August 19, 2004

The following article is excerpted from the 18 August 2004 edition of the “Toronto Star”.
   

The Bush administration has opened the door to more stringent screening of Canadians visiting the United States, pointing to "security gaps" in travel back and forth across
the border.

Asa Hutchinson, the undersecretary for border security, said yesterday the government is focusing on the issue of travellers — both Americans and Canadians — being able to
cross the border without passports, in the wake of criticism of that process in the 9/11 commission report released last month.

Although the status of Canadian citizens visiting the U.S. will not change in the short term, it may have to be revisited in the longer term, he said.

Hutchinson made the comments as he briefed foreign reporters here on the extension of the US-VISIT (United States Visitor and Immigrant Status Indicator Technology) program to 27 more countries, mainly in Europe, beginning Sept. 30.

The regulations affect travellers from 22 European countries, plus Australia, Brunei, Japan, New Zealand and Singapore.

Starting Oct. 26, those countries will also be required to have passports with coding that is machine-readable, including children's passports.

He said the extension will cover another 13 million foreign visitors, in addition to the 6 million already covered in the first phase of US-VISIT, which went into effect at the beginning of this year.

The program verifies travellers' identity through biometric technology, using digital, inkless finger scans and digital photographs. It requires travellers to submit to fingerprinting and photographs upon entry to the U.S.

The program is in place at 115 airports and 14 seaports and is scheduled to be in effect at the 50 busiest land crossings beginning Jan. 1, 2005.

The new scrutiny would add 10 to 15 seconds at the land crossings, the U.S. government says.

The first phase covered visitors who need a visa to visit the U.S., the next phase covers what are known as "visa-waiver" countries.

Canada, as a "visa-exempt" country, is in a unique position.  "Canadian citizens are exempt from US-VISIT under U.S. law and policy. As to whether that is ultimately changed down the
road, I think, remains to be seen," Hutchinson said.

"Clearly, there is a security gap with the comprehensiveness of US-VISIT, not just in that regard, but also U.S. citizens who travel in the Western Hemisphere, with drivers' licences
or proof of U.S. citizenship. …

Only those Canadians with a U.S. visa glued into their passports by a U.S. consulate are subject to US-VISIT scrutiny. Those who have visas that do not require permanent stickers — students, NAFTA professionals, performing artists and athletes — are exempt.

But beginning Oct. 26, permanent residents of Canada who hold passports from a third country will need a machine-readable passport to enter the U.S. without a visa.

The 9/11 commission, in its report released last month, pointed out that even with the additional 27 countries now subject to US-VISIT, only 12 per cent of all non-citizens crossing U.S. borders are covered by the biometric screening program….