11.11.04

Cantwell Calls on President and Colleagues to Close the "Ressam Loophole" in Final 9/11 Bill

Relaxed immigration requirements in other countries pose threat to U.S.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA) urged President Bush and her colleagues to include in the 9-11 bill her bipartisan legislation that will tighten standards for countries participating in the U.S. Visa Waiver Program (VWP), which allows residents of certain countries to visit the United States without a standard Visa.

"Since 9-11, our country has gone to great lengths to tighten security, but there is still room for improvement," Cantwell said. "I want the President and my colleagues to recognize that fighting terrorism requires the cooperation of other countries. We are only as secure as our allies and I'm taking the next step to making sure our allies maintain the same high security standards as we do in the United States."

Under current law, would-be terrorists who enter VWP countries and adopt false identities and illegitimate passports in those countries are then able to enter the United States without going through the extensive background check and biometric identification required through our existing visa screening processes. Twenty-seven countries participate in the VWP (mostly Western European allies including England, France, Spain and Germany).

Cantwell's legislation, which was accepted in the Senate version of the 9-11 bill, would require the Secretary of State to certify to Congress which of the VWP countries are developing a program to issue visa documents that are tamper-resistant, machine readable, and incorporates biometric identification information such as fingerprints that is immediately identifiable when an individual enters a country.

Vice-Chair of the 9/11 Commission Congressman Lee Hamilton said Cantwell's amendment was "an important step forward on border security" and that it is "fully consistent with the Commission's recommendations and gives our government new tools to disrupt terrorist travel."

In 1999, Ressam entered the United States through Port Angeles with explosives intended for a terrorist attack on Los Angeles International Airport. Ressam took advantage of the VWP system by traveling from Algeria to France and then to Canada, from where he tried to enter the United States.

In a fortunate turn of events, Ressam was caught by an alert U.S. Customs agent who relied on a hunch to catch Ressam. If VWP countries required third party nationals to give biometric fingerprint identifiers when entering their countries, Ressam's biometric identification markers would have been established years before when he first tried to enter France. As a result, once identified as a terrorist, his information could have been shared among allies and he would have been caught immediately when trying to enter the United States.

Text of Cantwell letter to President:

November 11, 2004

The Honorable George W. Bush President of the United States The White House 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. NW Washington, DC 20500

Dear Mr. President:

I am writing to urge your support in encouraging the House and Senate conferees currently working on the intelligence reform legislation to accept important language that addresses a dangerous loophole in our nation's current immigration security procedures.

Specifically, I am requesting that you demand that the final conference report include the language in Section 1117 of the Senate legislation, which relates to progress being made among countries participating in the Visa Waiver Program to develop secure immigration systems that incorporate biometric identification information in their visa application systems.

I developed this bipartisan legislation along with Senator Jeff Sessions in order to close an immigration security loophole, which currently provides a manner by which terrorists can evade our current visa security systems through the Visa Waiver Program (VWP). Although the participating Visa Waiver Program countries are required to have secure immigration systems, they are currently not required to have the same level of biometric identification capability for incoming visa applicants. As a result, under current law, would-be terrorists who enter VWP countries and adopt false identities and illegitimate passports in those countries are then able to enter the United States without going through the extensive background check and biometric identification required through our existing visa screening processes.

To be sure, exploiting the VWP is not a new technique for terrorists seeking to enter the United States. In fact, would-be terrorist Ahmed Ressam attempted to exploit our visa screening systems by creating false identities in France and Canada and crossing into Washington state without needing a visa. We need to take action towards closing this loophole by working with our allies to meet our standards for secure immigration systems, including biometric visa application requirements that will ensure the biometric identity of would-be terrorists at the earliest possible points of travel.

Specifically, Section 1117 of S.2845 would require the Secretary of State to certify to Congress which of the countries designated to participate in the visa waiver program are developing a program to issue to individuals seeking to enter that country pursuant to a visa issued by that country, a machine readable visa document that is tamper-resistant and incorporates biometric identification information that is verifiable at its port of entry.

The language was offered as an amendment to the underlying Senate bill and was the result of a compromise that was supported by the State Department, and co-sponsored by Senators Jeff Sessions, John Kyl and Charles Schumer and it passed the Senate in a unanimous vote. Congressman Hamilton, Vice-Chair of the 9/11 Commission, stated that the amendment was "an important step forward on border security" and that it is "fully consistent with the Commission's recommendations and gives our government new tools to disrupt terrorist travel."

I strongly urge your support of this provision, and ask that you demand its inclusion in a final conference report.

Sincerely,

Maria Cantwell United States Senator