2007 Speeches

Document Examination and  Intelligent Profiling Course

May 8, 2007

Dr. Roy L. Austin
United States Ambassador
Remarks at SAUTT Center for IOM’s

Mr. Herman Browne, Chief Immigration Officer, Ministry of National Security, Government of Trinidad and Tobago; Mr. Keith Collins, Deputy Chief Immigration Officer; Mr. Deodath Maharaj, Assistant Chief Immigration Officer and Head of Training; Mr. Anthony Le Gendre, Course Coordinator; Col. Richardo Garcia, Director of Training, Special Anti-Crime Unit of Trinidad and Tobago (SAUTT) and Mr. Carlton Williams, SAUTT Academy Administrator;  Mr. Kamal Ali, Section Chief, Forensic Document Laboratory, US Department of Homeland Security and Mr. James Hesse retired officer of the Department of Homeland Security; Mr. Thomas Sinkovits, Chief of Mission, International Organization for Migration (Port of Spain); members of the media; ladies and gentlemen:

Good Morning! It is indeed a great pleasure for me to address this opening session of the Document Examination and Intelligent Profiling course which is sponsored by the International Organization for Migration (IOM).  It is my understanding that you who are here today comprise only the first of 4 or 5 classes of participants who will be completing this 2-day course over the coming 2 weeks.  Altogether, therefore, a total of some 100 of you will have graduated from this course by May 18.  In addition, Tom Sinkovits tells me that, although most of you are immigration officers and customs inspectors from Trinidad and Tobago, a significant number of you are here representing other law enforcement agencies and even the Defense Force. Also, it is noteworthy that some of you represent other Caricom countries.   So, we have here a truly international event whose benefits will be region-wide and will be felt throughout the Caribbean.

I am here, of course, because it is the Bureau of Western Hemispheric Affairs of the US Department of State that is funding this entire Human Resources preparation and development phase of the IOM project.  But I am also here to convey to you how much my government and, the Government of Trinidad and Tobago as well as the Caribbean Community as a whole, appreciate your participation in this course.  As border protection officers, you serve on the front line of a global war against the interrelated problems of terrorism, drug trafficking, fire arms trafficking and illegal migration.  I regard this global war as the number one challenge facing the international community today; and your obvious commitment to enhancing the effectiveness of migration management and regional security is something for which the people of the United States and the Caribbean region are extraordinarily grateful.

In recent months, the extent to which the United States provides assistance to the Caribbean region has been a subject of some debate both in the media and elsewhere.  There are those who have gently chided my government for devoting perhaps too much of its energy and resources to the global war on terror, supposedly at the expense of the fight against narcotics and arms trafficking in this part of the world.  May I suggest that this criticism, although understandable, is entirely baseless.  I point to this  course as just one example of how false the argument is.  As I said earlier, the global war in which we are engaged is a war against a nexus of problems; and effective document examination and intelligent profiling are tools which help us identify and detain not only the international terrorist who travels from one continent to another but also the regional drug kingpin  and firearms trafficker whose movements are limited solely to our own neighborhood. 

Furthermore, let me make it absolutely clear that when I talk about “our own neighborhood”, I am referring not only to the Caribbean region but to the United States, too.  Yes, we and you are in the same boat!  The worldwide web and the speed of modern transportation and communication technology have eliminated the old notion of geographical boundaries not only for the criminals but also for you who are in the business of protecting and securing our societies.

Finally, when IOM sponsors a regional course and when the US Department of State funds the participation of two Department of Homeland Security trainers at this workshop, one of our expectations is that you will cultivate relationships with your fellow course participants throughout the neighborhood.  That way, when you return to your offices and border posts, you will not hesitate to pick up the phone or send an email message to the colleagues you have met here and will feel free to exchange information with them and discuss individual cases and incidents, as the need arises.  We began this kind of interaction with the creation of the Advanced Passenger Information System in preparation for the Cricket World Cup; and I urge you to continue this practice and make it a routine part of your work.

Ladies and gentlemen:  I congratulate you for your dedication and commitment to this most important initiative, and I look forward to meeting some of you, from time to time (uneventfully, I hope), at the passport control windows and customs checkpoints, at Piarco Airport.