10.04.01

Senator Cantwell Adds Technology Component to Anti-Terrorism Bill

WASHINGTON, DC - U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-WA) today announced that the Senate's anti-terrorism legislation will include her proposal to require the State Department and Department of Justice to develop a technology standard that can confirm the identity of a person applying for a U.S. visa or trying to use a visa to enter the country. The Senate is expected to vote on the anti-terrorism bill next week.

The new standard also would be the technological basis for a "cost-effective, efficient, fully integrated" electronic system that would allow agencies to share law enforcement and intelligence information and provide consular officers, federal inspection agents at all U.S. borders, and law enforcement and intelligence officers with access to that information. Cantwell met with the Senate and White House negotiators late last night to explain her proposal and urge that it be included in the Senate anti-terrorism bill. After a 30-minute meeting, the negotiators agreed.

"We need better identity information to strengthen our borders and improve American security, and technology is a powerful tool to ensure the information is well-managed and available when and where we need it," Cantwell said.

Currently, there is no standard technology being used to verify the identity of a person who applies for an American visa or to confirm that the person presenting a visa at the U.S. border is the person to whom it was issued. Another problem is that databases maintained by various agencies - including the Federal Bureau of Investigation, U.S. Customs Service, and the Immigration and Naturalization Service - are unable to share and cross-check information. As a result, Cantwell said, consular officers who issue visas and border agents who decide whether to admit a person using a visa, often don't have access to critical information that would help them confirm the identity of a person seeking entry to the United States.

"If we expect consular officers, border agents, and law enforcement and intelligence officers to protect Americans from terrorism - and we do - then we have to give them the tools they need to get the job done," Cantwell said.

Cantwell said any efforts to tighten security must be weighed against the need to safeguard personal privacy and civil liberties. Nevertheless, she said she believes a workable balance can be achieved, and she pointed out that foreign nationals seeking entry to the United States do not enjoy all of the same rights and privileges as U.S. citizens.

"Just as the First Amendment does not protect someone who yells "fire" in a crowded theater, the Constitution does not protect people seeking entry to this country under false pretenses or with criminal intent," Cantwell said. "It is reasonable for us to ensure that people coming into the United States from other countries are who they say they are, and that they do not have records of terrorism or other crimes that would make them unwelcome here."