended together should help provide DHS with greater assurance that its components are identifying all individuals who may be eligible for relief from removal from the U.S. based on their family relationships .
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| Department of Homeland Security | The Secretary of Homeland Security should ensure that, at the time of apprehension, CBP collects the information that DHS components collectively need to process family members apprehended together. (Recommendation 2) |
In 2020, we reported that U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) collected information about certain family members for its operational purposes, but did not collect information at the time of apprehension that other Department of Homeland Security (DHS) components may later need. Therefore, we recommended that the Secretary of Homeland Security ensure that, at the time of apprehension, CBP collects the information that DHS components collectively need to process family members apprehended together. In commenting on a draft of our report, DHS reported that its Office of Immigration Statistics (OIS) would work with relevant components and offices to ensure all required information is collected at the time of apprehension on the Form I-213 when processing family members apprehended together. In April 2023, the Acting CBP Commissioner, in coordination with OIS, issued a memorandum with updated, agency-wide guidance on recording, linking, and processing family groups. In May 2023, U.S. Border Patrol and Office of Field Operations leadership transmitted the updated guidance to the field. In particular, the guidance applies to four types of familial relationships, including parents and/or legal guardian(s) with their unmarried adult children between the ages of 18 and 25. When encountering any such family groups, CBP officers and agents are to record and link all known members of the family group so that the name(s), date(s) of birth, A-number(s), and relationship for other members of the family groups are accessible through the automated system of record. As of June 2023, CBP officers and agents are to collect the required information at the time of apprehension or encounter, and supervisors are required to ensure its collection, according to U.S. Border Patrol and Office of Field Operations officials. Collecting information about the relationships between family members apprehended together and documenting that information on the Form I-213 should improve management of fragmentation among DHS components.
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| Department of Homeland Security | The Secretary of Homeland Security should ensure that CBP documents the information that DHS components collectively need to process family members apprehended together on the Form I-213. (Recommendation 3) |
In 2020 , we reported that U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) collected information about certain family members for its operational purposes, but did not document information at the time of apprehension that other Department of Homeland Security (DHS) components may later need . Therefore, we recommended that the Secretary of Homeland Security ensure that, at the time of apprehension, CBP documents the information that DHS components collectively need to process family members apprehended together . In commenting on a draft of our report, DHS reported that, upon implementation of the steps the department planned to take in response to our second recommendation, CBP would issue guidance to the field to ensure agents and officers document the information that DHS components collectively need to process family members . In April 2022, CBP reported that it modified its data systems to display more information, such as family role, in the Form I-213 narrative field for family members apprehended together . In response to our second recommendation, the Acting CBP Commissioner issued a memorandum with updated, agency-wide guidance on recording, linking, and processing family groups in April 2023 . In particular, the guidance applies to four types of familial relationships, including parents and/or legal guardian(s) with their unmarried adult children between the ages of 18 and 25 . As of June 2023, CBP officers and agents are to collect the required information at the time of apprehension or encounter, and supervisors are required to ensure its collection, according to U.S. Border Patrol and Office of Field Operations officials . Further, in 2022 and 2023, respectively, the Office of Field Operations and U.S. Border Patrol implemented mechanisms in their data systems that automatically link data for family members apprehended or encountered together and document such relationships in the narrative field of the I-213 in an automated manner . According to CBP, all user groups-including other relevant DHS components-can access family data as it appears on the Form I-213 . Collecting information about the relationships between family members apprehended together and documenting that information on the Form I-213 should improve management of fragmentation among DHS components .
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| Department of Homeland Security |
Priority Rec.
The Secretary of Homeland Security should evaluate options for developing a unique identifier shared across DHS components' data systems to link family members apprehended together. (Recommendation 4) |
In 2020, we found that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) did not have a mechanism to link the records of family members apprehended together across its components that need this information. As a result, DHS components may not have access to all the information about family members they need to make effective operational decisions. Therefore, we recommended that the Secretary of Homeland Security evaluate options for developing a unique identifier shared across DHS components' data systems to link family members apprehended together. In commenting on a draft of our report, DHS reported that its Office of Immigration Statistics (OIS) planned to work with relevant components to develop a unique shared identifier linking family members apprehended together. According to DHS, OIS launched the Family Status Community of Interest in June 2020, with representatives from U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. According to DHS officials, between 2020-2023, the group's efforts resulted in the development of unique identifiers for family units and family groups CBP apprehends or encounters. CBP uses these identifiers in its data systems and makes them available to other DHS components through its Unified Immigration Portal. The portal provides authorized users a means to view and access certain immigration-related data from each of the respective agencies from a single interface. Furthermore, as noted in response to our third recommendation from our report (GAO-20-274), as of 2023, CBP data systems document such familial relationships on the Form I-213 in an automated manner. CBP's development of unique identifiers for apprehended family units and family group members and components' access to those identifiers through CBP's Unified Immigration Portal should help bridge the information gaps about family relationships between DHS components.
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