C.B.P. News Release

Border Patrol Arrests 11 Criminal Aliens Near McAllen, Texas

(Thursday, January 22, 2009)

McAllen, Texas - Border Patrol agents assigned to the McAllen Border Patrol Station arrested 11 criminal aliens traveling within a group of 30 undocumented aliens.

Early yesterday morning, agents responded to activity south of the McAllen Foreign Trade Zone and observed a group of 30 people walking away from the Rio Grande River. Due to the large size of the group, additional agents were dispatched to the area to assist. Once the reinforcements arrived, agents quickly interdicted the group and determined that all had illegally entered the United States.

After being transported to the McAllen Border Patrol Station, all subjects’ fingerprints were entered into the Integrated Automated Fingerprint Identification System (IAFIS) for a check of their criminal history. IAFIS is a biometric identification technology that enables Border Patrol agents to search CBP’s Automated Biometric Identification System and the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s criminal fingerprint database simultaneously. This allows agents to rapidly identify individuals with outstanding warrants and criminal histories by electronically comparing a scanned, 10-fingerprint entry against a comprehensive national database of previously captured fingerprints.

When agents received the criminal check returns, it was discovered that 11 of the subjects were convicted criminal. These eleven criminals had convictions ranging from assault to felony narcotics, and all had been formally deported from the United States. Several of those arrested had been convicted of aggravated felonies.

“The arrest of these eleven criminals shows the dangers that our agents face dailyâ€