"Arabs and Muslims to be fingerprinted at US airports"

Thursday, October 3, 2002

Arabs and Muslims to be fingerprinted at US airports
United Kingdom - The Guardian


The US yesterday introduced a sweeping new security regime at its
airports and borders, photographing and fingerprinting visitors from
Arab and Muslim countries. 

The regulations, which were denounced by critics as ethnic profiling,
went into effect at all American airports and border crossings. 

They require all visitors from certain predominantly Muslim countries to
undergo additional security checks on their arrival in the US. 

As their fingerprints are run through computer databanks for matches
with known criminals and terrorists, the new arrivals will be
photographed and interviewed by immigration officials about their plans
for their stay in the US. 

If they are allowed into the country for an extended stay, they must
check in with immigration authorities within a month and report any
change of address or job within 10 days. 

The measures were initially aimed at citizens of Iran, Iraq, Sudan,
Syria and Libya, all of which are included on a state department list of
countries sponsoring state terrorism. 

However, the justice department said last month that the regulations
would also apply to men from Pakistan, Yemen and Saudi Arabia between
the ages of 16 and 45. 

Yesterday, US embassies in Egypt and Jordan warned travellers that they,
too, could spend their first moments in America being fingerprinted,
photographed and questioned. 

"The process is not static. The criteria may change as intelligence
reports change," said Jorge Martinez, a spokesman for the justice
department. 

He said that as many as 200,000 visitors to the US would be subjected to
the new measures every year, with the numbers of those affected
fluctuating according to security assessments, which will not be made
public. However, he was insistent that the new security regime did not
target Muslim or Arab travellers. 

"I can't specify criteria, but it is not specific to any race or
religion," Mr Martinez said. 

Critics say that the measures discriminate against Arab and Muslim
travellers, and create needless airport delays and embarrassment for
travellers who had already been vetted while applying for their visas. 

"It creates an illusion of security but does little to produce any
results," said Hodan Hassan, a spokeswoman for the Council of American
Islamic Relations. "A whole group of people who are already vetted at
embassies when they get their visas, when they come to the country are
pulled out of line and fingerprinted. It's a rude awakening for many,
and does little to help in the war against terror because it creates
resentment." 

According to a memo from the immigration and naturalisation service
obtained by the Associated Press, immigration inspectors should also
examine the visitor's past travels - and seek explanations for trips to
countries in the Middle East, predominantly Muslim countries such as
Afghanistan, Indonesia and Malaysia, and Cuba and North Korea. 

Visitors to the US from Muslim countries already face extra scrutiny.
Two months after the September 11 attacks, the authorities required
travellers from 26 mainly Muslim states to obtain FBI clearance before
their visas were processed at US consulates, delaying travel plans for
businessmen and students at American universities for six weeks at a
time.


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