Thread: Our New Identification System

F.B.I. News Release

BEYOND FINGERPRINTS

Our New Identification System

01/26/09

Palm prints are taken from the scene of a diffused roadside bomb in Iraq. Later, an individual entering a New York airport is arrested on an unrelated charge. A full set of prints are taken during the booking process and submitted to our Next Generation Identification (NGI) system. A positive ID connects the man to the roadside bomb.

A ski mask-wearing bank robber leaves with his loot, and witnesses tell police they noticed a red skull tattoo on his hand. A search of NGI’s Interstate Photo System for a red skull tattoo provides a potential candidate list that could ultimately lead to the identification of the bank robber.

Both cases are hypothetical, but in the not-too-distant future these scenarios could really happen…thanks to the ongoing development of the Next Generation Identification system—a logical evolution of our current Integrated Automated Fingerprint Identification System (IAFIS).

That evolution will include not only enhanced fingerprint capabilities but also other forms of biometric identification like palm prints, iris scans, facial imaging, scars, marks, and tattoos—in one searchable system.

Next Generation Identification is…
A state-of-the-art identification system that will be “bigger, faster, and betterâ€

Finger prints from all foreign visitors and finger prints and DNA from all illegal aliens who get detained by any law enforcement agency will be in the new system.

F.B.I. News Release

For Immediate Release
January 26, 2009 Washington D.C.
FBI National Press Office
(202) 324-3691

Keeping America Safe: The View from the FBI

Re “Focus on Immigration Crimes Is Said to Shortchange Other Casesâ€

U.S. to take DNA from arrested, detained immigrants

by Anna Gormana - Jan. 8, 2009 05:44 PM
Los Angeles Times

Beginning Friday, the U.S. government will collect DNA samples from immigrants arrested and detained, despite concerns that the move violates their privacy rights.

The new Department of Justice policy also will expand DNA collection to people arrested on suspicion of committing federal crimes. Previously, the government only obtained DNA from people convicted of certain crimes.

The samples will be added to the national database and used to make identifications through comparisons to crime scene evidence, according to the Justice Department.

"The collection of DNA samples is an important crime-fighting and crime-solving tool," said Evan Peterson, spokesman for the department.

The American Civil Liberties Union said Thursday it is considering filing a lawsuit and that it will closely monitor the additional collection of DNA samples.

"We will be looking to see whether mistakes are made," said Barry Steinhardt, director of the ACLU's technology and liberty program.

Steinhardt said he has "grave concerns" about the rapid expansion of the DNA database to include immigrant detainees and people accused of committing crimes.

"People who are merely accused of a crime or a civil violation of law but haven't been convicted of anything are being subjected to the most invasive sort of testing," he said.

Sen. Jon Kyl, R-Ariz., has said the change is designed to prevent violent crimes by deportees who return illegally. Kyl authored a 2005 law that authorized the department to include pre-conviction DNA samples in its national database.

Center for Immigration Studies Executive Director Mark Krikorian said Thursday DNA is becoming a standard law enforcement tool that is better than fingerprints for identification.

"It's especially important with regard to immigration because people are changing their names and presenting easily forged foreign documents," he said. "It's important to know who is who and when someone is lying."

More than 1.3 million samples from immigrants, detainees and federal arrestees are expected to be added to the database under the new policy, according to the FBI. The agency received an additional influx of funds to upgrade its DNA programs and software to accommodate the increased workload.

But Steinhardt said he believes the program will be impractical, saying there is already a backlog.

"The more you expand these databases the greater the returns diminish," he said.

David Leopold, the national vice president of the American Immigration Lawyers Association., said the DNA collection is part of a trend by the U.S. government to treat immigrants as criminals, even though they are civil detainees. Many detained immigrants, for example, are housed in county jails alongside suspected and convicted criminals.

Leopold said he also worries that some of those detained and forced to give DNA will turn out to be U.S. citizens.

"This rule is just a terrifying expansion of power," he said.

http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/ ... 08-ON.html

Originally Posted by JohnDoe2

Finger prints from all foreign visitors and finger prints and DNA from all illegal aliens who get detained by any law enforcement agency will be in the new system.

Take some bloodwork to see what diseases they are carrying too!

Last Updated: Monday, 5 January, 2004, 23:17 GMT

US fingerprints foreign visitors

The fingerprints of 24 million visitors will be checked each year
Stringent new security regulations affecting most tourists have been introduced at US air and sea ports.

Everyone entering the United States with a visa will now have fingerprints and photographs taken and scrutinised.

People on the visa waiver scheme - such as tourists from much of Europe, Japan and Australia - are not yet affected, but those on work visas are.

Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge said the US aimed to be "open to visitors but closed to terrorists".

All 115 US airports that handle international flights and 14 major seaports are covered by the programme, under which customs officials can instantly check an immigrant or visitor's criminal background.

A similar programme is to be launched at 50 land border crossings by the end of next year.

ENTERING THE US
Visitors will still face travel document checks and questions regarding their stay
Visa holders will now also have two fingerprints scanned and a digital photo taken
Decision will then be taken on whether to admit them to US
Eventually, fingerprint and photo checks will also take place on departure
There was a mixed reaction at Dulles Airport, the main international entry point for Washington, with some of those fingerprinted saying they understood why the new checks were wanted.

But Brazilian Carlos Pimenta, his bags piled high on a cart, complained: "It's very embarrassing for us. I don't think it's appropriate to do this kind of stuff."

The BBC's Matt Frei saw the new procedure in action at Dulles and says the new checks are scheduled to add only about 15 seconds to the entry procedure.

But he adds that the extra measures are another sign of the US trying to find the right balance between freedom and security in a post-11 September world.

Called US-Visit, or US Visitor and Immigrant Status Indicator Technology, the new scheme will check an estimated 24 million foreign visitors who enter the US each year through airports or seaports on tourist, business and student visas.

Digital technology will be used to take fingerprints and photographs, which will be electronically checked against a national digital database for criminal backgrounds and any terrorist lists.

Usage concerns

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) says the data will be stored securely and made available only to "authorised officials on a need-to-know basis".

These include customs and immigration officials, DHS transport security officers and consular officers of the state department.

Have Your Say
I fail to see how ink pads and cameras are going to stop terrorism

Alex, UK expat, Sydney, Australia

Send your comments

But access may also be given to other federal, state, local and foreign officials.

"Careful safeguards... will ensure that the data is not used or accessed improperly", a DHS policy statement says.

Eventually, the process will be repeated when the foreigners leave the country as an extra security measure and to ensure they have complied with visa limitations.

Mr Ridge launched the programme formally at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport in the southern state of Georgia.

He said the system had been tested at the airport for several weeks and had proved a "resounding success".

The technology was "easy for travellers to use but hard for terrorists to avoid", he added.

Discrimination claims

The measures replace the old special registration programme, which was said to have discriminated against Muslims and people of Middle Eastern origin.

But claims of discrimination are still being made by some of those countries whose nationals are affected.

Brazil has made formal complaints and started fingerprinting and photographing all US citizens arriving at its main international airports.

The US visa waiver programme allows citizens mainly from European nations to visit for up to 90 days without visas.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/3367893.stm