Biometrics Helps Identify, Apprehend Immigration Violators

The U.S. Department ofHomeland Security (DHS) announced initial results of a biometric identification pilot program between US-VISIT and the U.S. Coast Guard to target illegal migration in the Mona Passage, a body of water between the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico. Since the start of the pilot program in November 2006, the Coast Guard has interdicted 21 vessels containing 558 undocumented aliens.

Twenty-two of the aliens apprehended face criminal prosecution for immigration offenses that prohibit attempts to enter or re-enter the U.S. illegally. Three of the aliens were previously removed as aggravated felons, and one alien was previously convicted of homicide in the United States.

"Biometrics is a powerful tool for the Coast Guard," says Rear Admiral Wayne Justice, Coast Guard assistant commandant for response. "It acts as a force multiplier by helping our officers to quickly and accurately identify the migrants they encounter, and aggressively enforce our immigration laws at sea. We're also sending a strong deterrent message to anyone thinking of entering U.S. territory through this body of water -- they will be apprehended, and we will know who they are and the facts of their immigration history."

The pilot program provides a technological capability for the Coast Guard to capture digital fingerprints and photographs from illegal aliens apprehended at sea and compare that biometric information against US-VISIT data. Aliens not being prosecuted are returned to the Dominican Republic, and their biometric information is retained and accessible to the Coast Guard to compare against future apprehensions.

The pilot project furthers a broader effort to develop a biometric mobile solution for collection and analysis, and represents another step in the department's comprehensive strategy to secure U.S. borders.

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By This Anniversary Year, U.S. Becomes Much More Accepting of Interracial Marriage

This year marks the 40th anniversary of Loving v. Virginia, the Supreme Court case that declared states could not prohibit interracial marriage. A measure of how far U.S. attitudes have come is that when U.S. Sen. Barack Obama's interracial parents married in 1960, their marriage would have been illegal -- and he would have been considered illegitimate -- in half of all the states in America.

Prior to 1970, the overwhelming majority of all couples were same-race married couples. Couples who lived together outside of marriage, whether heterosexual or same-sex, were practically invisible. Inter-racial marriages were extremely rare. In fact, until 1967, many states in the US had laws against interracial marriage. In Virginia, for example, all nonwhite groups, including blacks, native Americans, and Asians, were prohibited from marrying whites. Even in states that never had laws against racial intermarriage, such as Illinois and New York, racial intermarriage was rare before the end of the 1960s.

Since 1970 there has been a steady increase in all types of nontraditional romantic unions. The number of same-sex couples livingtogether openly has climbed significantly, while the number of heterosexual unmarried cohabiting couples has soared, from 3.1 million in 1990 to 4.6million in 2000 to 5.2 million in 2005.

State laws prohibiting interracial marriages were finally struck down in the Supreme Court's Loving decision. Yet such marriages continued to be very uncommon well into the 1970s. In 1970, less than 2% ofmarried couples in the US were interracial. By 2005, the number of such marriages had risen almost fourfold, with interracial couples representing 7.5 percent of all married couples. Although this percentage may seem small, it is a dramatic increase over several decades, and many signs pointto it accelerating in the future, says Michael Rosenfeld of Stanford University.

Some of the rise in racial intermarriage since 1970 is due to immigration, which has increased the racial diversity of the US since 1965. Hispanics and Asians are the predominant groups among the new immigrants, and because neither Asians nor Hispanics are residentially segregated tothe extent that blacks in the US historically have been, Asians and Hispanics have substantial opportunity to socialize with members of other racial groups, says Rosenfeld, of Stanford's sociology department.

The increased numbers of these immigrants have contributed to the rise in intermarriage between Hispanics and non-Hispanic whites, and the rise in intermarriage between Asians and whites, Rosenfeld says.

The rise in black-white marriages cannot be due to immigration. One cause is improvement in race relations. Despite enduring prejudices, the post-Civil Rights era has led to more socialization between blacks and whites, and to more intermarriage. Polls show that the percentage of Americans who want interracial marriage to be illegal has declined precipitously since the early 1970s, and thereis much higher acceptance of inter-racial unions than at any time in the past 200 years.

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Will More than 20 Million Americans Leave the United States?

New Global Initiatives Inc. has released an overview of its two-year study of American emigration to other nations. Six surveys totaling more than 100,000 adult Americans were completed from June of 2005 through December of 2006. Respondents were first asked, "Are you planning to relocate to another nation for more than two years for reasons other than the requirements of the military, the government or your job?"

Results indicate that more than 3 million Americans have already madethe decision to move, another 3 million say they are seriously considering it and are likely to move, while another 14 million say they are considering it and may move to another nation. In addition, more than 6 million Americans say they are seriously considering the purchase of avacation home or other property outside the US.

This is the first study of its kind ever undertaken, New Global says.

As Bob Adams, New Global's CEO puts it, "The numbers were far higher than we expected. Theyare clear evidence that migration is not a one-way street from poorer nations to the US. The global migration picture is far more complex than that."

The report discusses some of the demographic characteristics of American migrants, where they're interested in relocating, and their reasons for moving to another nation. "For some people, this is going to b ea controversial report," says Adams, "in terms of what people want to leave behind and what they expect to find."

One surprising result is that the group most interested in relocation outside the US is the 25-34 age group and by a substantial margin in comparison to other age groups.

"Traditionally, this age group has been thought to be the least likely to move outside the US. They were expected to be focused on marriage, family, and career at that age, thus most likely to settle down and stay put, but they are proving to be the most willing to pack their bags and leave the country. There is more than one surprise instore for the reader," notes Adams.

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Coast Guard Begins Biometric Use to Deter Illegal Entry by Sea

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has begun a pilot program that will collect biometric information from illegal migrants interdicted while attempting entry into U.S. territory through the body of water between the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico known as the Mona Passage.

The U.S. Coast Guard will compare the digital fingerprints and photographs of illegal migrants against the US‑VISIT database, which includes information about wanted criminals, immigration violators and those who previously encountered government authorities. Those attempting to illegally enter the United States and its territories are prosecuted under U.S. law in conjunction with bilateral agreements in effect.

"The Coast Guard's role in maritime border security is to support the national policy of orderly, safe and legal migration while ensuring safety of life at sea," says Admiral Thad Allen, the commandant of the Coast Guard. "Since 9/11, it has become increasingly important to know who is attempting to gain access to the United States, and this project gives us the means to positively identify and take appropriate actions regarding individuals intercepted at sea."

The partnership between the Coast Guard and US-VISIT represents the department’s commitment to detain, apprehend and prosecute illegal migrants and migrant smugglers. The project furthers the broader objective to develop a biometric mobile solution for DHS and is another step in the U.S. government’s plan to enhance security and ensure the integrity of the immigration and border management system.

The US‑VISIT program is a system of biometrically enabled security measures that collect biometric and biographic information from travelers at U.S. visa‑issuing posts around the world, and upon their arrival in the United States at air, sea and land border ports of entry.



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