Sep 21 2010

ESTA fees: the whole is worse than the sum of its parts

New U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) regulations took effect this month that combine two bad ideas — fees to encourage foreigners to visit the US by charging them more to do so, and fees for the Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) — in a way that creates new possibilities for travel surveillance and […]

Feb 09 2009

Exit permits, ESTA, APIS, and asylum seekers

According to a recently-released European Commission staff working document, the U.S. Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) is not “tantamount to the … visa … process” required for admission to the European “Schengen Zone”, and therefore does not give cause for the imposition of reciprocal visa requirements for US citizens seeking to enter Schengen countries. […]

Apr 11 2025

DOGE, DHS, and data matching

“Data matching” may seem abstract, but its consequences can be life-changing: visa revocation, deportation, sudden cessation of Social Security payments, all without warning or opportunity to present argument or evidence to a human fact-finder. One of the hallmarks of the new U.S. Department Of Government Efficiency (DOGE) is large-scale algorithmic analysis and comparison of existing […]

Mar 17 2025

FinCen demands reporting of cash transactions over $200

The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) of the US Department of the Treasury has ordered all money transfer agencies and currency exchanges in seven counties in California and Texas along the US-Mexico border to file reports with FinCEN including the identities of the customers engaging in all cash transactions over $200. Implicit in this order […]

Mar 12 2025

State Department puts “X” passport applicants in limbo

The US State Department is withholding passports from some US citizens, effectively denying them the ability to leave or return to the US, without any basis in law or regulations. Multiple news outlets have reported that the State Department has ordered its staff in the US and abroad to “suspend” processing of all pending applications […]

Jan 28 2025

Surveillance as a service (SAAS)

Does SAAS stand for “software as a service” or “surveillance as a service”? As we’ve reported previously, the UN Security Council and ICAO have illegally ordered all UN and ICAO members to create national agencies for surveillance of airline passengers and global sharing of airline reservations (PNR) and passenger manifest (API) data. Through bilateral and […]

Jan 14 2025

TSA issues new non-rules for REAL-ID

Today the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) published new regulations for the REAL-ID Act in the Federal Register, finalizing a bizarre and clearly illegal proposal the agency made in September 2024. The new TSA regulations leave it even more unclear than before who the TSA will allow to fly without ID, and who it will prevent […]