The U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Transportation Security Administration is opening more enrollment centers as the deadline for port workers to have their Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC) cards approaches.


TSA earlier delayed and staggered implementation of TWIC to make it easier on ports and their workers to receive the card, but April 15 is the deadline for complete compliance, and hundreds of thousands of workers at the nation's biggest ports do not have the card, reported www.securitymanagement.com last month.

TSA has surged resources to open additional TWIC enrollment centers near the ports of Baton Rouge, Houston, Los Angeles/Long Beach and New York/New Jersey, accommodating increased demand as the deadline approaches for nationwide enforcement.

Additionally, the fixed enrollment center in La Porte, Texas, moved to a larger facility and added more enrollment stations to better serve workers at the Port of Houston.

Also, 17 additional mobile enrollment sites have been deployed to meet worker demand. Seven of these sites will serve workers in Alaska, four have been deployed to Los Angeles/Long Beach, and one each to Atlanta; Decatur, Ill.; Mobile, Ala.; Houston; Indianapolis; and Seattle. Mobile sites provide workers with enrollment locations convenient to their places of employment.

TSA has devoted additional resources in other key areas, including the TWIC Help Desk and enrollment, appeals and waiver process, ensuring workers are quickly assisted.

"Workers have applied weeks and months ago and still haven't received their TWIC cards," notes Edward Wytkind, President of the Transportation Trades Department, AFL-CIO. "The Transportation Security Administration and Coast Guard are doing the right thing by adding more resources to increase the number and staffing of enrollment facilities, increase staffing for processing appeals and waivers, and providing a way for workers to access their job sites and other secure areas while awaiting their TWIC cards."

Workers are able to pre-enroll for a TWIC and check their card status online at www.tsa.gov/twic or the USCG's Homeport site, http://homeport.uscg.mil/. Pre-enrolling speeds up the process, allowing workers to provide biographic information and schedule a time to complete the application process in person. This eliminates waiting at enrollment centers and reduces the time it takes to enroll each individual.