The US began fingerprinting and photographing most foreigner travelers at American airports and seaports on Monday in a nationwide program that Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge said was intended to keep borders open and the country more secure.
The new entry procedures were initiated at 115 airports and at cruise ship terminals in 14 seaports, Ridge said at a news conference in Atlanta, Georgia.
PHOTO: NY TIMES
The program involves taking digital photographs and prints of the two index fingers of foreigners traveling to the US on a visa. Ridge said that a test of the program at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport since Nov. 17 had screened 20,000 travelers, yielding "21 hits" on the FBI's criminal watch list, including people with prior convictions for statutory rape, drug violations and visa fraud.
"It is part of a comprehensive program to ensure that our borders remain open to visitors but closed to terrorists," Ridge said.
The US raised its terrorist alert to orange or "high" status on Dec. 21. Since then, at least seven international flights bound for the US have been canceled or turned back because of security concerns.
More than a dozen international flights were subjected to rigorous scrutiny, but officials have said no arrests were made, and they have acknowledged that they are uncertain whether they have succeeded in foiling a terrorist plot.
Ridge said the new security program would "facilitate legitimate travel and trade" while allowing customs and border protection officials to focus on "at-risk" travelers and allowing immigration officials to confirm identities of passengers and ensure that they are adhering to visa policies.
He said the fingerprinting and photographing would add 15 seconds to the entry process. "We are adding an important layer of security," Ridge said.
The program, known as "US-Visit," is the first in a series of steps that American officials will take at borders this year.
It is meant to continue in the US the security and visa measures started at consulates overseas, said Asa Hutchinson, the undersecretary of Border and Transportation Security at the Department of Homeland Security.
"When the visitor gets to our border, we use the same biometrics -- these digital `fingerscans' -- to verify that the person at our port is the same person who received the visa or to see if we have learned new information about any involvement in terrorism or crime," Hutchinson said in a statement.
The program will exempt citizens from 28 countries, mostly European nations whose citizens are allowed to come to the US for up to 90 days without visas.
But Ridge told CNN that in October, all foreign travelers will be required to present machine-readable passports and other forms of biometric identifiers -- physical characteristics unique to each individual -- to verify identity.
"For the time being it is a matter of policy," he said. "We are going after those countries where they need visas."
The Homeland Security Department said that it also started a test on Monday of exit procedures in which foreign visitors are required to confirm their departure using automated kiosks at Baltimore-Washington International Airport and at Miami cruise terminals. Asked about the numbers of flights delayed to the US because of security concerns, Ridge said, "I think we will probably see more and more of this in the future as long as the intelligence pushes us in that direction."
The administration of George W. Bush has faced questions from American allies about the reliability of the intelligence information that has led to the recent rash of flight cancelations.
British Airways canceled a flight to the US on Friday, grounding a flight from London to Washington.
On Sunday, the British transportation minister, Alistair Darling, said travelers will face security-related flight delays and cancelations "for many years to come" and British Prime Minister Tony Blair renewed warnings of terror attacks.
"You know the terrorist threat is real right around the world at the present time," Blair told reporters while flying home from a visit to Iraq. "Nobody is immune from it; you have to remain vigilant."
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