December 3, 2007

US-VISIT Expands to 10-Print Data Collection

Foreigners coming to the USA will soon be required to have 10 fingerprints scanned as part of a new government anti-terrorist effort, the Homeland Security Department says. The plan for Customs and Border Protection officers to collect more biometric information from foreigners is one phase of a long-awaited upgrade to a border-security program put in place after 9/11. The security program, known as US-VISIT, aims to give government agents a better idea of who is coming into the country and catch people with forged passports. Privacy groups question whether the Homeland Security Department, which the Government Accountability Office has criticized for poor handling of personal information, can properly secure a huge fingerprint database.

Customs to collect visitors' 10 prints, USA Today, December 3, 2007.