- BRASILIA, Brazil (Reuters)
-- A Brazilian judge furious at U.S. plans to fingerprint and photograph
Brazilians entering the United States has ordered Brazil to do the same
to U.S. citizens, police said on Tuesday.
-
- The order, set to go into effect on January 1, came after
a government office filed a complaint in federal court over the U.S. measure
aimed at millions of foreign travelers.
-
- "Unless the court order is contested in the justice
system, it will be complied with," said a spokesman for Brazil's Federal
Police, the agency overseeing immigration.
-
- Starting January 5, citizens of countries such as Brazil
who need a visa to enter the United States will be fingerprinted and photographed
when they pass through immigration at major U.S. airports and seaports.
-
- The procedure is meant to identify people who have violated
immigration controls, have a criminal record or belong to groups the U.S.
government lists as terrorist organizations.
-
- The checks will not be carried out against citizens of
27 nations who do not need a visa to enter the United States.
-
- "I consider the act absolutely brutal, threatening
human rights, violating human dignity, xenophobic and worthy of the worst
horrors committed by the Nazis," said Federal Judge Julier Sebastiao
da Silva in the court order released on Tuesday.
-
- Brazil currently requires U.S. citizens to have a visa
when entering the country.
-
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