As any traveller to the US well knows, entering the US, especially post 9/11, now requires running the gauntlet of being photographed and finger-printed. On top of that the visitor is likely to be quizzed as to why he or she is coming to America. Apart from terrorist concerns the Americans, even pre 9/11, have always seemingly held the view that any entrant to the US must want to stay and live there.
As the report NY Times reports, the whole "structure" of entry and departure from the US now looks more than a tad ridiculous:
"In a major blow to the Bush administration’s efforts to secure borders, domestic security officials have for now given up on plans to develop a facial or fingerprint recognition system to determine whether a vast majority of foreign visitors leave the country, officials say.
Domestic security officials had described the system, known as U.S. Visit, as critical to security and important in efforts to curb illegal immigration. Similarly, one-third of the overall total of illegal immigrants are believed to have overstayed their visas, a Congressional report says.
Tracking visitors took on particular urgency after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, when it became clear that some of the hijackers had remained in the country after their visas had expired."
As the report NY Times reports, the whole "structure" of entry and departure from the US now looks more than a tad ridiculous:
"In a major blow to the Bush administration’s efforts to secure borders, domestic security officials have for now given up on plans to develop a facial or fingerprint recognition system to determine whether a vast majority of foreign visitors leave the country, officials say.
Domestic security officials had described the system, known as U.S. Visit, as critical to security and important in efforts to curb illegal immigration. Similarly, one-third of the overall total of illegal immigrants are believed to have overstayed their visas, a Congressional report says.
Tracking visitors took on particular urgency after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, when it became clear that some of the hijackers had remained in the country after their visas had expired."
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