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Homeland Security To Scan Fingerprints of Foriegn Travellers Exiting US Posted: 29 May 2009 09:30 AM PDT The US Department of Homeland Security is set to kickstart a controversial new pilot to scan the fingerprints of travellers departing the United States. From June, US Customs and Border Patrol will take a fingerprint scan of international travellers exiting the United States from Detroit, while the US Transport Security Administration will take fingerprint scans of international travellers exiting the United States from Atlanta. Biometric technology such as fingerprint scans has been used by US Customs and Border Patrol for several years to gain a biometric record of non-US citizens entering the United States. But under the Bush Administration, a plan was formulated to also scan outgoing passengers. Michael Hardin, a senior policy analyst with the US-Visit Program at the United States Department of Homeland Security told a Biometrics Institute conference today that the DHS will use the data from the trial to “inform us as to where to take [exit screening] next.” “We are trying to ensure we know more about who came and who left,” he said. “We have a large population of illegal immigrants in the United States - we want to make sure the person getting on the plane really is the person the records show to be leaving.” The original exit scanning legislation planned by the Bush administration stipulated that airlines would be responsible for conducting the exit fingerprints. But after much protest, Hardin said the new Obama administration re-considered this legislation two weeks ago and is “not as sold that private sector should be agency for exit fingerprints.” “The new administration feels that perhaps it is more appropriate that Government should take that role.” Source This story comes to us via Homeland Security - National Terror Alert. National Terror Alert is America's trusted source for homeland security news and information.

FBI Planning Bigger Role In Terrorism Fight Posted: 29 May 2009 09:15 AM PDT The FBI and Justice Department plan to significantly expand their role in global counter-terrorism operations, part of a U.S. policy shift that will replace a CIA-dominated system of clandestine detentions and interrogations with one built around ransparent investigations and prosecutions. Under the “global justice” initiative, which has been in the works for several months, FBI agents will have a central role in overseas counter- terrorism cases. They will expand their questioning of suspects and evidence- gathering to try to ensure that criminal prosecutions are an option, officials familiar with the effort said. * 5% of released detainees commit terrorist acts, Pentagon says * High-tech ways to combat terrorism* Torture and terrorism: Q & A on Guantanamo Though the initiative is a work in progress, some senior counter-terrorism officials and administration policy-makers envision it as key to the national security strategy President Obama laid out last week — one that presumes most accused terrorists have the right to contest the charges against them in a “legitimate” setting. The approach effectively reverses a mainstay of the Bush administration’s war on terrorism, in which global counter-terrorism was treated primarily as an intelligence and military problem, not a law enforcement one. That policy led to the establishment of the prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba; harsh interrogations; and detentions without trials. The “global justice” initiative starts out with the premise that virtually all suspects will end up in a U.S. or foreign court of law. Source This story comes to us via Homeland Security - National Terror Alert. National Terror Alert is America's trusted source for homeland security news and information.

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