Lax INS security at airports a terror risk, report says By Toni Locy, USA TODAY WASHINGTON =97 The nation's 159 international airports remain vulnerable to= =20 illegal entry by foreign terrorists and smugglers because the Immigration=20 and Naturalization Service has not followed security recommendations made=20 four years ago, a new government report says. The report was issued=20 Thursday by the Justice Department's inspector general's office, which in=20 1999 found a range of problems with the design, security and communications= =20 systems at INS airport facilities used to screen millions of foreign=20 visitors each year. The report said a follow-up review of a dozen=20 unidentified airports nine months after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks=20 revealed not only that the INS had not addressed the problems, but also=20 that there were new deficiencies. Among those were "inoperable alarms and=20 cameras, and security features that had been turned off, were not=20 monitored, or had not been installed," the report said. "By not adequately= =20 following up on the recommendations of our previous audit, airports=20 continue to be vulnerable to illegal entry, escapes, injuries and smuggling= =20 of aliens and contraband into the United States," Inspector General Glenn=20 Fine said. Meanwhile, a report by the Transportation Department's inspector general=20 Thursday cited problems with airport machines used to screen the baggage of= =20 foreign visitors. It said machines many airports use to check for=20 explosives give too many false readings. The reports reflected the ongoing= =20 struggle by government agencies to screen the waves of foreigners =97 43.1= =20 million in 2001 =97 who fly into the USA. The report on the INS, an agency= =20 whose persistent failure to screen and track visitors and immigrants has=20 led to its reorganization, was particularly critical. It said INS=20 officials' fear of the airline lobby stopped them from using their=20 authority to force airports and airlines to provide more secure areas to=20 screen foreigners. INS officials who requested anonymity did not dispute=20 the report's findings. They said that they are improving security, but=20 added that it is not practical to shut down parts of airports to resolve=20 disputes over the quality of space the INS gets to screen travelers. The Justice Department report said the INS, which will become part of the=20 new Department of Homeland Security on March 1, must pass on the results of= =20 the latest report to airports, airlines and INS inspectors. The agency did= =20 not do that with the 1999 report. The Justice Department report also=20 challenged INS officials' contention that security problems have not led to= =20 any escapes, deaths or injuries. Fine's staff uncovered seven such=20 incidents. He rejected INS officials' claims that airport security is not=20 their job. He said airport security and border security are synonymous.=20 Transportation Department Inspector General Kenneth Mead said some of the=20 large machines many airports use to screen checked bags for explosives give= =20 off too many false readings. He's investigating to make sure the machines=20 are functioning properly. "We need to focus hard on the equipment," Mead=20 said. Meantime, an audit by Justice Department Inspector General Glen A. Fine=20 criticized the Immigration and Naturalization Service for failing to=20 correct significant security deficiencies at airports. The report,=20 released Thursday, found airports remain vulnerable to illegal entries by=20 foreign travelers, smuggling of aliens, drugs and other illegal substances,= =20 and escapes by people detained for questioning. Fine said the INS has=20 largely failed to implement recommendations aimed at fixing problems first= =20 identified in a 1999 audit. These include badly located or inoperable=20 surveillance cameras, inability to videotape interviews with=20 detainees, alarms that don't work and other security features never=20 installed. "We found that the INS had not even advised its own airport=20 staff of the results of the prior audit," the report said. "Significant and= =20 ongoing deficiencies continue to exist at INS airport inspection=20 facilities." The Transportation Security Administration is responsible for= =20 overall security at commercial airports, but the INS has oversight of=20 foreign travelers. Acting INS Commissioner Michael Garcia issued a statement saying the agency= =20 would work closely with the TSA to address problems identified by Fine. He= =20 called the audit "an invaluable tool in improving the safety and security=20 of the traveling public." The TSA was created after the Sept. 11 attacks to take over airport=20 security. Congress gave it until Jan. 1 to begin screening every checked=20 bag at the nation's 429 commercial airports. The TSA has said it met the=20 mandate, but Mead is reviewing how well the new security procedures are=20 working. At the same time, he praised the TSA for making enormous strides=20 to improve safety, noting only about 5% of the roughly 2 million bags=20 checked at airports each day were screened before Sept. 11. "They did as=20 much as could reasonably be expected," Mead told a meeting of the Aviation= =20 Safety Alliance. "There's still an enormous amount of work to do." TSA spokesman Robert Johnson said the agency is working with the inspector= =20 general to figure out how well screening machines are working. "We need to= =20 know where we need to improve," Johnson said. The government is funding=20 research into better technology to detect explosives, he said. Peter=20 Winch, national organizer for the American Federation of Government=20 Employees that is seeking to unionize TSA workers, said many employees are= =20 concerned about the machines' reliability. *************************************************** The owner of Roger's Trinbago Site/TnTisland.com Roj (Roger James) escape email mailto:ejames@escape.ca Trinbago site: www.tntisland.com Carib Brass Ctn site www.tntisland.com/caribbeanbrassconnection/ Steel Expressions www.mts.net/~ejames/se/ Site of the Week: www.pichemas.com TnT Webdirectory: http://search.co.tt *********************************************************