Susie
04-29-2008, 06:22 PM
Airlines Resist Plan to Expand Fingerprinting
By Louise Radnofsky
The Wall Street Journal, April 23, 2008; Page A18
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120891033857336615.html
Washington, DC -- The airline industry is readying for a protracted fight with the Department of Homeland Security over plans to collect fingerprints from foreign travelers leaving the U.S.
The department wants air carriers and cruise operators to start taking biometric data from most foreign passengers starting early next year. The idea is to match the digital fingerprint and photograph visitors already give to officials when they arrive in the country as part of the US-VISIT program in order to better track when people enter and leave the country.
The proposed change, which is designed to meet border-security recommendations made by the 9/11 Commission, would cost carriers about $2.7 billion over 10 years, said the department's assistant secretary for policy, Stewart Baker. He said most of the cost would come as a result of the extra time required for air and cruise staff to ask passengers to provide a fingerprint.
Airline-industry groups said US-VISIT -- U.S. Visitor and Immigrant Status Indicator Technology -- is a federal responsibility and should be carried out and paid for by the government. The Air Transport Association described the proposal as an 'unconscionable' burden on 'an industry in crisis.'
Sending digital images of fingerprints would require an overhaul of airlines' computer systems, said Steve Lott, a spokesman for the International Air Transport Association. 'To try to turn airline employees into border-protection agents makes no sense whatsoever,' Mr. Lott said.
Mr. Baker said the new requirements are an extension of the biographical information carriers already collect for the government, and that there are no plans to reimburse the costs or provide additional equipment.
Biometric data for departing travelers would help the Department of Homeland Security confirm when visitors leave the U.S., as well as identify non-U.S. citizens who overstay their entry visas. The department currently fails to get exit information for as many as one million visitors a year because personal details are entered differently on arrival and departure, Mr. Baker said.
By Louise Radnofsky
The Wall Street Journal, April 23, 2008; Page A18
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120891033857336615.html
Washington, DC -- The airline industry is readying for a protracted fight with the Department of Homeland Security over plans to collect fingerprints from foreign travelers leaving the U.S.
The department wants air carriers and cruise operators to start taking biometric data from most foreign passengers starting early next year. The idea is to match the digital fingerprint and photograph visitors already give to officials when they arrive in the country as part of the US-VISIT program in order to better track when people enter and leave the country.
The proposed change, which is designed to meet border-security recommendations made by the 9/11 Commission, would cost carriers about $2.7 billion over 10 years, said the department's assistant secretary for policy, Stewart Baker. He said most of the cost would come as a result of the extra time required for air and cruise staff to ask passengers to provide a fingerprint.
Airline-industry groups said US-VISIT -- U.S. Visitor and Immigrant Status Indicator Technology -- is a federal responsibility and should be carried out and paid for by the government. The Air Transport Association described the proposal as an 'unconscionable' burden on 'an industry in crisis.'
Sending digital images of fingerprints would require an overhaul of airlines' computer systems, said Steve Lott, a spokesman for the International Air Transport Association. 'To try to turn airline employees into border-protection agents makes no sense whatsoever,' Mr. Lott said.
Mr. Baker said the new requirements are an extension of the biographical information carriers already collect for the government, and that there are no plans to reimburse the costs or provide additional equipment.
Biometric data for departing travelers would help the Department of Homeland Security confirm when visitors leave the U.S., as well as identify non-U.S. citizens who overstay their entry visas. The department currently fails to get exit information for as many as one million visitors a year because personal details are entered differently on arrival and departure, Mr. Baker said.