Green card holder? Be prepared for fingerprinting at the airport!

by Scott Carmichael on

As part of the US-VISIT program, designed to protect the country from terrorism and other threats, US Permanent Residents will soon have to subject to fingerprinting when they enter the country through an immigration checkpoint. The new rules go into effect on January 18th 2009.

The scheme is already in place for non permanent residents and other visitors, but it is the first time it has been expanded to permanent residents.

Fingerprinting Green card holders is quite strange, because part of the process of becoming a permanent resident involves an FBI background check and a pretty intensive fingerprinting procedure.

Of course, the fingerprinting could also be a way of ensuring the person entering the country with a Green card actually is who they say they are. It could also simply mean that the records stored within the government systems are such a mess, that they can’t do any reliable matching against terrorist records.

The next step in US-VISIT could be a little more scary, as the Department of Homeland Security claims there are “not currently” any plans to start fingerprinting US citizens when they re-enter the country, but I suspect that is probably not very far away.

(Via: Cnet)

Homeland Security employing illegal immigrants – under the table, of course

by Annie Scott on

Lorraine Henderson is our current poster-child for hypocrisy.

Henderson, the regional director of Homeland Security, Customs, and Border Protection and the director of the Port of Boston was stung by an undercover operation which revealed she repeatedly hired illegal immigrants to clean her home in Salem. The Law & Order -esque operation, complete with a maid wearing a wire, has resulted in her being charged with encouraging an illegal immigrant to remain in the country.

According to the eight page affidavit, Henderson employed a Brazilian housekeeper who she knew was in the country illegally — and also employed her friends when the housekeeper took leave to have a baby. Henderson even counseled her Brazilian housekeeper about how to avoid detection by law enforcement.

The housekeeper agreed to wear a wire after being approached by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Henderson, who is facing 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine, has yet to enter a plea.

She also showed up to the courthouse in jeans and a gray sweatshirt. Sounds like somebody’s not even trying.

[via Boston.com]

Russell Brand’s account of not being allowed in the U.S.

by Jamie Rhein on

Admittedly, Russell Brand, the British comedian and actor, probably best known in the U.S. for his role as Aldous Snow, a rock star in the movie Forgetting Sarah Marshall, can go a bit over the top with his humor.

Because he will be hosting the MTV Video Music Awards tonight, he is on U.S. entertainment radar again. However, it’s an earlier appearance on David Letterman in May that caught my attention.

This account of why he missed his first scheduled appearance on David Letterman pokes a bit of fun at U.S. immigration without being anti-American. According to him, Brand wasn’t allowed back in the U.S. after a trip to Britain to promote the movie because of his past record. Although he doesn’t specifically state his past problems, they have to do with drug issues for which he has had treatment.

Basically, Brand’s hilarious style of story-telling captures an interesting cast of players and circumstances at U.S. immigration. I do think he’s embellishing, but it’s funny. For example, he describes a Gambian man wearing an American flag tie under going questioning and hones in on the stereotypes of people who look suspicious.

Brand never does say how he cleared his record to be allowed back into the U.S. after being sent back to Great Britain.

When Brand was in the U.S. filming Forgetting Sarah Marshall, he probably had a work visa which would be different from the type of visa he would have to make talk show appearances. That’s my assumption.

It just seems odd he would have been granted a visa for one circumstance and denied entry for another. However, Brand is not that well known–yet, so perhaps the immigration officers didn’t believe him. That’s also what Brand conjectured. Since he is a comedian, who can be sure of the truth and what makes for good entertainment?

There is a funny part at the end of the interview when he talks about what it was like to be in Hawaii during the filming of Sarah Marshall. Being in paradise too long is like “being hit over the head with a rainbow.”

Martha Stewart turned back by UK immigration

by Grant Martin on

Looks like even celebrities aren’t allowed to bend immigration rules. Martha Stewart, who was due in the UK later this week for business meetings and other codgery, was just denied a visa by the United Kingdom because of her criminal record.

As you probably recall, the American business woman recently spent five months locked up for shady stock and business dealings. UK immigration law specifically prohibits visitors with records of these sorts, and took no exception to Ms. Stewart’s application.

Naturally, the suits and politicians are a little bit disgusted on the UK side, mostly because Stewart provides so much business among our countries and because of the nature of her crimes. But border security isn’t budging, saying:

“We continue to oppose the entry to the UK of individuals where we believe their presence in the United Kingdom is not conducive to the public good or where they have been found guilty of serious criminal offences abroad.”

I suppose until Ms. Stewart is given a golden pass by the higher ups, she’ll have to invest in a webcam.

Ellis Island has a birthday on January 1

by Jamie Rhein on

While I was getting the links for my post on things to do in New York City on New Year’s Day, I saw that Ellis Island is also open, plus that it’s having a birthday tomorrow. It first opened on January 1, 1892.

Friends of ours went to New York City earlier in December and did take the ferry to Liberty Island where the Statue of Liberty lifts her torch and then on to Ellis Island, but they didn’t get off the boat in either place. They missed out on what I think is one of the more interesting museums I’ve been to–and I’ve been to A LOT of museums. Sure, it’s neat to see the Statue of Liberty from up close, but if you only have time for one place, get off at Ellis Island for at least an hour or so. Plus, the museum is free. You’ve already paid for the boat ride, so why not get your money’s worth?

Ellis Island does not have the flashiest of museums, but it is steeped in American and world history and, I think, is important to the multicultural fabric of the United States–one that is good to pay tribute to. If you have kids, it’s an excellent way to teach them about who has immigrated to the U.S., when the various ethnic groups came and the various things that were happening in the world that prompted them to relocate.

My two favorite displays are the 3-D graphs that show who came and when and the section that highlights various families and the belongings they bought with them. If you do go here, take time out for the movies and the talk by the National Park ranger.

The last time we were there, my son caused a double-take. When the ranger asked, “Who here was born in another country?” and my son, then age 4 raised his hand and shouted out, “I was. I was born in India,” the ranger looked at my son’s blond hair and fair skin in confusion. “For real?” he asked.

For real. My son’s immigration story is not quite as exciting as an ocean journey from Europe, but it will provide some party talk when he gets older.