U.S. to expand VISIT program to improve land border security

With the new U.S. Visitor and Immigrant Status Indicator Technology program, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security hopes to improve the U.S. entry and exit system at the borders. The initiative involves collecting travel information and biometric identifiers, such as fingerprints, in order to identify visitors.\nBut the launch of the program at 115 airports and 14 seaports Jan. 5 is just the first step. To broaden the scope of the US-VISIT program, the DHS has planned the following implementations: By Oct. 26, all countries from the Visa Waiver Program must certify they have programs to issue machine-readable passports for their citizens, incorporating biometric information. Citizens from countries participating in the Visa Waiver Program, including the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Japan and Australia, are not required to apply for a visa when they stay as tourists for a certain amount of time -- the length of stay varies depending on the country the visitor is from.\nWilliam Strassberger, an immigration spokesman from the DHS, thinks other countries do not have a reason to feel offended by being told by the U.S. how to issue their passports.\n"Every country has specific requirements about what they want to see from visitors coming (into the country)," Strassberger said. "And it is not that we are telling the visa waiver countries they must. If persons using a visa waiver don't have machine-readable passports by Oct. 26, that does not mean that they cannot come in. It just means that they must go to the embassy and get a visa ahead of time."\nBut Lynn Schoch, senior associate director of the Office of International Services at IU, doesn't think U.S. authorities have the right to require how other countries are designing their passports.\n"I don't think that convenience is a good enough reason," Schoch said.\nThe DHS wants to implement the automated entry and exit program not only at air and seaports, but also at land borders. The 50 busiest land border points must be covered by Dec. 31 of this year, and all other land border points by Dec. 31, 2005.\nJennifer Bowen, assistant director for student services at IU, said she thinks it will be a major hurdle to try to get the land border ports of entry to have the proper equipment and be trained on its use in time for the deadline. \n"I think this is going to be a tremendous obstacle to overcome," Bowen said. "I am sure that will take some time to implement."\nIn 2000, the U.S. processed 2,252,594 non-immigrant visa applications in Mexico, according to the U.S. embassy in Mexico. \nStudents at IU have thus far not encountered any problems with the system, Bowen said.\n"Students should take the initiative to tell us if they have an experience in the future which is good or bad, simply so that we will know," she said. "The students that I spoke with did not seem to have a problem with the time that it took."\nA study from the Center of Immigration Studies concludes virtually every type of immigration has been exploited by terrorists and focusing on one category, such as student visa or temporary visa in general, would be inadequate. The study states between 1993 and 2001 several tourists such as Ahmed Ajaj, Ramzi Yousef and Ahmed Ressam attempted to use false passports from Visa Waiver countries to enter the U.S. \nThe study examines how foreign terrorists have entered and remained in the U.S. Rather than just to focus on 9/11, this study examines terrorism from 1993 to 2001 to provide a more complete picture of the threat. During this time, 48 foreign-born militant Islamic terrorists (including the 9/11 hijackers) have been charged, convicted, pled guilty or admitted to terrorist acts in the U.S.\nAt the time they committed the crimes, 16 terrorists -- or one third of the 48 terrorists -- were on temporary visas (primarily tourist visas), another 17 were lawful, permanent residents or naturalized U.S. citizens, 12 were illegal aliens and three had applications for asylum pending.\nAnother issue will be who has access to the information and based on what grounds a person can request access to the information of the fingerprint and picture database. \n"They would have to show a need," Strassberger said. "The Law Enforcement Support Center is the link between the records and the local law enforcement. So the local law enforcement has to come forward and ask them for the data. Typically, they don't just come forward and say, 'Oh I want this,' without a reason for it."\nRegarding the access of information the DHS said in a statement, "the system will be available to U.S. Consular Officers, U.S. Customs and Border Protection Officers at ports of entry … and other appropriate federal, state and local law enforcement personnel." \n-- Contact staff writer Thomas Bender tbender@indiana.edu.