PAGO PAGO (Pacnews) — Acting Chief Immigration Officer Kolumane Fuimaono says American Samoa seems well insulated from major immigration problems now confronting other Pacific islands such as people smuggling and passport fraud.
Fuimaono and Immigration Officer Setu Malepeai have just returned from a two-week workshop in Fiji on border protection with a focus on keeping out terrorists.
A major concern was the influx of asylum seekers from countries with terrorism activities such as Afghanistan in the region.
Fuimaono told the Fiji workshop that overstayers were American Samoa’s main immigration problem.
But he warned that the territory should not become complacent because asylum seekers are already in the region and they could easily spill into the territory, if steps are not taken now to stop them.
Fuimaono said one way that the Suva workshop came up with to track passport fraud and “suspicious visitors” was to share information.
