Tribune editorial staff

On Monday, the United States began enforcing a policy that foreign travelers who need visas will be photographed and fingerprinted at 115 airports around the nation.

Called the US-VISIT program, it is being hailed as a high-tech tool to help fight terrorism. For the sake of the nation's economy, we hope the program works out.

In theory, the Department of Homeland Security, which administers the program, says it should add only 15 seconds to the customs process. Visitors from nations that require visas will be required to have their index fingers scanned in an inkless device and digital photographs will be taken when they enter the United States. The process will be repeated when they leave the country.

The fingerprints and photographs will then be transmitted to law enforcement officials, who will check the information against watch lists of potential terrorists.

While the program is being hailed as a new concept, it really isn't. Some nations have long required visas and IDs and other documentation from foreign visitors, so all the new program does, essentially, is bring sophisticated technology to the process. After 9/11, few can argue the fact that the United States needs to pay closer attention to who is entering the country.

It goes without saying that many foreign visitors will consider the new procedure as an invasion of privacy and an infringement on their freedom. This process might not be entirely fair, but it reflects the hard fact that we have more trouble with potential terrorists than other countries. We just hope it does not discourage people from visiting our country.

After all, the nation's economy depends on heavily on tourism, and many of these tourists are from abroad. A significant decrease in these travelers could have a huge impact on America.

While we support the US-VISIT program, we hope it lives up to its name and does not become US-Don't-Visit.