Senators propose biometric smart ID cards for aliens
By Sergio Bustos Gannett News Service Oct. 25, 2001 08:15:00
Kyl proposes 'smart' ID card for immigration
WASHINGTON - Saying the nation needs to secure its borders to keep future terrorists out of the country, two key U.S. senators announced today they would introduce far-reaching legislation to require millions of foreigners to carry "biometric smart visa" cards to travel to the United States.
The cards, which work like credit cards, would contain fingerprints and other personal information, according to the measure proposed by Sen. Jon Kyl, D-Ariz., and Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif.
The lawmakers said the information collected would be entered into a centralized database so several federal agencies - including the Immigration and Naturalization Service and the State Department - could share the data.
The Feinstein-Kyl bill is among a growing number of immigration-related measures that have emerged on Capitol Hill since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
"[The attacks] pointed out clear shortcomings in our immigration and visa system," Feinstein said. "Our borders have become a sieve, creating ample opportunities for terrorists to enter and establish their operations without detection."
If passed, the bill would affect hundreds of millions of foreign travelers. Last year, the INS processed 529 million people who crossed the nation's borders by land, sea and air. About 178 million were U.S. citizens, leaving 351 million others who are legal U.S. residents or temporary foreign visitors. Most come across the southern or northern border.
The proposed legislation also would affect about 800,000 foreign students by requiring them to undergo federal background checks. And it would require colleges and universities to report to the INS any foreign student who fails to enroll in classes.
In addition, students who come from countries on the State Department's list of terrorist-sponsoring states would not be allowed to study in the United States.
The countries include Iran, Iraq, Syria, Sudan and Libya.
Feinstein claims one Iraqi student, who earned his doctorate in the United States, now heads Iraq's nuclear weapons program.
"The foreign student visa system is one of the most under-regulated visa categories, subject to bribes and other problems that leave it wide open to abuse by terrorists and other criminals," Feinstein said.
Other measures in the Feinstein-Kyl bill would:
• Require countries participating in the Visa Waiver Program to issue "tamper- resistant, machine-readable passports" to its citizens.
The waiver program allows citizens from 29 countries to enter the United States without having to apply for a visa through the State Department.
Federal investigators repeatedly have warned Congress that criminals, including suspected terrorists, have taken advantage of the program.
• Require all airlines, cruise lines and cross-border bus companies to submit passenger lists in advance of their arrival in the United States.
• Add 1,000 INS inspectors and 1,000 customs officers over the next five years to the federal payroll to boost border security.
"We are trying to close all loopholes . . . in our immigration and visa system," Kyl said.
But critics charge such measures may do little, if anything, to keep out terrorists.
"We're really cautious about big data bases that don't tell us what we need to know," said Judith Golub, a spokeswoman with the American Immigration Lawyers Association.
"We need better intelligence."
"The goal is to isolate terrorists, not America," she said.
Sergio Bustos is a reporter for The Republic and Gannett News Service. Reach him at sbustos@gns.gannett.com or (202) 906-8109.
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