WASHINGTON, Sept 12: The United States is moving to tighten immigration and customs controls, which it says are vital to keep terrorists at bay.

Under plans that have been announced, foreign travellers will need to provide 10 digital fingerprints on arrival instead of two currently, and their personal data will be transmitted to the United States before their plane takes off.

By the end of the year, virtually every container that comes into the country by sea will be screened amid concerns over possible smuggling of nuclear weapons, security officials said.

“We must move forward aggressively to build on our success to keep pace with our enemies,” said Michael Chertoff, secretary of the department of homeland security.

In November, the United States will begin implementing the plan requiring travellers to give 10 digital fingerprints on arrival.

Ten US airports will initially have the capability to collect the 10 prints before all ports of entry are covered by the plan by the end of next year, Chertoff told a Congressional hearing this week that reassessed US ability to ward off terror threats.

All US embassies and other posts issuing visas to visitors will, by the end of this year, be able to collect the 10 prints for verification at the points of entry.

“Capturing 10 fingerprints will allow us to search databases for latent terrorist fingerprints,” Chertoff said. “If we can prevent dangerous people from infiltrating our borders then we have successfully dismantled a large part of the threat.”

The post-9/11 measures included deploying federal air marshals on flights, hardening cockpit doors, arming pilots to defend the flight deck, and strengthening air cargo security.

Officials said new rules have been formulated requiring international airlines to provide US authorities their passenger lists before boarding is completed and before the plane takes off.—AFP