Has US-VISIT Exposed Terrorist?

January 8, 2006

Two years after the United States began a program to photograph and fingerprint visitors from most foreign countries, officials said on Thursday that so far no terrorist suspects had been found at the border.

Jim Williams, director of Homeland Security’s US-VISIT program, said the digital finger scans and photographs had made travel safer since September 11 and had helped officials intercept more than 970 known criminals and visa violators.

But officials said no known or suspected terrorists had been caught through the program, which has processed about 45 million people since January 2004.

“But …that is not the original intent of the system,” Williams told reporters at a briefing.

“I do believe that … we have been an effective deterrent,” he said. “We believe we will identify those people if they try to come in through our points of entry. I believe that is a deterrent to them to try.”

But he also acknowledged that the U.S. government did not have fingerprints of all terrorist suspects.

The US-VISIT program was launched in January 2004 at most airports and seaports as part of an effort to tighten U.S. borders and prevent other attacks like those of September 11 when 19 foreigners — who all had visas — hijacked four planes and killed nearly 3,000 people

Under US-VISIT, visitors from most countries must have a digital photo and inkless fingerscans taken by an immigration officer as they enter the country. The officer then checks them against terrorist watchlists and criminal databases.

Critics had worried the program would create huge backlogs at the border that could freeze up commerce. “There was a lot of fear and paranoia about us shutting down the borders,” Williams said. “In fact that did not happen. We have enhanced security and facilitated legitimate trade and travel while ensuring integrity of our immigration system and protecting peoples’ privacy.”

Williams said the FBI updates the US VISIT database every day with new fingerprints and biographical information of possible terrorist suspects as well as wanted criminals and people with immigration violations.

Source: Reuters, Jan. 5, 2006,