Homeland Security

Armitage: U.S. Understands Concerns About INS Registration System

(State Department Feb. 20 release on Armitage remarks) (580)
Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage told a visiting delegation
from Indonesia February 20 that the United States understands the
concern foreign governments have about the National Security Entry
Exit Registration System (NSEER), according to a State Department
release issued the same day.
Armitage stressed the value the United States places on good relations
with Indonesia, a strong partner in the global war on terrorism, the
release states.
The Deputy Secretary also assured the delegation that the registration
requirement is "only one component of our efforts to implement a
system to track visitors from all countries."
He added that "any residents found out-of-status under the
Registration System will not be deported without completion of the
usual legal processes" and noted recent decisions to extend the
registration deadline by a month for Indonesian nationals and to allow
consular access to the registrants prior to their interviews with the
Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS).
NSEER requires that visiting citizens of Indonesia and 24 other
countries register with INS within a prescribed time period.
Following is the text of the State Department's February 20 statement:
(begin text)
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
Office of the Spokesman
February 20, 2003
STATEMENT BY RICHARD BOUCHER
Deputy Secretary's Meeting with Indonesian Delegation
Deputy Secretary of State Richard L. Armitage met today with a
ten-person visiting delegation from Indonesia led by Ambassador Arizal
Effendi, Director General for America and Europe in Indonesia's
Department of Foreign Affairs, and including Indonesia's Ambassador to
the United States, Soemadi Brotodiningrat.
The Deputy Secretary assured the delegation today that the United
States Government understands Jakarta's concerns about the burden that
the National Security Entry Exit Registration System places on
Indonesian nationals residing in the United States. The Indonesian
delegation made a strong presentation on the impact of the domestic
registration program and its requirement that visiting citizens of
Indonesia and 24 other countries register with the Immigration and
Naturalization Service within a prescribed time period.
The Deputy Secretary told the delegation that the United States values
good relations with Indonesia, a strong partner in the global war on
terrorism. He explained that the Registration System is only one
component of our efforts to implement a system to track visitors from
all countries. He also explained efforts to ensure that the
Registration System does not impose undue difficulties for foreign
visitors, including the recent U.S. decisions to extend the
registration deadline by a month for Indonesian nationals and to allow
consular access to the registrants prior to their interviews with the
U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service. The Deputy Secretary
assured the delegation that the U.S. Government continues to examine
other means of addressing concerns about the System, and that any
residents found out-of-status under the Registration System will not
be deported without completion of the usual legal processes.
The Deputy Secretary saluted Indonesia's strong cooperation on
counterterrorism issues. He congratulated Inspector General I Made
Pastika, a member of the delegation and the chief investigator into
the October 12, 2002 Bali terrorist bombings, for the outstanding
progress of the Indonesian police in apprehending the perpetrators.
The Deputy Secretary expressed our expectation that continued progress
would also be made in the investigation of the August 31, 2002
killings of two American citizens in Timika, located in Indonesia's
Papua province.
The two sides also exchanged views on the situation concerning Iraq.
(end text)
(Distributed by the Office of International Information Programs, U.S.
Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)