The International Biometrics & Identification Association (IBIA) has issued a statement backing the US government’s recent efforts to tighten its Visa Waiver Program (VWP). Commenting on the H.R. 158 legislation specifically, the IBIA expressed “strong support.”
The new regulations come in large part as a response to the November 13th terror attacks in Paris. The VWP is intended to facilitate easier travel between member countries, but that has led to a perception among some that it is a point of weakness in US border screening; now, the US government is pursuing various efforts to beef up the program’s security, including the further exploration of biometric technologies.
The IBIA applauds those efforts but would also like the government to go even further. The organization points out that fingerprints are collected at all ports of entry—a process whose reliability is “unimpeachable,” according to IBIA Managing Director Tovah LaDier—but they are not collected prior to boarding planes bound for the US. LaDier says pre-boarding screening is “critical to our national security” and “provides substantial security benefits,” pointing to the US Customs and Border Protection agency’s efforts in the measure as an indication of its value and proof that it can be done “without undue burdens on travel and trade.”
The suggestions are in line with the apparent interests of government security agencies like the Department of Homeland Security, so it shouldn’t come as a surprise if the US government does indeed pursue further border screening measures beyond its efforts with H.R. 158.
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December 15, 2015 – by Alex Perala
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