Fighting over fingerprinting

last updated 8 January 2015

Rio de Janeiro

A Brazilian judge this week ordered immigration officers to stop fingerprinting American travelers arriving in Rio de Janeiro. A judge in another city imposed the measure across Brazil Jan. 1, in retaliation against the U.S., which recently began fingerprinting and photographing some foreign visitors, including those from Brazil. That judge said the U.S. policy was “xenophobic and worthy of the worst horrors committed by the Nazis.” Americans have since faced delays as long as nine hours in Brazilian airports. Officials in Rio, Brazil’s top tourist destination, appealed to get the policy rescinded, saying it was bad for business. Brazilian officials said the program would remain in place everywhere but Rio.