http://usinfo.state.gov

25 January 2006

U.S. Hails International Partnership in Migration Management
Homeland Security official meets with Europeans on migration policies

A U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) official salutes international partners for working with the United States to facilitate legitimate travel while improving border security and inhibiting the movement of terrorists and criminals.

Homeland Security acting Assistant Secretary of Policy Development Elaine Dezenski spoke at a conference in Brussels, Belgium, January 24 on migration issues.

“The United States shares your goal of pursuing multilateral and regional solutions to the inherently international challenges of migration management,� Dezenski told representatives from European Union nations.

In the Western Hemisphere, Dezenski explained how the Security and Prosperity Partnership among the United States, Canada and Mexico is working “to bolster economic competitiveness of the region while making it secure.�

The partners are adopting a shared approach to combat transnational threats and implement border policies that improve the legitimate flow of people and goods.

The DHS official also underscored the importance of partnerships with European nations in the pursuit of mutually acceptable policies on cross-border movements.

The Visa Waiver Program (VWP) is an agreement between the United States and 27 other nations to enable their citizens to travel to the United States for business or pleasure for up to 90 days without acquiring a visa.

Nations become eligible to participate in the program by meeting certain criteria specified in the law. The criteria call for nations to maintain security standards in their travel policies and documents and to present a solid record of visa compliance on the part of their citizens.

Dezenski said the United States is eager to usher more nations into the VWP, and now has 11 bilateral working groups pursuing that goal.

“We are optimistic that through this process we can eventually reach a point where all our partner nations in the EU receive visa waiver privileges and requirements,� Dezenski said.

Dezenski also described the US-VISIT (United States Visitor and Immigrant Status Indicator Technology) program implemented at U.S. ports of entry since 2004 to improve border-screening procedures.

DHS now has put that system in place at 115 airports and 14 seaports, documenting the entry of more than 44 million visitors. US-VISIT officials say the program has reduced the processing time for a visitor to pass through the port of entry by as much as nine minutes. (See related article.)

“US-VISIT has helped us to identify and deny entry to some 980 other undesirable individuals through the use of biometrics� to verify identity, Dezenski said.

The United States is “constantly evaluating� its efforts to become “a more welcoming place,� she said, adding that U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Secretary of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff announced a new initiative devoted to this goal January 17. (See related article.)

Through the Rice-Chertoff Initiative, Dezenski said, “we’re working on making every visa applicant's interaction with the U.S. government easier and more convenient, with an initial focus on student and business travelers.�

The effort, she added, “may eventually lead to the elimination of the visa as we know it and its replacement with an e-visa that may even have been obtained after a remote interview.�

The initiative envisions the use of more sophisticated technology to improve the security of travel documents without inconveniencing the traveler, she said.

For additional information, see Visas and Passports.

The text of the Dezenski speech follows:

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U.S. Mission to the European Union
http://eu.usmission.gov/

DHS'S DEZENSKI DISCUSSES U.S. BORDER MANAGEMENT, VISAS, COOPERATION WITH PARTNERS

January 24, 2006

Elaine K. Dezenski, U.S. Department of Homeland Security Acting Assistant Secretary for Policy Development, explained the U.S. experience in managing migration at its borders - as well as with its European partners across the Atlantic - to an audience in Brussels on January 24.

Ms. Dezenski was in Belgium to participate in a January 24-25 conference on "Reinforcing the Area of Freedom, Security, Justice and Prosperity in Europe and Its Neighbouring Countries." The conference was organized by the International Organization for Migration (IOM), with the Government of Belgium as co-host, under the Austrian EU Presidency, and in partnership with several EU Member States and neighboring countries.

Ms. Dezenski spoke during a conference session focusing on "Security and Migration Policies: Border Management, Fight Against Human Trafficking, Smuggling, Illegal Migration and Other Forms of Organized Crime." European External Relations Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner also participated in the conference.

Below is Ms. Dezenski's speech, as prepared for delivery:

ELAINE DEZENSKI
ACTING ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR POLICY DEVELOPMENT
BORDER AND TRANSPORTATION DIRECTORATE
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY

January 24, 2006
Conference on Reinforcing the Area of Freedom, Security, Justice and Prosperity in Europe and Its Neighboring Countries

Brussels, Belgium

Thank you Mr. Watson. On behalf of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, I'd like to thank the International Organization for Migration (IOM) for inviting me to add a U.S. perspective to the regional dimension of migration. Undoubtedly, both Belgium, during its chairmanship of the OSCE, and Austria, during its presidency of the European Union, will have many opportunities during the coming months to address regional migration issues in ways that both enhance security and respect civil liberties.

