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OO RUEHQU
DE RUEHPU #1831/01 3231622
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 191622Z NOV 07
FM AMEMBASSY PORT AU PRINCE
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 7221
INFO RUEHZH/HAITI COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHBR/AMEMBASSY BRASILIA PRIORITY 1698
RUEHSA/AMEMBASSY PRETORIA PRIORITY 1512
RUEHQU/AMCONSUL QUEBEC PRIORITY 0935
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC PRIORITY
RUEAHLC/HOMELAND SECURITY CENTER WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RUMIAAA/HQ USSOUTHCOM J2 MIAMI FL PRIORITY

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 PORT AU PRINCE 001831 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR WHA/EX AND WHA/CAR 
S/CRS 
SOUTHCOM ALSO FOR POLAD 
STATE PASS AID FOR LAC/CAR 
INR/IAA 
WHA/EX PLEASE PASS USOAS, DHS, NCTC 
S/CT KEN MCKUNE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ASEC CVIS KVPR PGOV PINR PTER KHLS HA
SUBJECT: HAITI RESPONSE: INFORMATION ON HOST GOVERNMENT 
PRACTICES - INFORMATION COLLECTION, SCREENING, AND SHARING 
 
REF: SECSTATE 133921 
 
PORT AU PR 00001831  001.2 OF 004 
 
 
¶1.  (U) This message is sensitive but unclassified -- please 
protect accordingly. 
 
¶2.  (SBU) The following information on Haiti's government 
practices concerning collection, screening and sharing in 
items (A-K) was collected from authorities within the 
government of Haiti's Office of Immigration, and via informal 
channels due to the sensitivity of the questions. 
 
¶A. Watchlisting 
------------ 
¶1. Does the GoH maintain a watchlist?  Yes, the Haitian 
immigration maintains a watch list.  The number of records in 
the list is unknown, and the records are not 
terrorist-related.  The Immigration Office, within the 
Ministry of Interior, maintains the list. 
 
¶B. Traveler Information Collection 
------------------------------- 
¶1. Policies and legislation:  the reference immigration law 
of September 1978 allows for the collection of information on 
travelers. 
 
¶2. Policy for Air, Sea, land and domestic flights:  the 
policy is technically the same for air, sea and land, but is 
more relaxed for domestic flights. 
 
¶3. Who collects travel information?  The GoH Immigration 
Office collects information on travelers both inbound and 
outbound and the information collected is the same for air, 
sea, and land (if applicable).  Only the most basic passenger 
information is collected (date of arrival, passenger 
biographical information, method of arrival and corresponding 
information).  Sharing of the information is only permitted 
with authorization from the Ministry of Interior.  The GoH 
Immigration Office does not collect Passenger Name Record 
(PNR) data. 
 
¶4. Policy for sharing ith foreign governments?  The GoH 
shares informaion with foreign governments.  Simple requests 
are handled on a hoc-basis; complicated requests are handled 
through Diplomatic Notes. 
 
¶C. Border Control and Screening 
---------------------------- 
¶1. Does host government employ software to screen travelers 
of security interest?  Yes. 
 
¶2. Are all travelers tracked electronically or only non-host 
countries?  All. 
 
¶3. What is the frequency of travelers being waved through? 
Virtually zero, as all are tracked electronically. 
 
¶4. Estimated percent of non-recorded crossings?  The GoH 
Office of Immigration maintains a system to control and track 
travelers.  The estimated percentage of non-recorded 
crossings is 30 percent; this is due to frequent power 
outages and system failures.  The GoH Immigration Office may 
detain and question individuals while verifying admissibility. 
 
¶5. Do host country government border control officers have 
the authority to use other criminal data when making 
decisions on who can enter the country? N/A 
 
¶6. Host government,s policies on questioning, detaining and 
denying entries to travelers:  there is no set policy, but 
GOH immigration officials do question, detain and deny entry. 
 The Immigration Office does the questioning and the denying 
of entry and the Haitian National Police detains. 
 
