Letter to the Editor on the National Name Check Program
The June 14 editorial "The Name Game" told readers only half the story.
The editorial implied that the FBI is, through indifference, "punishing immigrants" by taking too long to complete some background checks for the Department of Homeland Security.
For years, the FBI did this job with great efficiency. We ran a computer check to see whether a person had been the named subject of an FBI investigation. After Sept. 11, 2001, however, the then-Immigration and Naturalization Service resubmitted 2.7 million names to be rechecked on a much broader criterion: whether they had been referenced in a negative manner in an FBI file.
From a processing standpoint, this meant that the FBI was required to review many more files in response to each individual background check request. This sometimes requires tracking down paper files across the country and overseas, or interviewing agents about current and old cases.
This avalanche, and the much deeper research required, created a backlog that no agency could have dispatched quickly. Even so, FBI employees complete almost 90 percent of these checks on time and have substantially reduced the number of pending Homeland Security checks this year.
While files containing possible derogatory information are found in less than 1 percent of Homeland Security requests, it is important to recall that it only took 19 terrorists to kill 3,000 people. We take these checks very seriously.
We agree that some people were not well served by this process, and we continue to work hard to fix that. But we believe the other half of the story matters, too.
William L. Hooton
Assistant Director
Federal Bureau of Investigation
Washington, D.C.
Editor's Note: The opinions on this page are the sole opinion of the reader. It in no way represents the
views of the editor and SolancoNews.com. However, that said, we
do strongly believe in the right to free speech.
Past Opinion Pieces
Click
HERE to view past Onions and Letters to the
Editor.
Send in Your Opinion
Do you feel strongly about
something in the Solanco community? Go ahead. Shout it out! Just remember -
all op/ed pieces must be signed and the author's name WILL be printed. No
exceptions. Email
|
 |
|
|
Candidates - A
Call for A Do-Over!
Dear Editor,
I thought one person / one vote really mattered, guess not. Now disengaging from this election year, I find myself less concerned with which candidates are running this term and what they believe. I started to wonder about our next election in 2012 and if that would hold the same promise, or lack of for the people. Come on now people, we have voices! Maybe everyone could refrain from voting all together and we could have a do over, possibly picking better candidates for the middle class, (a dying breed).
Thank you, Marcella Watterson (Providence Township)
Honesty is the Best
Policy
Dear Editor,
Honesty is the best Policy
Giddy media pundits have seized on Barack Obama’s recent “misstatement” in which he suggested economically distressed people cling to religion, resent foreigners and cherish guns.
(Full piece)
Support Obama
Dear Editor,
I support Barack Obama for President of the United State. I hope your paper will support him as well.
Gloria Townsend, Pittsburgh, PA
Obama - an Upright Man
Dear Editor,
With our primary coming up, I feel impelled to write and speak of my number one reason for supporting Barack Obama for President.
Some people seem to feel that Senator Obama and Ms Clinton are very much alike in their policies. Some people still think Hillary has "experience" (like "landing in the Bosnia sniper fire"?)
(Full piece)
|
.gif)