The United States shares your goal of pursuing multilateral and regional solutions to the inherently international challenges of migration management. On any map, national borders look like big, imposing monuments to national sovereignty, but the number of places where reality meets image is very small. Instead, boundaries between countries often amount to imaginary lines across mountain ranges or deserts, or simply a counter at an airport.

People may cross borders either temporarily or to migrate for reasons ranging from tourism, business, to seek economic or social opportunity, -- or, to engage in acts of terrorism. Our challenge today is to develop approaches that make that line on a map as transparent and welcoming for those in the first group while making it as imposing as possible to the second.

In the Western Hemisphere, last March, President George Bush, President Vicente Fox of Mexico, and Prime Minister Paul Martin of Canada launched the Security and Prosperity Partnership (SPP) to bolster the economic competitiveness of the region while making it more secure. This program builds on long standing commitments made by the three countries in establishing the North American Free Trade Area (NAFTA) and existing bilateral efforts. In June, Secretary Chertoff and Commerce Secretary Gutierrez, along with their counterparts signed into force an ambitious 10-point action plan to implement the SPP. This plan is based on the premise that security and prosperity are mutually supporting and reinforcing, and recognizes that our three nations are bound by a shared belief in freedom, economic opportunity, and strong democratic institutions.

Through this plan, among other things, the U.S., Canada, and Mexico have agreed to implement a common approach to combat transnational threats, enhance intelligence partnerships and implement a border facilitation strategy to build capacity and improve the legitimate flow of people and cargo at our shared borders.

1. To further secure North America from external threats through a perimeter or hemispheric approach;

2. To better prevent and respond to threats within North America, including natural disasters such as the recent hurricanes that ravaged the Southern United States; and

3. To streamline the secure and efficient movement of legitimate and low-risk traffic across our shared borders through a North American traveler security strategy that includes standards on travel and nationality documents as well as the development of equivalent approaches for traveler screening systems and information sharing arrangements between such systems

SPP defines the U.S./Canada/Mexico relationship and is a strong a statement about the Western Hemisphere's commitment to work together to promote a free and prosperous society, not unlike the central role the creation of the OSCE played in carving out a safe space after the Helsinki Accords.

When the United States Congress passed the Intelligence Terrorism and Prevention Act in 2005, they demonstrated their support of the Administration's mandate to require consistent and secure documentation to enter the United States, including the closing of the so-called Western Hemisphere loophole. Initially, there was great concern to the north and south. Together with Canada and Mexico we have begun meeting to determine how best to meet these requirements. Since August 2005, we have solicited comments on the Initiative, held many public meetings, and met with hundreds of local stakeholders. We will continue to work together with our international partners while developing a solution, and we will ensure that our solution not only increases safety and security, but also facilitates trade and travel.

DHS has also worked hard with our international partners outside of the western hemisphere. Europe remains one of our closest and most important partners. In 2004, then Under Secretary for Border and Transportation Security, Asa Hutchison and Director General for Justice, Liberty and Security, Jonathan Faull created the Policy Dialogue on Border and Transportation Security to identify and discuss emerging policy issues related to cross border movements before they became areas of discord. This biannual venue has been critical to building ties and improving awareness of each others goals and has helped us to improve understanding of vital programs and work towards common solutions to shared problems.

Our bilateral relationships with Europe also remain central to our concept of border management. The Visa Waiver Program or VWP is an excellent example of how we work with our partners to facilitate legitimate travelers while cooperatively strengthening the security of our borders. After September 11th many members of Congress felt that the program left the door wide open for abuse by those with a desire to stay just long enough to commit an act of terrorism. The Bush Administration and DHS fought hard to keep this program alive by creating new systems and processes to better meet the statutory requirements. It has been a tough road.

We greatly appreciate the cooperation we've received from all of the VWP countries and acknowledge their significant steps to improve the security of international travel. For example, Belgium, our host country today, was the first country in the world to begin full implementation of a biometric passport. Your cooperation enables us to demonstrate to Congress that the VWP can be a pillar in the war on terrorism, with cutting edge best practices and technologies that improve our collective security.

As a result, when President Bush and Polish President Aleksander Kwasniewski announced the creation of the Roadmap process in February 2005 it was on a solid base. Today Consular Working Groups have been established in eleven nations not currently in the VWP to identify steps that each of these countries could take to meet the program requirements and eventually seek nomination. I would also like to take this opportunity to thank Secretary Tarka [Mr. Wieslaw Tarka, Undersecretary of State, Minister of Interior – Poland] for Poland's recent launch of a working group. The United States looks forward to working with both governments as part of this process.

