- New United States security regulations introduced on
Monday mean foreign visitors may have their photographs taken and fingerprints
checked.
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- The measures replace the old special registration programme
which was said to discriminate against Muslims and people of Middle Eastern
origin.
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- But critics say the new system is just as bad, as people
are profiled as if they were criminals.
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- The new requirements do not at present apply to most
Europeans.
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- Delay fears
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- The information collected from the checks will go into
an electronic database so the authorities can confirm identities.
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- For the moment the regulation only applies to those travelling
with visas.
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- As most British and European passengers arrive under
the so-called visa waiver programme, they will not have to undergo these
checks until later in the year.
-
- With immigration officials already overstretched, there
are fears that the new measures could produce even longer delays in the
arrivals hall.
-
- But the US official in charge of the programme, Asa Hutchinson,
says that will not be the case.
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- "This takes a matter of seconds... we're taking
every step to make sure that this facilitates the passengers that come
through our airports and does not delay them," he said.
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- Brazil protests
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- But there are still concerns that this could constitute
a breach of civil rights.
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- "You also have look at the costs of these policies...
for example, the special registration programme resulted in 13,000 orders
of deportation on people who tried to register with the government,"
Tim Edgar of the American Civil Liberties Union told the BBC's World Today
radio programme.
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- "That kind of response can cause problems with governments
around the world that we are trying to have a better relationship with."
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- In response to the regulations, Brazilian officials have
begun photographing and fingerprinting all US visitors arriving at its
main international airport.
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- Brazil said its citizens were being unfairly discriminated
against, and urged Washington to remove Brazil from its list of security
threats.
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- © BBC MMIV
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- http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/3367893.stm
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