There are two separate issues being discussed here and many other threads.

1) US unlike many (most?) other countries requires international transit (by this I mean overseas to US to overseas) passengers to pass through customs & immigration (actually twice). Most other places I have transited you can stay airside and not have the hassle. This includes places with large airports where you need to change terminals.

2) While VWP exists, it has been massively watered down due to the requirements for bio data (no passports have these yet for some months or years to come) - hence nearly every foreigner is having to submit to fingerprint and eye scan.

Taken together it means international transit through US (eg from NZ to europe) is a major PITA. Contrast this to transiting through asia where it is a breeze. Many people I know (myself included) now avoid US altogether as far as is possible, due to these hassles.