Federal Reports

DHS’ IT systems did not effectively allow CBP and ICE personnel to track migrants from apprehension to release or transfer. Instead, DHS personnel and partner agencies at the border implemented manual and ad hoc workarounds to process migrants apprehended illegally entering the United States. DHS personnel also faced challenges when data was not consistently documented in DHS’ systems of record. For example, migrant apprehension times were not recorded in a consistent manner, and we identified missing migrant data that prevented DHS from determining family status. Also, CBP did not always document a migrant’s intended U.S. address before releasing the individual into the United States using prosecutorial discretion to await immigration proceedings. We made eight recommendations that will help prioritize funding needs and make integration improvements to DHS IT systems to promote timely and accurate information sharing within DHS and with external partners. The Department concurred with all recommendations.

Background: We conducted this review to determine the extent to which the data files the Social Security Administration (SSA) provided the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to facilitate economic impact payments (EIP) under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA) were accurate and complete when they were transmitted.ARPA became law on March 11, 2021 and authorized a third round of IRS-administered EIPs (EIP3). To assist in identifying Old-age, Survivors and Disability Insurance (OASDI) beneficiaries and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) recipients potentially eligible for EIP3s, the IRS requested SSA provide beneficiary and recipient data.On March 25, 2021, SSA completed delivery of OASDI and SSI production data that provided IRS with information on approximately 72 million beneficiaries and recipients.

BSEE addressed many issues identified in our previous report; however, we identified areas in which BSEE could further strengthen internal controls.