Trump establishes ‘vetting centre’ for homeland security

WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump has signed a national security memorandum establishing a new National Vetting Center within the Department of Homeland Security to better co-ordinate information on individuals who may pose a threat to the country.

White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders says the effort will allow law enforcement “to better identify individuals seeking to enter the country who present a threat to national security.”

She’s calling current vetting efforts “ad hoc” and says they impede the government’s ability to keep up with threats.

Trump has promised an “extreme vetting” system to better prevent would-be extremists from entering the country.

DHS Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen says the new centre will ensure officials “are able to fuse intelligence and law enforcement data from across the government in one place.”