Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
05KINGSTON1316
2005-05-20 18:04:00
UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY
Embassy Kingston
Cable title:  

WESTERN HEMISPHERE TRAVEL DOCUMENT INITIATIVE

Tags:  ASEC CPAS CVIS JM KFRD TIP 
pdf how-to read a cable
This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 KINGSTON 001316 

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE

DEPT FOR CA/FPP; CA/VO/F/P; CA/OCS/ACS/WHA; WHA/CAR;
DS/CR/VF
DHS FOR HQINT, HQOAI, CAO AND FDL
MEXICO ALSO FOR DHS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: ASEC CPAS CVIS JM KFRD TIP
SUBJECT: WESTERN HEMISPHERE TRAVEL DOCUMENT INITIATIVE
(WHTI)

REF: A. STATE 44089

B. KINGSTON 867

CABLE IS SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED IN ITS ENTIRETY, PLEASE
PROTECT ACCORDINGLY.

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 KINGSTON 001316

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE

DEPT FOR CA/FPP; CA/VO/F/P; CA/OCS/ACS/WHA; WHA/CAR;
DS/CR/VF
DHS FOR HQINT, HQOAI, CAO AND FDL
MEXICO ALSO FOR DHS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: ASEC CPAS CVIS JM KFRD TIP
SUBJECT: WESTERN HEMISPHERE TRAVEL DOCUMENT INITIATIVE
(WHTI)

REF: A. STATE 44089

B. KINGSTON 867

CABLE IS SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED IN ITS ENTIRETY, PLEASE
PROTECT ACCORDINGLY.


1. (SBU) SUMMARY: Jamaica is one of the countries in the
Caribbean which exempts U.S. citizens traveling to the island
for tourism from the requirement of a passport or visa. Ref
(A) announced that effective December 31, 2005, DHS will
require all U.S. citizens traveling to and from the
Caribbean, including Jamaica, to have a passport or other
acceptable travel document. The GOJ has informed Post that
this requirement will impede visitor flows to Jamaica from
the U.S. where more than half of U.S. tourists enter without
passports. Nevertheless, Post strongly endorses the proposed
WHTI schedule due to the high rate of document fraud that
exists in Jamaica, including the use of fraudulent U.S. birth
certificates and driver licenses, as well as photo-subbed
U.S. passports. End Summary.

NEW IMMIGRATION TECHNOLOGY IN THE U.S. AND JAMAICA


2. (SBU) Since the introduction of U.S. Visit in January
2004, and biometrics in Kingston in June 2004, Post has
noticed an increase in false claims to U.S. citizenship
cases. Investigative tips from multiple criminal
intelligence sources suggested that vendors refrained from
aggressive fraud efforts to alter or counterfeit U.S. visas
and moved to selling U.S. birth certificates. The shift was
due largely to the fingerprint verification requirement for
visas on issuance at Post and again at the Ports of Entry.


3. (SBU) Another reason vendors resorted to selling false
U.S. birth certificates was due to a change in accountability
methods used by Jamaican Immigration. In October 2004,
Jamaica instituted an INL-funded computerized entry and exit
system to reinforce immigration accountability. In the past,
illegal workers and overstays would remain in the U.S., but
would ship their passports to Jamaica for a fraudulent
backdated stamp. However, new technology in Jamaica is
designed to track entry and exit of travelers. Although
there are still some problems with the GOJ's comprehensive
and consistent use of the new system at both major airports,

early reports indicate an increase of Jamaicans interdicted
by airport officials for using false entry and exit stamps.


4. (SBU) U.S. birth certificates used for travel to the U.S.
continue to trouble fraud prevention efforts in Jamaica. The
frequent misuse of U.S. birth certificates and I.D. cards
used as travel documents has peaked as the preferred method
of criminal/impostor travel. It is unclear and nearly
impossible to account for the number of persons using birth
certificates and bogus ID cards to gain entry to the U.S.
This method of travel clearly creates a potential threat to
U.S. national security. Persons using U.S. birth
certificates are rarely challenged as to the validity of
their claim to U.S. citizenship by either local airline or
immigration employees when departing Jamaica for the U.S.


