Non-Subscriber Extract
US adds biometric check to travel documents
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| 04 June 2003 |
The US government is due to issue a Request for Proposals for a border management system that will meet its requirement for biometric identifiers to be used with US travel and entry documents from October 2004.
First announced in the Enhanced Border Security and Visa Reform Act of May 2002, the Homeland Security Department has earmarked US$3.8 billion for the project that would initially apply to the nine million visas issued each year by the US. The government also expects visa waiver countries to have a programme in place to issue its nationals with passports that incorporate biometric identifiers by the same deadline.
The meeting of the G8 richest industrialised nations in early May was the platform chosen by the UK home secretary, David Blunkett, to secure support for plans to include biometric data in UK passports. The UK lends its support to either a fingerprint or iris scan or both contained within an embedded microchip and plans to have a system in place before the end of 2006. Meanwhile the Dutch Parliament is due to debate the inclusion of biometric chips in passports and identity cards in the coming weeks.
Cost is likely to be a complicating factor. The General Accounting Office recently said that it expected the final bill in the US alone to be around US$12 billion. Concern also exists over privacy issues. In Australia, a trial is taking place of biometric enhanced travel documents at Sydney airport. Federal Privacy Commissioner Malcolm Crompton commented: "Biometrics are powerful tools that also can go powerfully wrong. It is therefore very important that privacy issues are addressed during the development of biometric identifiers."
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