Université De Fribourg Department of Informatics E-Passport Control

Université de Fribourg Department of Informatics E-Passport Control: Freedom to Trade by Alvarez, Pedro Paul 09-202-490 Route des Arsenaux 22, 1700- Fribourg [email protected] Supervised by Prof. Andreas Meier and Luis Teran Fribourg 2010 Table of Contents I. Introduction II. Passports III. “Freedom to Travel is Freedom to Trade” IV. Terrorist Vulnerabilities V. The e-Passport i. Technical Information ii. Criticisms VI. ESTA & US VISIT VII. Global Entry VIII. Centralization of Data IX. Conclusion 2 I. Introduction Globalization has truly opened up our interest to cross national borders and today we can find evidence everywhere to support that. We can see human mobility as we have never seen it before. But unlike years before, we have increasing necessity to control some human mobility. This seminar paper will give a brief background on the current issues of human mobility, from immigration and tourism, business travelers and the distribution of goods, to e-government control and national security. Although the topic of this paper is on the subject of e-passports, it is important to fully understand the underlying basis for enhanced security and how they relate to e- passports. Informatics scientists as well as travelers must fully understand the importance of e-documents. Technology is never fully exclusive and we can only imagine e-documents trickling down for commercial purposes as well. We are on the eve of next-generation identification that not only strengthens security and verification at a global level, but will also risk the very same thing we are trying to protect- our identities. II. Passports As a rule, only countries have the right to issue passports, a document legitimate for travel. This is the first requirement for any traveler cross borders or enter ‘foreign spaces’. In article 13 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, it clearly states that every person has the right of exit and entry to one’s own 3 country. However, each country must be able to exercise control of who enters its territory and must be able to deny entry. Article 13. (1) Everyone has the right to freedom of movement and residence within the borders of each state. (2) Everyone has the right to leave any country, including his own, and to return to his country – The Universal Declaration of Human Rights. A visa is then an additional control to a passport that indicates that the holder of said passport is authorized to enter the territory for which it was issued, subject to approval of the immigration official. Although passport books have changed in design over time, the modern system of passports and visa restrictions has only evolved gradually. Many countries issue visa restrictions on travelers from certain countries for economic and political reasons. The implementation of visa restrictions is done in hopes to deter individuals from other countries from entering for security reasons and/or immigration control. The first concern many governments have is that visitors might become immigrants of the host country instead of returning back to their country of origin. Obviously, overstaying the limit one has to visit another country makes you illegal. Immigrants pose a challenge to territorial and national identity and are regarded as a threat to social and ethno-cultural stability. Others believe illegal immigrants use the national welfare system, thus robbing from the citizen. Of course, we cannot forget that the influx of people illegally overstaying their welcome poses a threat to security. Who are they and what are their motivation. This last commentary has been increasingly the subject after our Post 9/11 4 world. In 1998, French Schengen Officials and the Central Directorate for the repression of illegal immigration and employment reported that only 20 per cent of illegal immigrants crossed their borders illegally, whereas the vast majority entered legally but overstayed their limit. The second concern for many governments is allowing the legitimate passport holder access to travel without giving the fear of usurping. A third reason is how to keep control of the traveler’s activity once they are inside the host country’s border. After the terrorist attacks of 9/11, increasing asylum seekers, legal and illegal immigration, there has been a focus on improved and more efficient control of the mobility of travelers. Recently, the U.S. has been focusing on creating “smart-borders”, by transferring border controls to an online format and raising the expectations of transport companies to their part. Other regions and groups of countries have set up passport unions and coordinated their visa policies in order to facilitate tourism and the exchange of the marketplace of ideas. Many have argued that the unprecedented demand for mobility undermines the state’s ability and willingness to exercise stringent controls of who enters its national borders. III. “Freedom to Travel is Freedom to Trade” In 1970, International arrivals increased from 166 million 702 million in 2002. At this time, tourism was then the biggest industry in the world. The number of migrants, those living abroad, doubled since 1970 to 175 million. Managing the complex trade-off between facilitating and promoting economic 5 and political interests and maintaining immigration control and upholding security is quite the endeavor for any port authority. The US has been developing plans to have an automated entry–exit tracking system in place that can detect visa overstays much more efficiently than the current paper system. In principle the passport provides an assurance for immigration officials that the bearer can return to the country of passport origin. However, there are no measures that could literally “track-down” travelers who overstay. Many airlines are also required by the US Department of State to electronically submit passenger details to US authorities before departure as part of its effort to create a ‘smart border’. You can find examples of these “smart- border” kiosks at airports where US airlines run their operations abroad. Some foreign airlines have less noticeable ‘smart-border’ kiosks. The US influence has definitely pushed its security concerns into foreign territories. Following the 9/11 attacks, the US has severely restricted the issue of visas, and up-ed security features. Although these developments were first conceptualized in response to illegal immigration, it is now a pro-active measure to stop terrorist entry. New US. legislation requires counterfeit-proof passports and visas with biometric information. Business groups, as well as research centers, and universities are greatly concerned because they too are affected by the new measures. For them, delaying travelers is delaying innovation and growth by keeping out students, scientists, and businessmen that could otherwise have potential positive impact on the American economy. 6 IV. Terrorist Vulnerabilities Americans and the American government were in denial of their exposure to international terrorism. It was not until 9/11 did the images of the two towers bring the concern for national security to an elevated level of priority. The US has had relatively friendly neighbors and quite the immense water borders and so, with a lack of fear, the population has never quite invested in domestic security. For many years, US policy makers, including trade and commerce policy makers, and business leaders have always assumed that operating a ‘frictionless global network of international trade and travel” was, is, and would always be advantageous. Any restriction or barrier was seen as a nuisance to the competitive market and to innovation and growth. A “less-is-more” approach can no longer be a sustainable approach to managing the influx of peoples crossing borders. It is up to the world governments to develop and apply measures that protect free flow of people, goods, capital, and ideas and to facilitate legitimate cross-border travel. If successful, this would help stop illegitimate and dangerous border entries. Most of the owners, operators, and users of the global transportation networks are private but with the affluence of major governments, they too can contribute to enhancing border security and controls. The result of enlisting the private sector can be chaotic and most likely incompatible at first, but we can assume that we could avoid future disastrous events. Most trade is conducted by sea there are a handful of global mega ports 7 such as Long Beach and Los Angeles, Hong Kong, Singapore, Hamburg, Antwerp, and Rotterdam. If a common standard for security, reporting, and information sharing could be agreed, the port authorities and governments could see their standards becoming universal around the world. Any port authority that does not adopt the standards would obviously be missing out on further economic growth and would eventually have to submit to the new standards if it wants to maintain competitiveness. As for the movement of people, more can be done to the use and regulation of e-passports. Although we are in the eve of biometric identification, we can foresee the movement of people with different requirements, a move from passport books to ATM style cards that could be presented at port of entries, transportation networks such as rail stations and rental car agencies. In short, a global ID managed by each country of origin that confirms the identity of the cardholder. If there are no warnings, red flags, or other remarks on the traveler, travel could be faster. In 2005, the U.S. House of Representatives the Real ID Act, a new law mandating for improved database sharing between the Department of Motor Vehicles and other government offices, a standard for required ID information, and funding for projects. Although it was not included in the final draft of the bill, it proposed creating a standard that could be adopted by other U.S. territories, Mexican states and Canadian provinces.

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