bases and been able to link them so that before visas are issued there is a check against our data, nctc's data and certain nsa data. we have done now the same thing. we've gone backwards to find visa overstays. we have looked at and prioritized those that provide any public safety or security risk. and we have now looked at the entire backlog. i will give you the inventory of what we have found and we are prioritizing those visa overstays. >> i understand. what is your estimate now of just approximately, of the number of the visa overstayers as a percentage of the total of illegal immigrants as opposed to those who crossed illegally. the number you usually hear is around 40%. is that? >> that may be a high number. what we have found is a lot of people had in fact left. >> so 40% might be too high. that's the number that is usually given when we complain about the lack of security at the border. 40% of the people here illegally overstayed visas. you think that's high. >> it may be high. >> it's a big problem and it's fine to prioritize for criminals but that's a very small percentage. >> s

and been able to link them so that the before visas are issued, there's a check against our data, nctc's data and up certain nsa data. we have done now the same thing. we've gone backwards to find visa overstays. and we have looked at and prioritized those that is provide any kind of public safety or security risk. and so and we have now looked at the entire backlog and i will give you the inventory of what we have found and we are prioritizing those visa overstays within i.c.e. >> i understand that. what is your estimate now, just approximately, of the number of the visa overstayers as a percentage of the total of illegal immigrants in the country today? supposed to those who is have crossed the border illegal littly? the number here is around 40%, is that -- >> that may it be a high number. a lot of people marked as visa overstays had in fact left. >> so 40% might be too high an estimate. that's the number that is usually given when we complain about the lack of security at the border. they say well, remember, 40% of the people here illegally actually overstayed visas. you think that n

when he served as deferred director -- the first director of the nctc, when he moved into the white house's deputy national security adviser for homeland security and counter- terrorism and assistant to the president, and when i succeeded lee hamilton here at the wilson center last year. finally, when he became president obama's point person on counterterrorism strategy, and when the wilson center commenced a series of programs, which are still ongoing, the first of which we held on 9/12/2011, to ask what the next 10 years should look like and whether this country needs a clearer legal framework around domestic intelligence. clearly, the success story of the past decade is last may's takedown of osama bin laden. at the center of that effort were a senior security leadership of the country. i noticed dennis mcdonald in the audience, right here in the front row. certainly, it included president obama and john brennan. they made the tough calls. but i also know, and we all know, how selfless an extraordinary were the actions of on an intelligence officials and navy seals. the operation depende