US President signs memorandum for National Vetting Center

US President Donald Trump has signed a National Security Presidential Memorandum to establish a National Vetting Center (NVC).

Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen M. Nielsen said: “As part of the President’s efforts to raise the global bar for security and protect Americans, we’ve put in place tougher vetting and tighter screening for all individuals seeking to enter the United States.

The National Vetting Center is expected to support the work of  DHS and the  US intelligence community to keep terrorists, criminals, and other dangerous individuals from reaching the country’s shores.

“This is yet another step towards knowing who is coming to the United States – that they are who they say they are and that they do not pose a threat to our nation. Our frontline defenders need real-time information to protect our country, and the Center will ensure they are able to fuse intelligence and law enforcement data from across the government in one place to detect threats early, ” Nielsen added.

DHS and its partners will put mechanisms in place to ensure that the National Vetting Center can accomplish its mission while protecting individuals’ privacy, civil rights and civil liberties.

NVC will be located within the Department of Homeland Security.

This will help the departments and agencies bolster their coordination and use of intelligence and other information in the vetting process.