Many MSU international students who traveled home during winter break were fingerprinted and photographed when they returned to U.S. soil to begin the new semester.
Last week, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security launched the US-VISIT program, an initiative designed to collect information for a database about foreign travelers. The program, launched Jan. 5, extends to 115 airports and allows customs officials to verify identities against terrorist watch lists.
For Monika Tothova, an agricultural economics doctoral student who traveled home to Slovakia during the break, the new procedures caused little disruption to her plans.
"They fingerprint and take a picture, so it wasn't too much of a hassle to begin with," said Tothova, who was fingerprinted after arriving in New York in late December before the program was initiated broadly.
Tothova, who has traveled home several times during her five years studying at MSU, said she isn't convinced the new screening techniques will ensure safety.
"What will happen, will happen," she said. "Something can happen even if you just sit in East Lansing."
The US-VISIT program requires border officials to review travel documents of foreigners and ask questions about their stay upon their arrival. Travelers must place two index fingers on an inkless fingerprint scanner and be photographed.
Federal officials say the estimated 15-second procedure is an integral part of the national security program.
Tom Ridge, secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, said in a statement last week that US-VISIT shows "the world that we can keep our borders open and our nation secure."
Rodolfo Altamirano, the director of the University of Michigan International Center, said the new procedures "can be time-consuming" and "a hassle."
"Imagine going through a process where you are photographed and fingerprinted - you are undergoing scrutiny," said Altamirano, who had once worked as assistant director of MSU's Office for International Students and Scholars.
"Here we go again. This is another screening process, another way to screen me and deal with my identity."
When Altamirano came to the United States from the Philippines about 20 years ago, he said international travel was easy. But new procedures since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks changed that climate, often making foreign travel cumbersome.
"I think the government is trying every strategy in terms of making sure our international security is being protected," he said. "For now, it is just wait and see."
During the holidays, homeland security officials put the nation on heightened alert of a possible terrorist attack. Several international flights were delayed or canceled during the heavy holiday travel period because of intelligence information.
As a result, travelers such as physiology sophomore Subir Shah, who went to India with his parents, faced increased security at airports. Shah, an American citizen, was not subjected to the new security procedures.
Security officials scrutinized carry-on luggage as part of a more thorough screening process in light of concerns, Shah said.
Shah, who returned on Jan. 3, said, "I'd rather do that and be safe than take a chance and have something go wrong."
Steve Eder can be reached at ederstev@msu.edu.
Sonia Khaleel can be reached at khaleel1@msu.edu.
