Parts of me like this, parts of me don’t:
Foreigners arriving at U.S. airports were photographed and had their fingerprints scanned Monday in the start of a government effort to use some of the latest surveillance technology to keep terrorists out of the country.
The program allows Customs officials to check passengers instantly against terrorist watch lists and a national criminal database.
The goal is to “make sure our borders are open to visitors but closed to terrorists,” Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge said.
I guess I am concerned with the civil liberties of my fellow citizens more than foriegn visitors. I guess I consider my neighbor’s right not to be blown up by a Saudi terrorist a more pressing civil liberty than whether or not an Egyptian tourist has his picture taken.
Andrew J. Lazarus
I do hope it’s more accurate than the lists they’ve been using.
russ
The idea that some fools find this method of keep track of foreigners that enter this country is bizzare…
I also think these people should be DNA typed also…
In fact the idea of implanting an electronic tracking chip like those they use for house pets might also be practical…
Tatterdemalian
Slippery slope, russ. You lose.
caleb
“In fact the idea of implanting an electronic tracking chip like those they use for house pets might also be practical…
”
Hunh….
I’d say Russ has fallen off that slippery slope into the mud pit below.
Ed
Please tell me how an identity verification “violates civil rights”.
Jon H
Betcha that passengers on private jets coming in from Saudi Arabia don’t have to bother with any of this.
Gary Farber
I have not arrived at a settled position on this, myself. But the thought immediately occurs to wonder not about Egyptian visitors, but Canadian visitors, and British visitors, and Australian visitors. And so on. Unsurprisingly, they tend to be offended. Perhaps that’s too bad. But if one wonders further, the thought occurs that we might, yet, on the same chain of reasoning, were it not banned by law, start fingerprinting citizens of different states visiting others. It can’t happen, but there are limits to security procedures that should give us pause, should they not? There’s security, and then, there’s suddenly the way we become the Soviet Union. The latter thought should always be kept in mind when contemplating the former, I think.