The Department of Homeland Security has ordered its border agents to verify all international students' visas to ensure they are legitimate, "effective immediately," according to the Associated Press.
This move is directly related to new developments in the Boston Bombings-a friend of suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev named Azamat Tazhayakov re-entered the United States with an expired student visa, which allowed him to allegedly aid one of the bombers by hiding his goods.
It is believed that Tazhayakov kept evidence from authorities, sneaking items out of Tsarnaev's dorm room at the University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth, then lying about it to the FBI.
He couldn't have done this were it not for his return to the United States. His student visa had been terminated when he landed in New York on January 20, as he had stopped going to classes.
Unbeknownst to the border agent handling his paperwork, Tazhayakov was technically not allowed in the country. But the agent did not have proper access to the information in the Homeland Security Department's Student and Exchange Visitor Information System, and let the college student back into the U.S. with little contest.
Peter Boogaard, spokesperson for this department, said the government was working diligently to fix this issue, starting with instant updates on visa changes and information for all border patrol agents.
The Student and Exchange Visitor Information System is being reformed, officials from the department said. They'd like the adjustments to go into effect as soon as possible.
This week, Tazhayakov and other student were arrested on grounds of obstruction of justice.
The two students are being accused of helping throw away a backpack that held fireworks, belonging to suspect Dzhokhar, in addition to previous allegations of hiding evidence from authorities.
A third student was also arrested, for allegedly lying to the police.
