T5 B47 Ins Overview Fdr- 2 Govt And 1 Press Reports- 1st Pgs For Reference 314

INS balks at IG's findings on systems projects - GCN March 31, 1997

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PAGE ONE STORIES GCN March 31,1997 Search Subscribe GCN Lab Jobs FOSE 99

INS balks at IG's findings on systems projects By Peyman Pejman GCN Staff The Immigration and Naturalization Service is denying the findings of the Justice Department inspector general that INS border control system projects are woefully behind schedule and over budget.

Post-Newsweeh

TECHNOLOGY

"There are no technical or managerial problems, and I do not know of any agency that has as many active automation projects as we do," INS chief information officer Ron Collison said last week. INS came under sharp attack last month when Justice IG Michael Bromwich told Congress INS' auto-mation programs have cost $2.2 billion, one border enforcement system is two years behind schedule and another border check system is not fully operational. Bromwich made his statements during extended con-gressional hearings regarding all INS operations. "I have no idea what they were talking about. I do not know where the figure came from. There are a lot of factual inaccuracies in that testimony," Collison said, adding that his total information technology budget for fiscal 1996 was $281 million. The Justice public affairs office said the inspector general and his staff would not comment or provide additional information. One program Bromwich criticized is Enforce, which he said is two years behind schedule. Collison said Congress appropriated money for the project only in 1995 and expected it to be completed in two years. "I do not understand how the program can be two years behind schedule when Congress just approved it two years ago," Collison said. It is a few months late, he acknowledged. The project would have been ready by January, he said, but the system needed a few modifications because the new immigration reform law required changes in some immigration forms. The update to the program's forms software will delay deployment until summer, Collison said.

National access http://www.gcn.com/archives/gcn/1997/march31/cov5.htm

4/30/2004

Audit Report 99-19

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FOLLOW-UP REVIEW IMMIGRATION AND NATURALIZATION SERVICE MANAGEMENT OF AUTOMATION PROGRAMS

Audit Report 99-19, (7/99)

TABLE OF CONTENTS

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY INTRODUCTION FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS I. STATUS OF THE AUTOMATION PROJECTS A. Efforts to Monitor and Control Project Costs B. Progress Toward Timely Project Completions C. Life-Cycle Management D. Outcome-Based Performance Measurements E. Causes for Lack of INS Awareness Over Project Status F. Recent INS Developments to Initiate Corrective Actions G. Recommendations II. COSTS AND FUNDING A. INS Reported Costs for Automation Programs B. Reliability of Reported Costs for Automation Programs

http://www.usdoj.gov/oig/audit/INS/9919/index.htm

4/30/2004

United States General Accounting Office

GAO

Report to the Attorney General, Department of Justice

December 2000

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

INS Needs to Strengthen Its Investment Management Capability

GAO

Accountability * Integrity * Reliability

GAO-01-146