U.S. starts fingerprinting program

[Link]

Article taken from here

U.S. ready to fingerprint visitors

Monday, January 5, 2004 Posted: 1212 GMT ( 8:12 PM HKT)


(CNN) -- Many visitors to the United States now face a demand for fingerprints and photographs as a government program intended to fight terrorism takes effect Monday.

The new program covers those overseas visitors who are required to have a visa to enter the United States -- an estimated 24 million people a year.

Not everyone will be put through the extra security steps.

Citizens from 28 countries, mostly in Europe, aren't required to carry a visa if their visit is less than 90 days. Visitors from those countries are exempt.

Outside of Europe, the exempt countries include Japan, Singapore, Australia, New Zealand and Brunei. Citizens of Canada generally do not need a visa to enter the United States.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security says the goal of the US VISIT program is to track the millions of people who come to the United States every year on business, student and tourist visas -- and to use the information as a tool against terrorists.

US-VISIT stands for United States Visitor and Immigrant Status Indicator Technology.

Critics say the broad-reaching program will cause unnecessary travel delays and may never prove to be effective.

"There's so much information in such volumes that there's a limit to what any analyst can absorb," said Larry Johnson, an aviation security consultant.

Faiz Rehman, president of the National Council of Pakistani-Americans, points to the disruption in travel.

"Without proper training, there will be long lines, there will be missed flights, there will be people who would be wrongly stopped," Rehman said.

Outside the United States, there has been a backlash as well.

In reaction to the U.S. policy, Brazil last week began fingerprinting and photographing American visitors arriving at Sao Paulo's airport. Brazil's Foreign Ministry has also requested that Brazilians be removed from the U.S. list.

The U.S. program, which has a budget of $380 million, will require an estimated 24 million visitors to submit two finger scans and have a photograph taken upon entering any of 115 airports or 14 seaports.

Homeland Security spokesman Bill Strassberger said once screeners become proficient, the extra security will take only 10 to 15 seconds per person, The Associated Press reported.

Inkless fingerprints will be taken and checked instantly against a digital database for criminal backgrounds and any terrorist lists. The process will be repeated when visitors leave the United States as an extra security measure and to ensure they complied with visa limitations.

Lawmakers who included the program in the Homeland Security Act of 2002 say the program will improve security.

Rep. Jane Harman, D-California, is among those who believe the new measures could help prevent a repeat of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.

"We want to keep the bad guys out of our country," Harman said. "We want to identify them and keep them out, and we want to find them if they're already here. And we did a bad job of that on 9/11."

Tim Edgar, a critic of the program and legislative counsel for the American Civil Liberties Union, said it will not take the place of improved intelligence gathering.

"The problem with 9/11 is that we didn't know who the terrorists were," Edgar said. "We could have put them through this system and they would have gotten through without any problem."

Citizens of the following countries have visa-free entry to the United States in most circumstances: Andorra, Austria, Australia, Belgium, Brunei, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Monaco, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, San Marino, Singapore, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom.

------

What are your thoughts on this? Exaggerative? Or just normal?

[Timber Loftis]

Oh, it's only a few more years until every baby gets a hand "ID Band" sugically inserted in its wirst anyway, so who cares. Wave goodbye to privacy and freedom, folks, we were subverted into giving them up voluntarily.

Actually, this sounds like a logical and reasonable program. It makes perfect sense, and as for other countries doing this to US visitors...no problem here. Every nation has a right and an obligation to protect itself from those who would break their laws and harm their citizens. It only makes sense that if you cannot trust the country of origin to control their criminal populace and their travels, that we do it our self. Being a Government worker run program insures that there will be screwups and mistakes.

The chief complaints are "Long lines and Delays" Anyone been to an airport in the last 5 years? Long lines and delays are par for the course.

TL I think this falls into your much ado about nothing new catagory.

[ 01-05-2004, 09:58 AM: Message edited by: MagiK ]

[Timber Loftis]

Where personal privacy is concerned, I will make ado about it, MagiK. From giving your SS# to every pimple-faced 18-yr-old running a credit card call line to having the pizza joint tell you your address when you call up, I am truly worried about what sort of privacy our kids will have. No privacy means not only no privacy, but decreased ability to lie to people and increased requirements to deal with people -- and where's the fun in that.

[Skunk]

So the terrorists use someone without a criminal record to enter the US (Most suicide bombers in Israel are first (and last) time offenders.

Can't see how the new system is going to stop terrorists from entering the country - and since suicide is the new preferred method of inflicting casualties, catching them when they leave is not an issue either...

Criminal records are only ONE list that will be checked. There are more lists than you could ever know that also are or can be referenced, so your argument while quite nice...basicly missed the point.

Edit: So you oppose this, what would your suggestion as a first step to keep terrorists out of the U.S. be? Or would you adopt a "do nothing" policy?

[ 01-05-2004, 05:22 PM: Message edited by: MagiK ]

Originally posted by Timber Loftis: Where personal privacy is concerned, I will make ado about it, MagiK. From giving your SS# to every pimple-faced 18-yr-old running a credit card call line to having the pizza joint tell you your address when you call up, I am truly worried about what sort of privacy our kids will have. No privacy means not only no privacy, but decreased ability to lie to people and increased requirements to deal with people -- and where's the fun in that.

Well I have researched it as extensively as my government contacts will allow and apparently you needen't worry TL. Chicago is not on the list of Nations to be printed [img]smile.gif[/img]

[Timber Loftis]

Hey, MagiK, you posted at 4:20 [img]graemlins/bonghit.gif[/img]

[pritchke]

I read that to, I figure the tourism industry will be hit hard.

Who in there right mind will want to visit the US if they are forced to be fingerprinted and have other non essential information taken from them by a shadowy foreign government? If that type of information were to get in the wrong hands it could have serious consequences. The CIA could do some dirty deed and then blame it on an innocent foreigner who visited Disney land for a few days. Can your government guarantee that my information will only be used for its original intended purpose and protect my privacy information? I don't think so, and as long as they are taking information from me other than what is on my passport I will not visit the US. I urge other non US citizens not to do so as well. It is bad enough giving such information to your own government, but at least if they abuse that information you have given, you have a much better chance of suing their asses for violating privacy rights.

[ 01-05-2004, 05:44 PM: Message edited by: pritchke ]

Originally posted by pritchke: Who in there right mind will want to visit the US if they are forced to be fingerprinted and have other non essential information taken from them by a shadowy foreign government?

Why all those people who want to visit, thats who. It appears that people like to travel more when they are more likely to survive the trip than otherwise, so while they grumble about the lines...they will continue to travel. It is the way people are.

Oh and it isn't IF. It is already established it WILL happen. [img]smile.gif[/img]