5. (SBU) Birth certificates are one of the many "breeder"
documents used to obtain entry to the U.S. from Caribbean
countries. Once in the U.S., those same persons obtain other
vital documents to legitimize their illegal stay, i.e.,
social security cards and driver's licenses. Increasingly,
illegal document vendors choose to purchase or steal U.S.
birth certificates or obtain copies of authentic certificates
using fraudulent means. It is well worth the effort as the
prices on the street bring lucrative profits. An authentic
U.S. birth certificate not only provides the bearer with a
new identity, but the false claim of U.S. citizenship
bypasses the risk of being photographed and fingerprinted at
Ports of Entry. Thus, it has become the preferred reentry
method for Jamaica's legions of criminal deportees as well as
for economic migrants. Given the multi-ethnic composition of
Jamaican society, U.S. birth certificates -- as well as
easily obtainable false Jamaican passports -- present a
vulnerability from third country nationals seeking to enter
the U.S. or Canada posing as American citizens. We see
increasing evidence of organized alien smuggling involving
South Asian, Chinese and Cubans who transit Jamaica using
false U.S. identification or passports of visa waiver
countries.

CHILD MIGRATION/TRAFFICKING


6. (SBU) Apart from adult deportees, economic migrants and
possibly terrorists, we are concerned about the prevalence of
U.S. birth certificates to move illegally Jamaican children
to the U.S. The practice is not uncommon, but it can be more
difficult to detect through questioning than might be the
case with an adult impostor. Jamaica is about to be
designated a Tier 3 country for trafficking in persons,
primarily based on evidence of minors involvement in the sex
and pornography trade, and by the GOJ's lethargic response in
addressing it. Although we believe that the vast majority of
Jamaican children smuggled into the U.S. through the false
identity of an American birth certificate are kids joining
parents already living illegally in the U.S. or who are
circumventing a long wait for a priority date for legal
immigration, we cannot rule out some instances of child
smuggling for more nefarious purposes. Jamaican Lee Boyd
Malvo is a classic example.

STATISTICS


7. (SBU) ACS has approximately 5-8 possible fraudulent
passport and CRBA cases still pending from 2004, whereby the
applicant never returned with additional documentation
requested by the ACS officer.

-- In FY-2004, there were 120 lost and 90 stolen passport
cases reported to ACS. Airline and immigration officials at
Kingston's international airport forwarded to Post
approximately 20 suspected fraudulent documents seized by
airline and immigration officials. Airline officials
informed those travelers to appear at the Embassy's fraud
section to reclaim their documents. Most never came.


8. (SBU) DHS Kingston intercepted approximately 100 travelers
at Kingston's international airport in FY-2004 with
questionable birth certificates. Only half were identified
and relatively few are prosecuted by the GOJ.


9. (SBU) COMMENT: Post fully understands the concern of the
GOJ for its potential loss of U.S. tourist revenue. However,
with the increased use of fraudulent U.S. documents, Post
concurs with the WHTI implementation date proposed for the
use of passports for travel to Jamaica and the rest of the
Caribbean. Though Jamaica is considered a low terrorism
threat country, a terrorist with a good command of the
English language could enter Jamaica on almost any type of
passport and then use a U.S. birth certificate to assume the
identify of a U.S. citizen. Lax document inspection
procedures, compounded by corruption among immigration and
airport employees, facilitates illegal migration as well as
narcotics trafficking and weapons smuggling at both of
Jamaica's international airports. The problem is more acute
at Montego Bay's Sangster Airport, the facility through which
most U.S. unpassported tourists travel and which, given its
greater distance from Kingston, is more difficult for Embassy
Kingston staff to monitor. Although several Mission elements
are working with the GOJ to address airport (and seaport)
security issues, from our perspective the implementation of
WHTI as scheduled goes a long way towards rectifying one of
our major homeland security concerns.
TIGHE