Posted on 01/13/2005 10:28:04 AM PST by Jay777
WASHINGTON - Americans' fingerprints should be added to their passports, outgoing Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge said Wednesday, hoping to include the United States in a growing global security standard but risking a privacy fight at home.
Ridge said passports could ideally include biometric finger scans — for all 10 fingers — to help customs officials quickly and accurately identify U.S. travelers. He offered no details on how the plan might deal with privacy concerns or guard against international identity theft.
"If we're going to ask the rest of the world to put fingerprints on their passports, we ought to put our fingerprints on our passports," Ridge said in a speech at the Center for Strategic and International Studies before heading overseas to talk about security ties with the European Union (news - web sites).
"Now, culturally, historically, there are a lot of reasons that some countries are averse or very reluctant to give people finger scans," Ridge said. He said that by offering assurances that use would be limited and benefits would be significant, "we could get the world to move more quickly toward a common international standard."
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
not a chance in hell it will pass in the US. Big brother conspiracies will fly.
Hmm. yet another reason not to get a passport.
Many states require fingerprint to drive.
Americans will lick any boot presented to them.
This is really needed!
The animal rights lunatics got passports issued for pets.
Ok, it is a good idea to be able to identity your animal while traveling....
BUT, there are no distinguishing features between human passports and the animals.
I have a picture of a falcon passport here on this doc:
http://goexcelglobal.com/NJ_DefenseForce/FalconPassports.doc
Changing a picture from an animal to a human is not that hard.
except you are not 38 inches high and 9 lbs.
what states do you need fingerprints to drive?
My passport expires in 2010.
I wonder how this effects older passports.
Considering that customs and immigration officers didn't even look at my passport on the last 2 trips outside the US I have made, I doubt this is going to mean jack for security. They just waved me through as soon as they saw the cover and ran it through the little machine scanner.
Texas requires a thumbprint ... but you can easily smudge it in the scanner.
Am too!
;)
Actually, this was being used as an identity issue. So maybe there was more doctoring than just a picture.
lol, its not that easy to forge a US passport. unless you are willing to spend 15 to $20,000. Dont even bother talking about it. It gets scanned..and when the computer reads out...Dog and you are a 5'9 blonde...i doubt very much he will think "dog" as in ugly woman.
California and Oklahoma require a thumbprint.
The passport confusion I read about wasn't in US. It was overseas.
Actually when ID is demanded it is often more private to provide a passport when a DL is expected.
The passport doesn't have your address on it or SSN or DL number. And its usually the case the government droid can't refuse your passport as ID.
I was recently detained by TSA and insisted on using my passport over my DL. They very clearly wanted the goodies on my DL but they had to be satisfied with the passport.
If you've got to have paperwork to go there, count me out.
My Mum got my dog a passport.
I do not know why though as they never take her on holiday.
They got her microchipped as well.
In my state, driver's licenses only contain SSN if the driver requests it to be on the license.
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