WASHINGTON Ñ The United States plans to impose significant
restrictions on people seeking to enter the U.S. from a list of Middle East
countries that does not include Saudi Arabia and Pakistan.
Officials said the greatest restrictions will be imposed on those who
seek to enter the United States from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Sudan and Syria.
They said the new regulations will begin by October.
The new rules come under the National Security Entry-Exit Registration
System, Middle East Newsline reported. Under the system, the Immigration and Naturalization Service will
monitor all those who enter or exit selected border points and land and sea
ports.
Officials said the NSEERS program is the first step toward the
development of a comprehensive entry-exit system applicable to virtually all the
35 million foreigners who annually visit the United States. They said the
fingerprints of a small percentage of foreign visitors will be matched
against a database of known criminals and a database of known terrorists.
Under the program, all nationals of Iran, Iraq, Libya, Sudan and Syria
would be required to be fingerprinted upon entry in the United States. They
would have to report to authorities to confirm their place of residence and
their activity in the United States.
Officials said U.S. law has long required aliens who stay in the United
States for more than 30 days to be registered and fingerprinted. But these
requirements have been suspended for decades.
"The NSEERS program will put registration and fingerprinting
requirements back in place, along with exit controls, for the following
visitors to the United States: All nationals of Iran, Iraq, Libya, Sudan and
Syria," the Justice Department said. "These visitors will be selected
according to intelligence criteria reflecting patterns of terrorist
organizations' activities. During a pilot project using the same fingerprint
technology to identify wanted criminals attempting to re-enter the United
States, the results have been extremely positive.
The new rules would also apply to nonimmigrant aliens whom the State
Department determines to present an elevated national security risk, based
on criteria reflecting current intelligence. In addition, the system would
also require the same from aliens identified by INS inspectors at the port
of entry.
"The vulnerabilities of our immigration system became starkly clear on
Sept. 11th," Attorney General John Ashcroft. "This system will expand
substantially America's scrutiny of those foreign visitors who may present
an elevated national security risk. And it will provide a vital line of
defense in the war against terrorism."
