Schumer: Alexandria Bay Port Chosen to Test New Innovative Radio ID System to Improve Border Security

SCHUMER: ALEXANDRIA BAY PORT CHOSEN TO TEST NEW INNOVATIVE RADIO ID SYSTEM TO IMPROVE BORDER SECURITY

Alexandria Bay chosen among handful of ports across the country for this pilot program

New radio frequency device will allow border security officials to process people traveling in vehicles more efficiently and accurately especially in times of traffic and weather related congestion

US Senator Charles E. Schumer today announced that Alexandria Bay will serve as one of the five ports across the country to test a new security device that could reduce traffic congestion and improve border security. The Department of Homeland Security will work with Alexandria Bay to plan tests of and possibly implement their Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology as a part of their US-VISIT program to enhance border security.

"Alexandria Bay is a valuable border and Homeland Security officials today acknowledged that by depending on it as test site for their new and innovative security technology," Schumer said. "I hope this device allows for officials to process travelers more efficiently and I look forward to hearing about reports of its progress in the coming months."

Currently, visitors traveling in non-commercial vehicles staying in the US for over 72 hours or traveling 30 miles past the border station must answer a series of questions related to their stay. The new RFID technology will create an identification number corresponding to that information and issue a device to travelers to speed up the process.

When traveling through the border, passengers must scan their device before reaching a border security official for final clearance. This scan will allow the border security official to call up the traveler's record quickly. Also, once the traveler scans their device, the identification number will be entered into a national database which can alert the border security official to a traveler's questionable activity.

Commercial vehicles passing through borders already participate in the Free and Secure Trade (FAST) program which operates similarly to the RFID program. Commercial vehicle travelers must also submit information to border security officials. But instead of being issued a device to scan, the device is already placed in their vehicles and they must pass through a portal.

The Department of Homeland Security's US-VISIT border security program has already been implemented at the Alexandria Bay border, the Buffalo Niagara International Airport, and the John F. Kennedy Airport. The program's officials work with visitors traveling with non-immigrant visas to produce inkless digital fingerscans to attach to visitors' travel documents allowing for officials to better track them in times of need.

http://schumer.senate.gov/SchumerWebsite/pressroom/press_releases/2005/PR40088.AlexBay12505.html