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American Morning
U.S.-Visit Screening Program Begins Today
Aired January 05, 2004 - 07:05 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Starting today, many visitors arriving at U.S. airports and seaports will be photographed and fingerprinted. Those identifications will be checked against terror watch lists.
Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge is said to unveil that screening program this morning.
David Mattingly with us today live from the airport in Atlanta with a preview of that.
David -- good morning.
DAVID MATTINGLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Bill.
When U.S. visitors step off the plane today, they'll have to go to Customs like they always do and answer the normal questions, but they will also have to pose for a digital photograph and provide electronic fingerprints. There's a fancy name for this. It's called biometric identification. It takes about 15 seconds to accomplish, and in that 15 seconds that information is matched against U.S. watch lists. If anything matches on there, that person is then taken aside and questioned further.
This is part of a sweeping change in U.S. security aimed at catching possible terrorists before they come into the country. It also catches people who are trying to enter the country using fraudulent identification. Authorities are also able to use this to track the comings and goings of visitors like they've never been able to before.
You're looking at the video of Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge here in Atlanta today to greet some of the first international travelers to come through.
This is a huge undertaking. The General Accounting Office is wondering if Ridge and his department will be able to pull this off. It's going to affect some 400 million border crossings in the U.S. that occur every year when this is finally fully implemented. But right now, homeland security is starting with 115 U.S. airports and 42 seaports -- everyone watching to find out if they will be able to pull this off -- Bill.
HEMMER: And, David, while we have you here, 28 countries, about two dozen, but more than that exempt from this. How is the international reaction to these measures today?
MATTINGLY: Other countries are also planning to start something like this themselves. The immediate international reaction has been focusing on the nation of Brazil. A judge there, seemingly in response to the U.S. program, ordered that all U.S. citizens coming to that country to be photographed and fingerprinted as well.
Now, strangely enough, one of the first international flights arriving here in Atlanta is coming from Brazil, so it will be very interesting to find out what the Brazilian passengers think and what the American passengers on that flight think about the experience they had in that country -- Bill.
HEMMER: David, we'll watch it -- David Mattingly in Atlanta.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.
Aired January 5, 2004 - 07:05 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Starting today, many visitors arriving at U.S. airports and seaports will be photographed and fingerprinted. Those identifications will be checked against terror watch lists.
Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge is said to unveil that screening program this morning.
David Mattingly with us today live from the airport in Atlanta with a preview of that.
David -- good morning.
DAVID MATTINGLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Bill.
When U.S. visitors step off the plane today, they'll have to go to Customs like they always do and answer the normal questions, but they will also have to pose for a digital photograph and provide electronic fingerprints. There's a fancy name for this. It's called biometric identification. It takes about 15 seconds to accomplish, and in that 15 seconds that information is matched against U.S. watch lists. If anything matches on there, that person is then taken aside and questioned further.
This is part of a sweeping change in U.S. security aimed at catching possible terrorists before they come into the country. It also catches people who are trying to enter the country using fraudulent identification. Authorities are also able to use this to track the comings and goings of visitors like they've never been able to before.
You're looking at the video of Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge here in Atlanta today to greet some of the first international travelers to come through.
This is a huge undertaking. The General Accounting Office is wondering if Ridge and his department will be able to pull this off. It's going to affect some 400 million border crossings in the U.S. that occur every year when this is finally fully implemented. But right now, homeland security is starting with 115 U.S. airports and 42 seaports -- everyone watching to find out if they will be able to pull this off -- Bill.
HEMMER: And, David, while we have you here, 28 countries, about two dozen, but more than that exempt from this. How is the international reaction to these measures today?
MATTINGLY: Other countries are also planning to start something like this themselves. The immediate international reaction has been focusing on the nation of Brazil. A judge there, seemingly in response to the U.S. program, ordered that all U.S. citizens coming to that country to be photographed and fingerprinted as well.
Now, strangely enough, one of the first international flights arriving here in Atlanta is coming from Brazil, so it will be very interesting to find out what the Brazilian passengers think and what the American passengers on that flight think about the experience they had in that country -- Bill.
HEMMER: David, we'll watch it -- David Mattingly in Atlanta.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.
