Exactly one year after the attacks of Sept. 11, the federal government has inaugurated a new, more stringent system for screening immigrants at some ports of entry to the United States. Immigration agents must now fingerprint and photograph foreigners who fit certain criteria for potential terrorist activity, criteria that the Justice Department refuses to disclose. In addition, these selected foreigners are required to regularly report their whereabouts in the country to the government; failure to do so will constitute a federal offense.
Although the administration refuses to share the specific criteria that determine which foreigners are subject to this special scrutiny, the Justice Department has said that all citizens of Iran, Iraq, Syria, Sudan and Libya will be automatically fingerprinted and photographed. These countries are five of the seven states considered by the State Department to be sponsors of terrorism. The other two are North Korea and Cuba, the only non-Islamic nations on the list; their citizens will not be fingerprinted or photographed.
The Justice Department insists that their criteria do not amount to racial profiling. Civil liberties groups, American Muslim organizations and the Arab League know better. In 2001, the number of people from Arab countries asking for visas dropped by half, partly because the application process had already grown more arduous for them. In fact, applicants from most Islamic countries must now be cleared by the FBI before their visa requests are even considered by U.S. consulates.
In light of the fact that higher barriers to entry have already been directed against Muslims and that the new fingerprinting measures are automatically leveled against citizens of five Islamic nations, it is clear that the INS will be primarily targeting Arab and Muslim visitors. As the Egyptian ambassador rightly pointed out in the New York Times, shutting out Muslims and Arabs is contrary to American goals of increased understanding between the Muslim world and the West. Colin Powell himself has emphasized that cross-cultural understanding can come only from an open exchange.
Furthermore, the Bush administration continues to compromise government transparency and public oversight, crucial features of the democracy the United States is supposed to be showcasing to the world. Not only does the Justice Department refuse to offer even a clue as to what conditions will flag an individual for fingerprinting, they also will not disclose the points of entry where the new system is in use, or even estimate how many people are likely to be checked.
If Americans do not wish to be branded as hypocrites by the rest of the world, we must insist on the protection of civil liberties for all people, both within and at our borders.
