HOMELAND SECURITY STAFFDEL TALKS VISA WAIVER PROGRAM WITH

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 BRATISLAVA 000386

SIPDIS

DHS FOR OFFICE OF INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS AND VISA WAIVER PROGRAM
OFFICE/MARC FREY

DEPT FOR CA/VO

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: CVIS CMGT PREL PGOV LO
SUBJECT: HOMELAND SECURITY STAFFDEL TALKS VISA WAIVER PROGRAM WITH
SLOVAKIA


1. SUMMARY: (SBU) On August 27th, Embassy Bratislava hosted
five staffers from the House and Senate Committees on Homeland
Security, along with Marc Frey, Director of the Visa Waiver
Program Office at DHS, on the first stop of a regional
fact-finding trip to Visa Waiver Program (VWP) member countries.
The delegation held meetings with the Ministries of Foreign
Affairs (MFA) and Interior (MOI) to review Slovakia's experience
with VWP since its admission in November 2008. MOI officials
provided an oral response to a Note Verbale regarding border
security and also delivered to Frey a proposed implementing
agreement for the Agreement on Enhancing Cooperation in
Preventing and Combating Crime signed in October 2008. MFA
officials expressed great satisfaction with VWP, although they
also voiced concerns about the treatment of VWP travelers denied
entry at the border. END SUMMARY.



MOI Reponse on Border Security Issues




2. (SBU) The Staffdel met with Michal Kopcik, First Vice
President of the Slovak Police, Stanislav Jankovic, Second Vice
President, and several other senior GOS officials. The Slovaks
took the opportunity to respond to a Note Verbale which Post had
delivered in May, in consultation with DHS, outlining three
issues of USG concern about Slovak border security: the use of
Air Slovakia flights from Amritsar, India, by a growing number
of illegal migrants; a lack of information-sharing by the Slovak
Border and Alien Police; and the issuance of second valid
passports to Slovak citizens without limitation on validity or
annotation.




3. (SBU) Regarding Air Slovakia, Director of Border and Alien
Police Colonel Tibor Mako highlighted the successful joint
operation conducted by Slovak and Italian police leading to the
break-up earlier this year of a large smuggling ring responsible
for trafficking hundreds of illegal aliens from South Asia, many
by way of the Amritsar-Bratislava-Bergamo route flown by Air
Slovakia. He asserted that improved training of Air Slovakia
employees has largely eliminated this illegal migration route,
as airline staff in Amritsar have caught 40 people holding false
or invalid documents so far this year, all of whom were
prevented from boarding their flights. Mako further claimed
that Air Slovakia has been cooperative with the Police
investigation and that there is no evidence of complicity by
company employees in the illegal migration.




4. (SBU) Mako also agreed to hold regular meetings with
Conoffs, as requested in the Note, in order to share information
about human smuggling into and through Slovakia, and he
presented to us the 2008 Report on Legal and Illegal Migration
in the Slovak Republic. Although neither Mako nor other MOI
officials addressed Post's recommendation that Slovakia limit
the validity of second passports in cases where Slovak citizens
are issued two valid tourist passports, we have been told
informally that legislation is pending that would require
duplicate passports to be annotated as such. Mako also did not
comment at all about instances of official malfeasance brought
to our attention in the last year.



Meeting with MFA Officials




5. (SBU) In a separate meeting with Anna Petrasova, Acting
Director for North America, and two officials from the Consular
Department, the Slovaks were extremely positive about their
country's experience with VWP. Still, they expressed concern
about the treatment of Slovaks who are denied entry at the
border while traveling under VWP, asserting that these travelers
are being treated as criminals even in cases that should be
handled as simple "administrative matters." Although they knew
of no specific cases involving Slovaks, the MFA stated that
other EU countries are concerned about reports that some
travelers have been denied an interpreter during their
interviews. According to these MFA officials, the EU has
complained to DHS/CBP in writing and is preparing a consular
visit this fall to observe U.S. immigration detention facilities
in New Jersey.

BRATISLAVA 00000386 002 OF 002






6. (SBU) Petrasova indicated that the impending change to
"enforced ESTA compliance," whereby airlines will prevent VWP
travelers without approved ESTA applications from boarding their
flights to the U.S., would ameliorate Slovak concerns about U.S.
detention policies by reducing the number of VWP travelers
turned around at the border. She also inquired about
legislation currently pending in the U.S. Congress that would
levy a fee for the online ESTA application, which is required
for people seeking to travel to the U.S. under VWP. Petrasova
predicted that the EU would formally oppose the imposition of
any fee.




7. COMMENT: (SBU) Although they anticipated EU criticism of an
ESTA fee, MFA officials seemed much more interested in learning
details about the timing and amount of the proposed fee than
they did in staking out opposition to it. While it will
certainly echo the EU's official stance on the matter, it seems
likely that Slovakia's satisfaction with being included in VWP
will outweigh any concern it may have about the imposition of an
ESTA fee. END COMMENT.




8. (U) This cable has not been cleared by DHS or Homeland
Security StaffDel.
EDDINS