New entry/exit system this
year; RP on US Security List

IT'S all work and no play in the USA.

Before and after the Labor Day observance in the Philippines, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has included the Philippines in the list of countries whose nationals are to be subjected to additional security checks at ports of entry in the United States.

To enforce its monitoring of foreigners, immigrants and citizens, the DHS will have in place a new check-in/check-out system by yearend. Called US VISIT (US Visitor and Immigrant Status Indication Technology) system, the program is designed to make it easier for the DHS to determine the legitimate tourists, students and business travelers, while making it difficult to enter with fake documents or fraudulent intent.

US VISIT will make use of biometrically authenticated documents.

Last year approximately 120,000 nonimmigrant US visas were issued to Filipinos at the US embassy in Manila, according to consular sources. An average of 1,200 applicants a day paying 100 dollars each are interviewed at the consular post on Roxas Boulevard in Manila. There are about three million members of the Filipino community in the United States, half of which are in California.

The DHS has started the process by announcing the ability to file two immigration forms, the I-90 Replacement of the Permanent Resident Card and I-765, Employment Authorization Document. Electronic filing is scheduled to start on May 29, 2003.

In an April 29, 2003 memorandum to its members, the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) reported the Philippines joining the list of countries whose citizens are subject to the special registration procedures. The list includes Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, Indonesia, Pakistan, Malaysia and Yemen.

The inclusion of the Philippines in the list is seen as a result of the continuing threat of terrorists and the country's links to al-Qaeda through southern Philippine rebel groups such as the Abu Sayyaf and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF). The two groups have been blamed by the military as being responsible for the series of bombings in Davao City and the province of Lanao del Sur.

The Special Registration procedure was imposed by US Attorney General Ashcroft in June 2002 without consulting Congress. The US legislative body for its part created the Patriot Act requiring the Department of Justice to develop an entry-tracking system for all foreigners -- visitors included -- entering the United States. What follows was the creation of the National Security Entry-Exit Registration System (NSEERS) through a final rule on August 12, 2002.

Electronic manifest sent to ports of entry

Starting Jan. 1, 2003, airlines are required to transmit the manifest of an airplane bound for the United States 15 minutes after departure from a foreign port such as the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA). The requirement to submit the manifest of passengers prior to arrival in the U.S. is part of the Enhanced Border Security and Visa Entry Reform Act of 2002, signed into law by President George W. Bush on May 14, 2002.

Under NSEERS, nationals of identified countries are to be fingerprinted and photographed at a US port of entry, required to report at immigration offices if they stay for more than 30 days and leave only at designated ports of departure.

The first five countries were Iran, Iraq, Libya, Sudan and Syria. Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Yemen were added on Sept. 5, 2002 through a "secret " confidential memo from Johnny Williams, Executive Associate Commissioner in the Office of Field Operations of the defunct Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS). The INS was officially abolished and replaced by three bureaus under the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

13 countries added

On Nov. 22 last year, 13 countries were added to the Special Registration List: Afghanistan, Algeria, Bahrain, Eritrea, Lebanon, Morocco, North Korea, Oman, Qatar, Somalia, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates, and Yemen.

Nationals from these countries were also required to report their change of address within 10 days of such change. Failure to do so could be the basis for deportation or removal.

The April 29, 2003 list being used by the immigration officers under the Bureau of Customs and Border Protection (BCBP), AILA said have added the following countries to the 18 total: Angola, Argentina, Armenia, Bhutan, Brazil, Congo, Cyprus, Democratic Republic of Congo, Egypt, Ethiopia, Georgia, India, Indonesia, Israel, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Liberia, Malaysia, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Panama, Paraguay, Qatar, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Tajikistan, Tunisia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Uruguay, Uzbekistan, Venezuela.

Supreme Court rules vs immigrants

In a related development, the US Supreme Court ruled that non-citizens could be detained without bail during their deportation proceedings. An alien from the list of countries above is covered by this Supreme Court decision on April 29, 2003.

The ruling involves Hyung Joon Kim, a lawful permanent resident (green card holder) who came to the US in 1984 at age six, convicted of burglary in 1996 and found guilty of petty theft in 1997. Kim completed his sentence in California state prison and, a day after his release, was detained by immigration officials without bail while waiting to be deported.

A federal district court and the United States Court of Appeals agreed with Kim that his constitutional rights were violated. The Supreme Court ruling however, in reversing the two court's decision set a precedent, which dissenting Supreme Court Justice David H. Souter said "is devoid of even ostensible justification in fact and at odds with the settled standard of liberty."

Crispin R. Aranda is a US-based immigration specialist and executive director of the Immigrant Visa Center in the Philippines. You can reach him at usvisacenter@yahoo.com or by phone at +632 411-0806/+632 and 414-2655 in Quezon City or +415 834-1052 in San Francisco, California.