BRASILIA, Brazil, Dec 30 (Reuters) - A Brazilian judge
furious at U.S. plans to fingerprint and photograph Brazilians
entering the United States has ordered Brazil to do the same to
U.S. citizens, police said on Tuesday.
The order, set to go into effect on Jan. 1, came after a
government office filed a complaint in federal court over the
U.S. measure aimed at millions of foreign travelers.
“Unless the court order is contested in the justice system,
it will be complied with,” said a spokesman for Brazil’s
Federal Police, the agency overseeing immigration.
Starting Jan. 5, citizens of countries such as Brazil who
need a visa to enter the United States will be fingerprinted
and photographed when they pass through immigration at major
U.S. airports and seaports.
The procedure is meant to identify people who have violated
immigration controls, have a criminal record or belong to
groups the U.S. government lists as “terrorist” organizations.
The checks will not be carried out against citizens of 27
nations who do not need a visa to enter the United States.
“I consider the act absolutely brutal, threatening human
rights, violating human dignity, xenophobic and worthy of the
worst horrors committed by the Nazis,” said Federal Judge
Julier Sebastiao da Silva in the court order released on
Tuesday.
Brazil currently requires U.S. citizens to have a visa when
entering the country.