The Hindu : U.S. move to fingerprint foreign visitors

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Jun 06, 2002

International

International

U.S. move to fingerprint foreign visitors

WASHINGTON June 5. The U.S. administration proposes to photograph, fingerprint and get detailed information from thousands more foreign visitors, law enforcement officials said.

Under the plan, the Justice Department would expand the reach of an already existing law to keep better track of tourists, business travellers, students and temporary workers considered possible security threats.

Justice Department officials yesterday declined to comment on the plan, details of which are expected to be announced this week.

The House Judiciary Committee Chairman, James Sensenbrenner, has been a leading critic of the Immigration and Naturalisation Service, an agency within the Justice Department that since Sept. 11 has acknowledged gaps in tracking foreigners in the country.

Mr. Sensenbrenner's aides declined to comment on whether the proposal was discussed during the meeting with Attorney General, John Ashcroft.

Mr. Ashcroft has undertaken a number of initiatives since the attacks to better track foreign visitors.

Foreigners seeking to live in the U.S. are photographed, fingerprinted and must provide detailed background information to the Government. But the same is not required of most visitors.

Mr. Ashcroft is seeking to expand a 1998 rule that requires visitors from Libya, Iraq, Sudan and Iran to register with the Government and be fingerprinted and photographed.

The rule could be applied to people from as many as 35 countries under the proposal, a law enforcement source said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

— AP

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