Moscow Airports Collecting Biometric Data of Foreigners, Keeping the Borders Safe
Protecting national borders is a good thing. Joe Biden might want to take some notes...
Unlike Joe Biden’s America, where 1.4 million illegal immigrants were brought into the country in 2023 alone, Russia takes border control very seriously.
According to a recent news report, Moscow airports will soon begin collecting biometric information from migrants who are entering the country:
Russia plans to conduct an experiment on the use of biometrics when foreigners cross the country’s border. Participants will be people arriving through checkpoints at Moscow airports. They will test both the biometrics collection system and identification with its help. This will make it possible to more effectively control foreigners entering the Moscow region, as follows from the document. In addition, the system will allow real-time identification of the person who committed the offense.
Digital profiles of foreigners should also appear in the country. They are necessary to reliably confirm the identity of visitors using biometric data. The innovation will also make it possible to compare data from different departments and improve statistics.
In modern conditions, security issues are very important, said Vladimir Zorin, Chairman of the Commission of the Public Chamber of the Russian Federation on Interethnic, Interreligious Relations and Migration, to the Parliamentary Newspaper. According to him, more effective control of the rules for crossing the border and staying in the country is needed, including using digital technologies…
Often people who have committed offenses return to Russia again, changing a couple of letters in their last name, explained the head of the State Duma Committee on Labor, Social Policy and Veterans Affairs Yaroslav Nilov. A digital profile provides additional responsibility and additional information. Deputies of the LDPR party have repeatedly advocated the identification of visitors using biometrics, and it is necessary to ensure that such standards apply at all checkpoints, the parliamentarian noted.
Of course, this is news which pundits can spin in either direction. Just ask my friend Riley (a.k.a. “Edward Slavsquat”). (Yes, I know Riley. He is a friend. He was baptized into the Orthodox Church as “Jonah”. I often disagree with him, but I like him. He’s a nice guy.) No doubt he will characterize the biometrics collection as something ominous — as “cattle tagging” or something along those lines. For some people, every fingerprint collected seems to bring us one step closer to tyranny.
But there are other — equally valid — ways of looking at things. For example, if Trump won the American Presidential election a third time, and then he locked down America’s borders, utterly stopping illegal immigration, and making sure that biometric information was carefully collected for all legal immigrants, the “red states” would be singing his praises.
You see, when it comes to biometrics, it all depends on who is being tracked, and who is doing the tracking. We ourselves don’t want to have the government keeping track of our fingerprints and biometric data, but if it’s just a protective measure used for dealing with immigrants into the United States, then we’re fine with it.
What Americans moving to Russia need to remember is that, here in Russia, we Americans ARE immigrants. Therefore, Russia has every good reason to keep their eyes on us for the first several years, to make sure we are coming into their country in good faith, and that we aren’t libtards coming here to stir up trouble.
As pointed out in the above article, “Often people who have committed offenses return to Russia again, changing a couple of letters in their last name”. Taking fingerprints and keeping a biometric database helps deal with this sort of problem. They are just trying to catch the bad guys.
If you have a decent government, and if you aren’t doing anything wrong, then you don’t have anything to worry about.
However, if you have an evil government, or if you are a criminal, then you have plenty to be concerned about. Those who fear tyranny tend to focus on the first concern, while those who fear the dangers of unchecked immigration tend to focus on the second.
We don’t want a nosey government meddling in our personal business. But we sure want to keep track of those pesky immigrants. Of course, these two concerns are in constant tension with one another. You can’t address the concerns on one side without making the other side nervous — especially if you yourself happen to be an immigrant.
When my family and I first immigrated to Russia, I freely told people, “Yeah, the govt is probably tapping my cell phone. But I’m OK with that. If they listen in, all they will hear is me telling people about how much I love Russia, and about what a great job Putin is doing.”
And when we acquired legal residency in the Russian Federation, the authorities took all of our fingerprints. It’s normal. It’s been going on for years. It’s an appropriate measure to take with immigrants.
So, in truth, these aren’t really new measures. They have been taking the fingerprints of foreigners for years, just as they should. They are merely changing the timing and the location. Instead of waiting to take your fingerprints when you officially immigrate, they will take your fingerprints when you arrive at the airport.
If you consider this a threat, because you think the Russian govt is evil, then please, don’t move to Russia. After all, if that’s what you think about the govt here, then why would you want to move here anyway?
But if you don’t consider the Russian govt to be a threat, and you agree that Russia would be a great place to live, then there’s no cause for concern. Either sooner or later, they will take your fingerprints. It’s normal. They are just keeping their borders safe.
I was a legal immigrant to the United States from Canada in 1996. When I applied for a green card, as part of the application I had to be fingerprinted. I also was subjected to an international criminal background check, was tested for sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV, and was required to have all my vaccinations up to date. When I went to visit my parents in Canada during Covid, I was compelled to take a Covid test, during which they took a swab of the inside of my cheek, claiming that it was necessary to detect Covid, which of course it wasn't, they were collecting my DNA and lying about it. When I visited Russia in November of last year I was treated with respect and was not fingerprinted. Of course, they did check my visa to make sure everything was in order and briefly took my cell phone to verify my identity but they did so in a very courteous manner. So yeah, clearly Russia is some kind of dictatorial authoritarian hellhole I guess.
Well said. The issue isn't a government tracking foreigners when they arrive (something they have every right and even responsibility to do). The issue is what is currently going on in the US where citizens are tracked and surveilled to the nth degree while millions of unvetted illegal aliens pour over rhe border without any screening or surveillance.