We are optimistic that through this process we can eventually reach a point where all our partner nations in the EU receive visa waiver privileges and requirements. The second half of our vision, however, must be one in which we have done the hard work necessary to address the security, general law enforcement and immigration and border control issues that might impede each countries progress toward that goal. We need to maintain the integrity of this program and be absolutely sure that VWP membership does not open the door to abuse by terrorists and criminals. Otherwise, we may find ourselves without a VWP.

The Roadmap is a truly cooperative process and individual roadmaps will vary depending on the history, geography, economy and political needs and desires of each country as well as their relationships with their neighbors and the larger global community. We recognize that this may take some time. We also look to our colleagues in the European Union, OSCE and elsewhere to help in developing conditions in each country that will help them meet the criteria. We cannot provide you with a checklist, but I can promise that we will work closely with you.

Both bilaterally and multilaterally we are working to identify new and improved tools for determining how to screen people crossing the border. We appreciate the partnership of the European Union, Interpol, the UN and G8, and others in driving towards better solutions to verifying the validity of travel documents. We have a lot of work to do yet, but this is clearly a problem that requires an international solution.

Of course, effective cooperation with our international partners requires DHS to maintain effective policies and programs domestically. A major part of that effort is the use of biometrics in border screening. Identity management through biometrics is key to enhancing security, facilitating travel, enforcing immigration laws, and identifying the bad guys.

The Department's hallmark effort in this area is the United States Visitor and Immigrant Status Indicator Technology, or US-VISIT program. US-VISIT collects biometric and biographic information on international travelers to verify their identity and to build an entry and exit record of their trip to the United States. To capture biometrics, US-VISIT electronically scans a visitor's index fingers and takes a digital photograph - all in the space of seconds. The biometrics captured by US-VISIT allow consular and immigration officials to confidently tie travelers to the visas and passports they are carrying.

US-VISIT has allowed us to unravel the assumed identities of hundreds of foreign nationals attempting to unlawfully enter the United States. For example, a routine US-VISIT check by inspection officers at John F. Kennedy International Airport showed that a visitor was using an alias. Further checks revealed two prior arrests for drug trafficking, a subsequent failure to appear in court and visa fraud. The traveler presented a fraudulent visa he had used to enter the United States more than 60 times without being detected by standard biographic record checks. US-VISIT has helped us to identify and deny entry to some 980 other undesirable individuals through the use of biometrics. It's not possible to know how many terrorists or criminals have been frightened away from attempting to enter our country because of US-VISIT, but I have no doubt that the number is substantial. Best of all, we are able to achieve results like this without inconveniencing legitimate travelers.

We are also constantly evaluating our efforts to determine how to make the United States a more welcoming place. In fact, just last week, Secretary Chertoff and Secretary of State Rice announced the Rice-Chertoff Initiative - a three-part program to roll out the welcome mat. This new ideal was founded on two very basic truths - that travel, tourism and business economically benefit both the individual’s home country and destination, and that seeing freedom first hand is critical to its growth.

Through RCI, we're working on making every visa applicant's interaction with the U.S. government easier and more convenient, with an initial focus on student and business travelers. This effort may eventually lead to the elimination of the visa as we know it and its replacement with an e-visa that may even have been obtained after a remote interview. We are also creating a more transparent entry process, providing clear, friendly instruction to arriving travelers and creating a simpler redress process for those that still, unfortunately, have a bad experience. On the back end, all of this will be supported by improved information sharing and more secure travel documents.

As we address security in the context of migration, recent events here in Western Europe reinforce the need for governments, as well as communities, to promote effective integration of new immigrants, their children and grandchildren.

About 100 years ago, "Americanization," as the policy was called, sought to promote civic literacy, English language acquisition, and cultural assimilation. Immigrants then were expected to adopt to the prevailing Anglo American culture. The civil rights movement of the 1950's and 1960's shifted our focus from cultural to civic integration

Today, we believe, that, despite differences in background, all Americans are bound together by a set of enduring civic principles as relevant today as they were the day our Constitution. Americans embrace the ideals of freedom and opportunity, equality before the law, respect and tolerance for difference, the value of work and self-sufficiency and the primacy of individual citizens and their rights in governing our nation. We strive to enact these ideals in our laws and demonstrate them in our everyday civic life. We welcome immigrants who want to make the U.S. their home and join us in honoring these principles.

Our goal is to ensure that new immigrants and naturalized citizens understand and identify with the constitutional principles that define what being American is about.

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(Distributed by the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)