Foreign visitors at the 50 busiest land border crossings in 10 states are now being fingerprinted as part of the government's new biometric screening system, the Homeland Security Department announced on Monday. The system, called US-VISIT, scans photographs of the visitor's face and index fingers into a computer, which are matched with federal agencies' criminal databases. Homeland Security Undersecretary Asa Hutchinson told reporters that U.S. officials have arrested or denied admission to 372 criminals or immigration violators since the system began last year at 15 seaports and 115 airports. About 17 million people have been enrolled. "Because of the US-VISIT biometric technology, the United States is safer," said Hutchinson, noting that the system was in place two days before the end-of-year deadline.
