2004–01–05

Welcome to the U.S.

CNN is reporting that the U.S. now has a fingerprint program:

ATLANTA, Georgia (CNN) – Up to 28 million visitors to the United States now have to stop for photographs and fingerprinting under a new government program launched Monday and intended to make it harder for terrorists to enter the country.

Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge said the new US-VISIT program applies to any visitors who must have a visa to enter the United States. By October, all visitors will be required to have a machine-readable passport or some other method of biometric identification, such as fingerprints or retina scans.

Today it’s a select group of travelers to the U.S. Tomorrow all travelers. After that it will be everyone. Welcome to freedomland.