October 01, 2004

Tracking the worldwide movement of people on terrorist watch lists and curbing the growing use of illegal US visas are among key provisions in a proposed law.

The provisions are contained in the proposed legislation, authored by Congressman Henry J. Hyde, a Republican from Illinois, to implement the 9/11 Commission recommendations.

The Hyde provisions, which also include measures to improve US diplomacy, are part of broad legislation introduced by the House Republican leadership Friday in response to findings announced in July by the 9/11 Commission.

The omnibus legislation is expected to be voted on in early October.

The bill also seeks to build ties to key Muslim states. It envisages making the US assistance programme for Afghanistan more effective, and urges greater coordination among agencies of the US government and allies to tackle the growing problem of narcotics, a major source of terrorist financing and political instability.

It enables additional support to be provided to Pakistan and requires a strategy to be implemented that will reverse the trend toward extremism in Saudi Arabia and elsewhere in the Middle East.

"Today, we are more aware than ever of the importance of ensuring security for America and her citizens. The nation was unprepared for the attacks of Sep 11. That cannot be allowed to happen again," said Hyde, chairman of the House International Relations Committee.

"In light of the excellent report produced by the 9/11 Commission, it is evident that we must act to guarantee America's safety, and eradicating US visa and passport fraud is essential to this effort," he added.

The 9/11 Commission reported that the hijackers who carried out the Sep 11, 2001, attacks used fraudulent travel documents to gain access into the US.

In response to this information, the Hyde proposal includes new penalties for the possession and transfer of unlawful visas and passports. His proposal also includes provisions for the establishment of an Office of Visa and Passport Security within the Department of State to target and prosecute those involved in document fraud.

The Hyde bill includes a study on implementation of a full-scale entry-exit passenger screening system at all US ports of entry.

"The changes outlined here are timely and necessary, but we also must look to the future. For this reason, this proposal requires a feasibility study of the use of biometric, tamper-resistant, machine-readable passports and creation of a worldwide traveller history database so that we can better track those who may pose a potential threat to our nation," said Hyde in a press statement.

Included in Hyde's proposal is an increase in the number of airports worldwide, from 14 to 39 that pre-screen travel documents of passengers bound for the US. In addition, the Immigration Security Initiative, designed to aid airport personnel in identifying fraudulent documents and assessing potential threats, will be expanded to include 50 airports worldwide.

Over the next five years, the proposal mandates 600 additional consular officers at US embassies abroad to help monitor non-immigrant visa applicants. Along with these additional consular officers, anti-fraud specialists will be assigned to the 100 embassies and consulates, which have reported the greatest occurrences of travel document fraud.

Source : http://news.newkerala.com/