Ridge pushes faster check of international travelers
(CNN) -- The United States will take steps to speed security and immigration checks of international travelers at New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport, Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge said Thursday.
Ridge announced a planned international version of the registered traveler program that's being rolled out in the United States to expedite frequent fliers.
Ridge said new technology at Kennedy airport will enhance security and assist global travel and commerce. The changes will be deployed in the coming weeks, he said at Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam, accompanied by Clifford Sobel, U.S. ambassador to the Netherlands.
Ridge is visiting Amsterdam; Brussels, Belgium; and London, England, in the final weeks of his tenure as homeland security chief. President Bush this week nominated federal appellate Judge Michael Chertoff to succeed Ridge, who is stepping down next month.
Ridge also said that the United States and the Netherlands would launch a pilot program in which frequent air travelers could submit to background checks to expedite their passage through airports. A Department of Homeland Security official said the program could begin registering international travelers in late summer.
American citizens, U.S. legal permanent residents and foreign visitors who travel frequently to the United States would be eligible for the program.
Applicants would have to submit to a background check that would include a 10-fingerprint criminal history check, a face-to-face interview with a representative of a Department of Homeland Security office and a check of government watch lists.
Upon their arrival at Kennedy airport, enrolled travelers would enter the United States without having to submit to routine Customs and Border Protection questioning unless selected for a secondary referral, the Department of Homeland Security said.
They would be required to present their passports to officials at kiosks and be fingerprinted and photographed. Once cleared, they would be allowed to claim their bags and exit the airport.
"Our approach at this point is to think big but begin implementing on a small scale," Ridge said in prepared remarks. "We want to get it right."
The department also said Thursday it has created a new position: Homeland Security attache to the European Union. It hasn't named a candidate for that post.