¶7. How well does information sharing function within the host 
government?  Information sharing appears to function fairly 
well.  Information is regularly shared between the Ministry 
 
PORT AU PR 00001831  002.2 OF 004 
 
 
of Interior and the Ministry of Justice. 
 
¶D. Biometric Collection 
-------------------- 
¶1. Are biometric systems integrated for all active POEs? 
Systems and models used?  No. Biometrics are collected only 
for lost passports and residence permits for foreigners and 
deportees from the U.S. (since 2006) and only at the 
Port-au-Prince airport. The system used is an ORACLE database. 
 
¶2. Are all passengers screened for the biometrics or a 
specific population is targeted?  Only a specific population 
(lost passport cases, foreigners with resident permits and 
deportees). 
 
¶3. Are comparisons a one-to-one or one-to-many?  The 
comparison is one to many. 
 
¶4. If biometric systems are in place, does the host 
government know of any countermeasures used to defeat 
biometric checkpoints?  Yes, travelers have altered their 
names and or DOB in order to defeat the system.  GOH 
countermeasures include continuous training for immigration 
officers in order to recognize suspicious travelers. 
 
¶5. Host Government policies on collecting the fingerprint 
(FP) on incoming travelers?  It is not done for all cases; 
however, it is done for cases of specific populations as 
noted in item D (2). 
 
¶6. Which agency is responsible for the host government FP 
system?  Immigration Office under the Ministry of Interior. 
 
¶7. Are FP programs in place NIST, INT-I, EFTS, UK1, or RTID 
compliant?  They are NIST compliant at this time; GOH would 
like to upgrade to a better system but cannot due to 
financial restraints. 
 
¶8. Are FP flat or rolled?  Flat; electronically collected. 
The Immigration Office manages the collections. 
 
¶E. Passports 
----------- 
¶1.  Machine-readable passports containing biometric 
information? 
The GoH issues machine-readable passports and does not share 
the information with other governments.  We do not believe 
the passports contain biometric information. 
 
¶2. Does the host government share the public key?  Host 
Government bought this key from a German company and it is a 
standard key used by ICAO. 
 
¶3. Does host government issue full or limited validity 
replacement passport?  Limited validity. 
 
¶4. Special regulations on multiple losers of passports? 
After two lost passports, travelers have to wait until the 
initial passport,s expiration date to apply again (few 
exceptions are allowed).  Individuals that lose their 
passports are fingerprinted before a new passport is issued. 
 
¶5. Replacement passport appearance and number of pages?  The 
replacement has the same appearance and the same number of 
pages. 
 
¶6. Emergency passport?  No emergency passports are issued. 
 
¶7. Has post noticed any increased in number of replacement or 
clean passports used to apply for U.S. visas?  No. 
 
¶8. Are replacement passports assigned special identifiable 
numbers?  No. 
 
¶F. Fraud Detection 
---------------- 
 
PORT AU PR 00001831  003.2 OF 004 
 
 
¶1. How robust is fraud detection and how actively are 
instances of fraud involving document follow up?  The GoH 
Office of Immigration is responsible for the detection of 
fraudulent entry documents.  If a fraudulent document is 
discovered it is confiscated and the individual is 
immediately turned over to the Haitian National Police. 
 
¶2. How are potentially fraudulently issued documents taken 
out of circulation made harder to use?   The Immigration 
Office confiscates the fraudulent passport.  The Office of 
Immigration also coordinates multilaterally with foreign 
consular offices to assist in retrieving fraudulent 
documents. 
 
¶G. Privacy and Data Security 
------------------------- 
¶1. Policies on records related to the questioning, detention 
or removing of travelers encountered at point of entries into 
Haiti?  There is no clear-cut policy in place for record 
management.  Foreigners are removed, Haitians are sent to the 
police for detention. 
 
¶2. How are those records stored and for how long?  Computer 
records and paper records are kept for 5 years. 
 
