DHS Agencies Announce Enrollment Dates for TWIC at Long Beach and Five Other Ports

WASHINGTON, DC — The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) today announced enrollment in the Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC) program will begin at six more ports in the coming weeks. This program ensures that any individual who has unescorted access to secure areas of port facilities and vessels has received a thorough background check and is not a known security threat.

TWIC enrollment began Oct. 16 at the Port of Wilmington, Del. The addition of six ports will bring the number of fixed enrollment centers open for enrollment to 28. Ultimately, the program will be rolled out to 147 fixed enrollment sites and vet more than 1 million workers through the rest of 2007 and 2008.

“TWIC is one of the world’s most advanced interoperable biometric systems and raises the bar on port security,” said the Transportation Security Administration’s (TSA) Maurine Fanguy, program director for TWIC. “We are off to a strong start with more than 7,100 workers enrolled and more than 1,700 credentials issued.”

Today, the TSA released specific dates for the following ports:

– Mobile, Ala. Dec. 5, 2007 – Indiana Harbor, Ind. Dec. 7, 2007 – Long Beach, Calif. Dec. 12, 2007 – Brunswick, Ga. Dec. 12, 2007 – Milwaukee Dec. 12, 2007 – Philadelphia Dec. 13, 2007

Workers at these six ports, as well as another 22 where enrollment has begun, are able to pre-enroll for TWIC on the TSA Web site (www.tsa.gov/twic). Pre-enrollment speeds up the process by allowing workers to provide biographic information and schedule a time to complete the application process in person. This reduces waiting and in-person enrollment times for each individual.

More information on the TWIC program is available at www.tsa.gov/twic and more information on port security is available at the U.S. Coast Guard’s Homeport site at homeport.uscg.mil by clicking on the Maritime Security link.