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Pakistanis face more checks in US
Washington, Jan 18: Pakistanis and nationals of other countries helping US in the war against terrorism are included for stricter checks when they enter American territory as al Qaeda operates in these countries, a top official in the Bush administration has alleged.
Washington, Jan 18: Pakistanis and nationals of
other countries helping us in the war against terrorism are
included for stricter checks when they enter American
territory as al Qaeda operates in these countries, a top
official in the Bush administration has alleged.
Giving reasons for including a US ally like Pakistan in
the Immigration and Naturalisation Registration programme,
counsel to the attorney general in the Department of Justice Kris Kobach told reporters yesterday that it is just an unfortunate recognition of the fact that al Qaeda has chosen
to operate in those countries, including Pakistan.
The "unfortunate reality" was that "some of our greatest allies and many countries whose civil rights records are extremely good, countries who have a democratic system of government, countries that are very close to the US in the war against terrorism, their citizens are included in this," Kobach said. "We have to try to figure out when the al Qaeda comes in, and try to improve our information in that respect," he added.
On why finger-printing was so important, he said "a fingerprint on paper can last more than 30 years. And so the training camps (of al Qaeda) were a source, a mine of fingerprints, as it were."
"But we don't have any names associated with these prints. And those prints are in this database. So we merely run the prints quickly to see if they match any criminals or terrorists, known or unknown, and then the person is on their way when they come into the country," he added. The system, he said, has already led to the arrest of 330 aliens at the border who presented law enforcement threats.
Bureau Report
The "unfortunate reality" was that "some of our greatest allies and many countries whose civil rights records are extremely good, countries who have a democratic system of government, countries that are very close to the US in the war against terrorism, their citizens are included in this," Kobach said. "We have to try to figure out when the al Qaeda comes in, and try to improve our information in that respect," he added.
On why finger-printing was so important, he said "a fingerprint on paper can last more than 30 years. And so the training camps (of al Qaeda) were a source, a mine of fingerprints, as it were."
"But we don't have any names associated with these prints. And those prints are in this database. So we merely run the prints quickly to see if they match any criminals or terrorists, known or unknown, and then the person is on their way when they come into the country," he added. The system, he said, has already led to the arrest of 330 aliens at the border who presented law enforcement threats.
Bureau Report