Steve Quayle News Alerts

September 30, 2002

CAIRO, Egypt — Egyptian nationals and men from Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Yemen are the latest group of travelers who will be fingerprinted and questioned upon arrival in the U.S., as part of an expanding INS national security plan.

Men ages 16 to 45 from Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Yemen who are visiting America will be required to register upon arrival starting Tuesday, according to a September memo drafted by the Immigration and Naturalization Service and obtained by The Associated Press last week.

To date, the program has required registration of foreign visitors from Iran, Iraq, Sudan and Libya -- the countries listed by the U.S. State Department as state sponsors of terrorism.

The U.S. Embassy in Cairo said in a press release "the new system will require the digital fingerprinting and photographing of selected (Egyptian) travelers upon arrival in the United States, as well as responses to questions posed by immigration officials."

An Egyptian Foreign Ministry official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the United States has the right to take security precautions it deems necessary.

But some Egyptian human rights activists criticized the measure.

"After the Sept. 11 attacks, security measures superseded human rights," said activist Hafez Abu Saada. "Such enlargement of the circle of suspicion to encompass innocent people is a violation of human rights."

He added that suspicion of certain foreign travelers who are merely visiting a country is a presumption of guilt.

According to the INS Sept. 5 memo, registration is required on arrival to and departure from the United States. The foreigners also must be interviewed at an INS office for stays longer than 30 days and notify the INS within 10 days of any change of residence, employment or academic institution.

Inspectors should consider whether the visitor requiring registration has made an unexplained trip to Iran, Iraq, Libya, Sudan, Syria, North Korea, Cuba, Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan, Yemen, Egypt, Somalia, Pakistan, Indonesia or Malaysia, according to the INS.

Security officials should also pay close attention to any visitor whose explanation for the trip lacks credibility.

Among other things, inspectors will be told to consider registering foreign visitors who previously overstayed a U.S. visa or whose behavior, demeanor or answers indicate that the person may be a security threat, the memo says.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,64455,00.html