US officials begin fingerprinting refugee families on Nauru

Trump has reluctantly agreed to honor an Obama administration deal to accept up to 1,250 refugees refused entry into Australia, but has said they will be subjected to “extreme vetting.”

March 20, 2017 08:08 am | Updated 08:34 am IST - CANBERRA (Australia):

After Donald Trump stood by unproven claims that the Obama administration tapped his phones during the 2016 White House race, his spokesman cited a media report that Britain’s spy agency GCHQ was behind the surveillance -- a charge that Richard Ledgett, deputy director of the NSA, termed “just crazy” and “epically stupid”.

After Donald Trump stood by unproven claims that the Obama administration tapped his phones during the 2016 White House race, his spokesman cited a media report that Britain’s spy agency GCHQ was behind the surveillance -- a charge that Richard Ledgett, deputy director of the NSA, termed “just crazy” and “epically stupid”.

Asylum seekers say U.S. security officers have begun fingerprinting refugees held on Pacific islands in the final stage of assessing who will find new lives in the United States.

Department of Homeland Security officers are taking biometric details from refugees on Nauru, including fingerprints, heights and weights, according to a document circulated among asylum seekers and provided to AP on Monday by Mehdi, a refugee on the island nation who for security reasons did not want his family name published.

Mr. Mehdi says U.S. officials began scheduling appointments with asylum seeker families on Nauru from Monday.

President Donald Trump has reluctantly agreed to honor an Obama administration deal to accept up to 1,250 refugees refused entry into Australia, but has said they will be subjected to “extreme vetting.”

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