¶3. What are the countries restrictions on the collections or 
use of sensitive data?  The GoH Office of Immigration 
restricts database access to immigration officials.  A 
non-citizen/resident does not have the right to sue the 
government to obtain any information contained in the 
immigration database. 
 
¶4. What are the requirements to provide notice to the public 
on the implementation of new databases of records?  No 
requirements, and the public is not notified. 
 
¶5.  Are there any laws relating to security features for 
government computer systems that hold personal identifying 
information?  None. 
 
¶6.  What are the rules on an individual,s ability to access 
data that homeland security agencies holds about them? 
Individuals may access suchdata, but only with an 
authorization from the Miistry of Interior or though a 
formal requestsubmitted by a lawyer with power of attorney. 
 
¶7. Are there different rules for raw data versus case files? 
No. 
 
¶8. Does a non citizen/resident have the right to sue the 
government to obtain these types of data?  Yes - but they 
virtually always lose. 
 
¶H. Immigration Database 
--------------------- 
¶1. What computerized immigration databases are used to track 
entries and exits?  Oracle database. 
 
¶2. Is the immigration database available at all POEs?  No - 
Port-au-Prince only. 
 
¶3. Which POE will receive the tool?  Port-au-Prince only 
because it is the main entry/exit point. 
 
¶4. What problems limit the effectiveness of the system?  Lack 
of resources. 
 
¶5. How often are national immigration databases are updated? 
Every 6 months. 
 
¶I. Watch list and Information Sharing 
----------------------------------- 
¶1. Is there a name base system used to screen travelers at 
the POE?  Yes.  IMAGO, a software program from D&G (Germany). 
 
 
 
PORT AU PR 00001831  004.2 OF 004 
 
 
¶2. Domestic sources of information that populate the name 
base watch list?  Some information comes from the Haitian 
National Police, the Department of State and other foreign 
governments, MINUSTAH and other Haitian law enforcement 
agencies. 
 
¶3. What international watchlists does the host government use 
for screening?  Interpol, TSA and No Fly List, UN. 
 
¶4. What bilateral/multilateral watchlist agreements exist 
between host government and its neighbors? 
Agreements exist with U.S. government. 
 
¶J.  Biometrics 
-------------- 
¶1. Are biometrics systems in place for air land, and sea?  No 
biometric systems exist at POEs, except at Port au Prince. 
The Immigration Office plans to install them shortly at other 
POEs but is constrained by the associated expenses. 
 
¶2. If biometric not available at all POEs, which port 
receives it?  Currently only Port-au-Prince.  Next, Malpasse 
and Ouanaminth are scheduled to receive biometric systems 
(both on the Haiti/ Dominican Republic border). 
 
¶3. What biometric technologies if any does the Host 
Government use?  Fingerprint identification only. 
 
¶4. Are the systems ICAO compliant?  Yes 
 
¶5. Does the Host government issue a passport containing 
biometric information?  No, host government issues machine 
readable-passports without biometric information. 
 
¶6. If E-passports are issued, what biometric information is 
included?  E-passports have not yet been issued by the GOH. 
 
¶K.  Identifying Appropriate Partners 
------------------------------- 
¶1. Are there political realities which would preclude a 
country from entering into a formal data sharing agreement 
with the U.S.?  Yes. There are no political constraints per 
se, but host country government is plagued by corruption and 
security issues, although it is working to overcome them. 
 
¶2. Is the host country legal system adequately developed to 
provide safeguards for the non disclosure of information?  No. 
 
¶3. How much information sharing does the host country do 
internally?  Internal sharing of information remains a 
challenge; however, information is regularly shared between 
the Ministry of Interior and Justice. 
 
¶4. Is there a single consolidated database for example?  Yes. 
It is kept by the Office of Immigration. 
 
If not do different ministries share information amongst 
themselves? N/A 
 
¶5. How does the country define terrorism?  The Government of 
Haiti lacks a legal definition or in-depth understanding of 
terrorism; informally defined as any threat or use of 
violence as an act of terrorism. 
 
¶6. Are there legal statutes that do so?  No. 
SANDERSON