» HAS Newsroom
Houston Airport System
February 4, 2008
|
For anyone who has ever lost or had their travel documents stolen, the latest addition at George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH) is certain to provide some level of consolation.
Beginning this month, all international travelers arriving at the airport with non-US passports or visas will be required to comply with the Department of Homeland Security’s new 10-fingerprint initiative.
Under the new identification procedure US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is replacing all of their existing two-print scanners for 10-print models, at the airport’s Federal Inspections Services (FIS) facility.
The new machines use biometric technology to verify the identity of foreign travelers wishing to enter the country.
According to CBP officials, the collection of biometrics helps protect the identity of international travelers in the event of lost or stolen travel documents and makes it virtually impossible to use fraudulent documents or claim another’s identity for immigration purposes.
“We want travelers to come to the United States, but we want them to know they are coming to a safe United States,” says Jeffrey Baldwin, director of field operations for CBP. “The 10-print scanner will help us do that through our security methods.”
With help from the Department of Homeland Security’s US-VISIT program, this new change will provide plenty of benefits such as more accurate data; less false identification matches; enhanced security for both US citizens and visitors; help with the facilitation of legitimate travel; assurance of the integrity of the immigration system and protection for the privacy of visitors to the US.
In addition, collected fingerprints are checked against the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI) criminal master file. |
|
© Houston Airport System |
“We [the FBI] have agents here in the airport that work in a task force environment, ensuring that people that come into the country are who they say they are,” says Carlos Barron, special agent in charge of the Houston FBI office. “When dealing with fingerprints, clearly 10 is better that two. It’s very critical to have as much biometric information as you can.”
In the past, false matches from just two prints have sent international passengers to secondary screenings.
The new process is very simple, doesn’t take much more time than the two-fingerprint process, and should minimize the number of secondary screenings required.
IAH was selected as one of the first airports in the country to deploy this initiative because of its significant international travel market. The airport features the largest FIS facility in the nation, capable of processing up to 4,500 international travelers per hour, and last year served more than 7.7 million international passengers.
“We have at least 10,000 international travelers a day passing though IAH. Add to that the fact that we are the nation’s 8th busiest airport in terms of total passengers, and it is pretty clear why we represent the right option for launching this initiative,” says Rick Vacar, director of the Houston Airport System.
Upon entering the FIS, all passengers have to do is follow the instructions from CBP officers at the more than 80 custom booths at IAH. A photograph and all 10-fingerprints will be taken at that time.
Baldwin says once you are entered into the system, your second entry will only require four prints instead of 10, making the process quicker.
Copyright © 2008 - Houston Airport System |
