US begins entry checks on Muslims

Under the new policy, immigration staff will routinely fingerprint, photograph and question potential entrants, checking their pictures and prints against criminal and terrorist databases.

Those affected by the new policy
all nationals of Iran, Iraq, Libya, Sudan and Syria
non-immigrant foreign nationals who present an elevated national security risk
foreign nationals identified by INS inspectors

The US Justice Department has also issued a directive that anyone who has frequently visited the Middle East, North Africa, Cuba or North Korea can be taken aside too, if they do not have what it calls a credible explanation for their trip.

The policy is aimed at preventing a repeat of the security lapses which allowed the 11 September hijackers to live undetected in the US for so long.

Scrutiny extended

The measures, introduced nationwide on Tuesday, could potentially apply to any of the 35 million foreign visitors who come to the United States every year.

But all citizens of Iran, Iraq, Libya, Syria and Sudan will be targeted, and visitors - especially men - from other Muslim and Middle Eastern countries may also be subject to the new measures.

The Arab-American community has reacted angrily to the news, saying people will be targeted on the basis of their race and religion.

Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad also hit back, saying the new policy was a reflection of "anti-Muslim hysteria".

"Of course, I am upset," Dr Mahathir said. "Because of the acts of a few people, the whole Muslim world seems to have been labelled."

Even before the new regulations took effect, Dr Mahathir's deputy Ahmad Abdullah Badawi got a taste of America's strict entry procedure, when he was asked to remove his belt and shoes at Los Angeles airport before being allowed to fly on to New York.

Formal registration

Since the 11 September attacks, many Middle Eastern and North African visitors have been taken to one side for questioning.

Now those aged 16 to 45 deemed an "elevated security risk" will be formally registered by the authorities.

They will then have 30 days to say where they are living, working or studying.

BBC New York correspondent Jane Standley says it will be hard for the US bureaucracy to keep up with the new regulations, with more than 350 air and sea ports as well as land borders to monitor.