Border security program nets 179 arrests in eight weeks

Associated Press - Breaking on the wire | November 7, 2002 | Ben Dobbin

[NYer]

NIAGARA FALLS, N.Y. (AP) _ Since the Sept. 11 anniversary, more than 14,000 foreign visitors have been fingerprinted at U.S. border crossings and 179 have been arrested, Attorney General John Ashcroft said Thursd`y*

Standing a few feet away from the roaring American Falls, Ashcroft called the entry-exit program now in place at ports of entry around the country ``a vital national security shield'' to winnow out potential terrorists. ``We are confronted now with a new adversary, one who enters our country quietly,'' Ashcroft said. ``They enter disguised in the form of business persons or tourists or students. ``The challenge we face is to somehow identify such individuals who would threaten the United States while we maintain the facility of our borders ... to provide the basis for the community we share with our good neighbnrw.''

Some of those arrested were either wanted felons who fled authorities during previous visits to the United States, foreigners with serious criminal records or others attempting to enter the country with fraudulent documents or under false pretenses, Ashcroft said. ``If today or tomorrow a suspected terrorist is identified'' through the program, ``it would not be the first time that such an apprehension has been made,'' he said.

The Justice Department chose Sept. 11 as the starting date for the program developed by the Immigration and Naturalization Service. It will correct some of the problems that led to the terror attacks a year earlier, Ashcroft said.

Congress required the government to develop a stricter border system in sweeping anti-terrorism legislation signed by President Bush late last year. Under the program, the fingerprints of many visitors are matched against databases of known criminals and known terrorists. It targets all nationals of Iran, Iraq, Libya, Sudan and Syria, all designated by the U.S. government as state sponsors of terrorism.

Thousands of men from those countries who arrived in the United States before Sept. 11 this year also will have to be fingerprinted and photographed if they plan to stay beyond Dec. 16, the Justice Department said. They include about 3,000 nonresident aliens, such as students and visitors on long-term travel visas. The requirements do not apply to permanent residents _ those with INS ``green cards'' _ or to naturalized citizens from those countries.

Some immigration advocates maintain the program is discriminatory, taking the United States down a dangerous path of formalized profiling of foreign visitors. ``It is not racial profiling. ... It is based on intelligence data'' rather than ethnic or religious criteria, Ashcroft insisted. During a pilot project using the same technology to identify criminals trying to enter the country, immigration authorities averaged about 70 fingerprint ``hits'' a week. The fingerprinting led to the arrest of more than 2,000 wanted felons between January and July.

AP-ES-11-07-02 1305EST

[NYer]

A powerful backdrop for this announcement. Those numbers sound quite impressive.

[taxed2death]

Stop and think about this for a moment. Just how impressive are these numbers? Not so impressive in my book. These arrests were made at legal border crossings. All this adds up to a hill of beans as long as Bush allows thousands apon thousands to cross over our borders BETWEEN border crossings EVERY DAY!!!!!

Do you really think those Al Queda, walking, talking pieces of human feces are going to fly into JFK? I doubt it. Why risk getting caught when all they have to do is take the southern route and cross over CA, AZ, NM, ot TX.

This is just a show for the folks at home to make 'em FEEL safe, that's all....pure and simple window dressing.

[NoControllingLegalAuthority]

Between 7,000 and 10,000 illegal immigrants cross our borders EVERY NIGHT!

[Cindy]

This is not an impressive press release at all.

Here's a simple analogy. Let's pretend I have a slow drip problem with my kitchen faucet and a major pipe was broken under the house and it was flooding my basement. Ok. I tell my husband, "FIX IT!" He looks at me proudly 15 minutes later and proclaims, "I finally fixed that kitchen faucet." Hmmmmmmm..... Moral of this analogy: THE BIG PROBLEMS NEED TO BE FIXED FIRST.

[AFPhys]

I am glad that this issue has finally gotten on the radar screen nationally. Though this is just a start, that the media are starting to give it any press is an indication that the problem may begin to get addressed. Congratulations, Mr.Ashcroft!

[mvpel]

179 out of 14,000 is a far, far better percentage than they usually pull at roadside sobriety checkpoints, and they still run those.