Many EU countries and a number of countries outside the EU (Norway and Iceland) use the Schengen Information System (SIS), a databank with personal details. The system is used by countries to register arrest warrants, individuals who have been denied access to a country and must therefore be deported and
individuals on whom information must be collected for state security reasons. This enables the exchange of information between countries.
There are also national initiatives that relate to the registration of foreign citizens. In Germany in particular databases are kept with information on foreign nationals. There is a central database, for example, with data on all residential immigrants (everyone in long-term residence) with information on status and criminal record, among other aspects. The data protection authorities have since allowed police and intelligence services access to these databases. In the second German
antiterrorism package the powers are extended further. ‘Spontaneous’ information on religion must be included in the database. The database is accessible for
dragnet and other studies by intelligence services. Aviation authorities have
unlimited access to the database for staff screening purposes. Working document 1 also indicates that the second German antiterrorism package (also ‘Act combating international terrorism’) is aimed particularly at changes to asylum and aliens legislation. Specific legal asylum and aliens measures in the second package: – The alien authorities (Migration and Refugee Service and local authorities)
must spontaneously provide the ‘Verfassungsschutz’ (the national security service) with information on radical activities of people known to them, – Biometric characteristics on aliens passports,
– More fingerprints are taken of aliens than ever before (initially only of asylum seekers and refugees of civil wars, now also if they are returned to a ‘third country’, if residence is refused on suspicion of radicalism and if they originate from countries to which repatriation is not easy, or if there is a suspicion that the subject has also applied for asylum in other EU countries),
– Speech analysis is applied to determine the country /region where the refugee is coming from,
– Certain nationalities and categories of aliens are earmarked for further studies in connection with radical activities. Relevant data may be stored without unrestrictedly,
– The second package comprises the EU measures of 20 September 2001 and resolution 1373 of the Security Council which have also been implemented in national legislation. The latter resolution aims at restricting the freedom of movement of terrorists by stepping up border control, improving the fight against identity fraud, improving information exchange between services and
preventing the abuse of the refugee status. Finally, the European EURODAC83
rules have been included in the new German legislation. Other policy fields are also covered by this act84.
In Germany information on potential immigrants is routinely gathered from the ‘Verfassungsschutz’, with the aim to keep out people who have already been in contact with known radicals. Federal states decide on this research themselves.
83 Eurodac is a European databank for the storage of fingerprints. See: European Commission, 2004.
84 According to Albrecht, author of working document 1 on Germany, the Act has come under heavy criticism from privacy
In Spain people are working with databases to be able to keep a closer eye on the inflow and outflow of aliens in the country. This is a result of the implementation of the Schengen agreements of the EU. So far, however, there is little insight in the number of illegal immigrants in Spain.
After the attacks of 11 September 2001 in the United States it became clear that it was possible to remain in the country illegally after expiry of a student or other temporary visa. Entry controls into the United States have been tightened and holders of temporary visas are monitored more closely. Visas have become more fraud-proof and most applicants are questioned before their visa is issued.
Information about visa holders is shared between the various government services. The Visa Outlook programme has been reinforced and the Transit Without Visa (TWOV) programme suspended. People who appear on any of the lists of potential terrorists will be refused a visa.
Various measures have been created for the many students in particular who enter the United States every year, to ensure that there are no terrorists amongst them trying to get into the country. Within this framework, the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System was set up, which operates alongside the Foreign Terrorist Tracking Task Force set up by the FBI.
Within the framework of the VISIT programme (Visitor and Immigrant Status Indication Technology) the biometrical and biographical data for all incoming travellers are recorded in a database. In 2005 experiments were carried out with RFID (Radio Frequency Identification). The use of a ‘tag’ could be the answer to creating a more accurate correlation between incoming and outgoing travellers. In order to be able to remove foreign terrorists from the country, the ATRC (Alien Terrorist Removal Courts) were founded in 1996. Based on classified information people could be deported from the United States, although the parties involved were able to defend themselves. The ATRC, however, never worked. The INS (Immigration and Naturalization Service) deported aliens based on secret
information through immigration courts, without informing the accused or his or her solicitor. These and other measures have raised questions on some
antiterrorism measures and their compatibility with human rights. To an even greater extent this also applies to the registration duty for residents of countries associated with terrorism, introduced in September 2002. Individuals found to have committed a crime (mostly violations of immigration laws) were detained, sometimes under dire circumstances.
Yet all the measures which the United States takes to close the borders cannot prevent that many cross the borders from Canada and Mexico, including perhaps people with terrorist motives. A ‘Smart Border Declaration’ has been signed with Canada, aimed at creating tighter border control and the addition of another 1000 customs officials. A similar agreement was signed with Mexico.
Refusing access to a country is used in some countries, including Sweden and Poland, in the antiterrorism policy (working document 7). A visa or a declaration to enter may be refused if there is reasonable doubt that the foreign national is
involved in terrorist activities, participates in such activities, or heads a terrorist organisation or is a member. Foreign nationals may also be refused access if their presence is unwanted in light of them posing a threat to national security or public order.