Little Ado on Day 1 of Airport New Rules

Little Ado on Day 1 of Airport New Rules
Associated Press

Published: Tuesday, January 6, 2004 

CHICAGO (AP) — Foreign travelers pressed their fingers to inkless pads and 
had their photographs snapped by Customs officers Monday as U.S. airports 
launched a program meant to keep terrorists out of the country. 

Airport officials and passengers reported little fuss on the first day of the 
new rules, which Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge said are "part of an 
effort to make sure our borders are open to visitors but closed to terrorists." 
 
"America has been and will always be a welcoming country, but we will also be 
on guard," Ridge said at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, 
where he greeted some of the first foreign passengers to pass through the 
system. 

The program, aimed at letting Customs officials instantly check an immigrant or 
visitor's criminal background, targets foreigners entering the 115 U.S. 
airports that handle international flights, as well as 14 major seaports. The 
only exceptions will be visitors from 27 countries — mostly European nations 
— whose citizens are allowed to come to the United States for up to 90 days 
without visas. 

In a pilot program at Hartsfield-Jackson that preceded Monday's nationwide 
implementation, authorities turned up 21 people on the FBI's criminal watch 
list for such crimes as drug offenses, rape and visa fraud, Ridge said. 

Across the country, passengers reported only minor delays, if any, in passing 
through Customs checkpoints, and many said they didn't mind the extra steps if 
it meant better security. 

"We all want to go on a flight knowing we're going to arrive safely," said 
Layal Rashid, 22, a Cyprus resident who arrived at Chicago's O'Hare 
International Airport on a flight from Frankfurt, Germany. "It puts your mind 
at ease to know that the security is stricter now." 

Some foreign travelers, though, were taken aback by the rules, and others 
complained that no countries should be exempt. 

"We're not used to having our fingerprint and photo taken and it being filed. 
Who knows what they can do with that," said Carlos Elizondo, who came to 
Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport on a flight from Monterrey, Mexico. 

Under the program, called US-VISIT, or U.S. Visitor and Immigrant Status 
Indicator Technology, fingerprints are checked instantly against terrorist 
lists and the national digital database for criminal backgrounds. 

Photographs go into a database for law enforcement that eventually will allow 
users to pull up photos of visa holders and make sure they match the person who 
is seeking to enter the country. The travel data is supposed to be securely 
stored and made available only to authorized officials on a need-to-know basis. 

Foreigners also will be checked as they leave the country as an extra security 
measure and to ensure they complied with visa limitations. 

Different rules apply for Canada and Mexico. Canadians are allowed into the 
country simply by providing proof of citizenship. Mexicans can apply for a 
permit to travel in the United States for up to three days provided they stay 
within 25 miles of the border. If they want to stay longer or travel further, 
they must obtain a visa. 

The program is expected to check up to 24 million foreigners each year, though 
some will be repeat visitors. 

Homeland Security spokesman Bill Strassberger said that once screeners become 
proficient, the extra security will take 10 to 15 seconds per person. A similar 
program is to be installed at 50 land border crossings by the end of next year, 
Strassberger said. 

Nishith Shah, who arrived at Boston's Logan International Airport from Baroda, 
India, said he was comfortable with the process because it didn't take long. 
But he hopes it doesn't lead to further restrictions on foreign visitors. 

"Is it going to stop here?" Shah asked. 

In Brazil, meanwhile, the Foreign Ministry started fingerprinting and 
photographing arriving Americans last week in retaliation. U.S. citizens waited 
for hours Monday to be photographed and fingerprinted at Rio's international 
airport. 

"As far as reciprocity, Brazil has every right to do this," said Claire 
Fallender, a 27-year-old American sociologist from Boston, who said she had 
been waiting for five hours. "The only problem is without the technology to 
process people, it's causing frustration and losing the point of protesting 
American policy." 

 

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