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U.S.
Attorney General John Ashcroft says foreign visitors need to be
tracked in the U.S. |
WASHINGTON,
August 14 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - A new federal registry to
boost surveillance of visitors to the United States who spark elevated
national security concerns will be launched September 11, the
anniversary of deadly terror attacks, the Justice Department said
Monday, August 12.
The
entry/exit registration system, which will track tens of thousands of
foreign visitors, responds to a congressional mandate to track
“virtually all” of the 35 million foreign nationals who visit the
United States annually before 2005.
The
NSEERS program, developed by the Immigration and Naturalization Service
(INS), which will start at select ports of entry for travel by land, air
and sea for a 20-day trial period before full implementation October 1,
requires the fingerprinting and photographing of a small percentage of
foreign visitors.
Nationals
of Iran, Iraq, Libya, Sudan and Syria - countries listed on the U.S.
State Department’s list of state sponsors of terrorism - will be
fingerprinted, as will “nonimmigrant aliens whom the State Department
determines to present an elevated national security risk,” and foreign
nationals identified by INS inspectors at the port of entry, using
similar criteria, the Justice Department said in a statement.
The
program will affect mostly those from Muslim and Middle Eastern
countries.
Those
prints will then be matched against databases of “known criminals and
known terrorists,” selected according to “intelligence criteria
reflecting patterns of terrorist organizations' activities.”
The
registry will also require individuals check in periodically with
authorities, similar to programs already in place across Europe.
“The
vulnerabilities of our immigration system became starkly clear on
September 11,” when four hijacked commercial aircraft were crashed
into U.S. targets, killing more than 3,000 people, Attorney General John
Ashcroft said.
“This
system will expand substantially America's scrutiny of those foreign
visitors who may present an elevated national security risk. And it will
provide a vital line of defense in the war against terrorism.”
Advocates
for Arab and Muslim Americans have complained the new rules are biased.
When
the program was announced in June, the Council on American-Islamic
Relations said it would likely “create a false sense of security and
end up further damaging America’s image and reputation around the
world.”
Backing
the program, INS spokesman Bill Strassberger said, “The real agenda is
to improve security in the United States and improve the knowledge of
who is coming and what their business is here.”
“The
terrorists were able to exploit what they perceived as weaknesses. We
can make sure that won’t happen again.”
