According to GovExec.com, Commissioner Robert Bonner of the U. S. Customs and Border Protection agency announced that within the month, the government would send teams of inspectors to airports abroad to screen visitors coming to the United States.  The initiative originated at the old Immigrations and Naturalization Service, but was disbanded when the INS and the Homeland Security Department merged. 

A team of seven specially trained inspectors will be placed within the month at Poland’s Warsaw International Airport.  The primary mission will be to thwart terrorism, but the team will also perform more traditional roles such as detecting fake travel documents.  The Customs and Border Protection agency will assess the status of this project within six months in hopes to expand it to other airports, such as Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport. 

Bonner said that counterterrorism was not a focus of border and customs agents before the September 11th terrorist attacks, and the 19 hijackers entered the United States 33 times before 9/11.

Bonner said he hopes other nations are open to the new program because it is expected to add to overall security and because it is in the best interest of all airlines that are coming into the United States.  He said the agency refuses entry into the US every day due to the belief that the prohibited individuals are associated with terrorism.   The agency is currently trying to decide which airports will be covered under the new program.