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Comment by smallblacksun | Hacker News Reader

The US has a large problem with people entering on limited term visitor or student visas and then never leaving. While most of those people are harmless, others aren't (including a number of the 9/11 hijackers). By taking fingerprints of all foreigners, those prints can be entered into law enforcement databases if they overstay their visas. I don't really understand why people would have a problem with it. What bad things would having your fingerprints make it possible for a government to do that having the information from your passport and visa forms wouldn't?

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Fingerprinting has negative connotations for many. It's typically associated with criminal behavior, as those are mostly the only people afforded such treatment. Not commenting on whether it's a valid practice which should continue, but it's easy to see why people, who as far as they're concerned have done nothing wrong, object to be treated in such a manner.

Also, there's the usual concerns about any state entity (particularly a foreign one, which the US is far as foreigners are concerned), amassing large amounts of biometric data. It's a black box which you can't see into, have no assurances how that data will be used, who can access it, etc.

Why not take the fingerprints of citizens, too? There are lots of unsolved crimes with fingerprints filed away. If we made it mandatory for citizens to submit their fingerprints, we could punish many people for the crimes they've committed.

Actually, why not mandate a video camera in every home? That way, the government could know about and stop any crimes you were planning. They could also give you sex tips to ensure that the next generation is numerous enough for the conquering we need to start doing!

Do you see where I'm going with this?

Setting aside the problems with fingerprinting, how exactly does taking foreigners' fingerprints prevent them from overstaying their visas? You mention the 9/11 hijackers - would taking their fingerprints have prevented 9/11? This is just security theater.

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