Fergie's Tech Blog

U.S. Port Workers to Undergo Background Checks

An AP newswire article, via MSNBC, reports that:

Answering criticism about security gaps at U.S. seaports, the Bush administration said Tuesday it will conduct background checks on an estimated 400,000 port workers to ensure they do not pose a terrorist threat.

Names of employees who work in the most sensitive areas of ports will be matched against government terror watch lists and immigration databases, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said. Additionally, the Homeland Security Department will issue tamper-free identification cards to roughly 750,000 workers—including truckers and rail employees—who have unrestricted access to ports.

The added scrutiny, however, will not immediately include a criminal background check for workers, although Chertoff said that might happen in the future. The Transportation Security Administration—and not the FBI—will conduct the background checks, he said.

posted by Fergie @ 4/25/2006 12:33:00 PM