INS reaches for high-tech silver bullet

But university groups still appear to be balking. "There continues to be some disagreement between schools and INS," says one agency official. But, he says, "We're not going to allow any unreasonable delays." Yet there's no deadline for the program to be required for all foreign students.

All in all, it's symptomatic of an agency that observers say is often whipsawed by the public, the president, and Congress. One day they want foreign visitors to have unfettered access to schools and tourist spots. The next, they practically want moment-by-moment accountings of visitors' movements. That's why the INS keeps turning to technology – hoping to balance the two. New programs include:

• The EZ-pass system on the Canadian border. A device mounted in the vehicle of prescreened travelers beams necessary information to border officials before the travelers arrive at the checkpoint, allowing for quick processing. It's being expanded after a successful pilot.

• A planned new entry-exit tracking system would trace all visitors at air, sea, and land ports. It's a mammoth undertaking – and observers think the official 2005 implementation date is too optimistic.

• The Mexican-border "laser visa" program uses holograms and other high-tech encryption to ensure reliable identification of visitors. Pre-screened travelers swipe their cards and gain quick access to the US. Millions of cards have been issued. But the INS has only a handful of card readers – so the system is rarely used.

Given the INS's history with technology, however, that story isn't unique. Last year, the Justice Department reviewed the INS's entry-exit tracking system and found that despite having spent $31.2 million between 1996 to 2000, the INS "does not have clear evidence that the system meets its intended goals." The agency expects to spend $57 million more on the project between 2001 and 2005.

Observers say the fundamental problem is a lack of a grander technology vision. Instead, a band-aid approach dictates that a new computer system be developed each time a problem arises. That leads to myriad networks that can't talk to each other – let alone to systems of other agencies.

Some are confident in the agency's employees and their ability to deal with the vexing border issues.

"The good news is that they can pull this off," says Mr. Ferro. But he cautions against plans – including by President Bush – to split the agency in two. "There continues to be some dis"All restructuring is going to do is buy three more years for excuses," he says, adding, "The best changes are going to take a while."

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