Thread: FBI: Virtually No Database Exists for Syrians Entering US

'It’s a disaster of biblical proportions,' says Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, regarding the wide open opportunity for ISIS to attack the West.

Virtually no database of information exists to screen Syrian refugees coming into the United States, according to the FBI Director James Comey.

The statements were made by Comey while testifying to the House Judiciary Committee about the security risks involved in taking in Syrian refugees.

Following the Iraq war, refugees were screened against a database of fingerprints garnered from IED’s (Improvised Explosive Devices). However today, Comey said, “The only thing we can query is

information that we have.

So, if we have no information on someone, they’ve never crossed our radar screen, they’ve never been a ripple in the pond, there will be no record of them there and so it will be challenging.”

The FBI will base its assessment on some fingerprints and a “variety of intelligence sources that may help us understand who these people are,” Comey said, while acknowledging that,

“We had a whole lot more information about Iraq because our soldiers had been there and had run into people and collected information.”

During the hearing, Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-Texas) pointed out, according to the U.N., more than 43 million people worldwide are now displaced because of conflicts. Children constitute close to

41 percent of all refugees worldwide and women almost half.

However, the percentages are significantly different when it comes to the Syrian refugees. Of the close to 380,000 arrivals across the Mediterranean Sea from January through September of this year,

15%were children, 13% were women and 72% were men.

Gohmert quoted Director of National Intelligence James Clapper as saying, “This provides a prime opportunity for Islamic State groups to attack Western targets … It’s a disaster of biblical proportions.”

According to statements made by the Islamic State, Gohmert said the terrorist organization has been able to place more than 4,000 warriors among the Syrian refugees.

Concerning inadequate screening of these refugees, Comey said, “It’s a risk we are focused on and we are trying to do anything we can to mitigate.”

FBI: Virtually No Database Exists for Syrians Entering US

All the politicians that signed and sent that letter to bring 200k muslim syrians here NOW should be sent this story.

Especially disturbing: according to the U.N., more than 43 million people worldwide are now displaced because of conflicts. Children constitute close to 41 percent of all refugees worldwide and women almost half. Percentages are significantly different when it comes to the Syrian refugees. Of the close to 380,000 arrivals across the Mediterranean Sea from January through September of this year,

15%were children, 13% were women and 72% were men.

Gohmert quoted Director of National Intelligence James Clapper as saying, “This provides a prime opportunity for Islamic State groups to attack Western targets … It’s a disaster of biblical proportions.”

From Fingerprints to DNA: Biometric Data Collection in U.S. Immigrant Communities and Beyond

By Jennifer Lynch
Wed, May 23, 2012

The collection of biometrics—including fingerprints, DNA, and face-recognition ready photographs—is becoming more and more a part of society.

Both the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) are in the process of expanding their biometrics databases to collect even more information, like face prints and iris scans.

The expansion of biometric data collection, however, is uniquely affecting undocumented immigrants and immigrant communities.

Under DHS’s Secure Communities program, for example, states are required to share their fingerprint data with DHS, thus subjecting undocumented and even documented immigrants in the United States to heightened fears of deportation should they have any interaction with law enforcement.

In this report, co-sponsored by the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), author Jennifer Lynch explains the different technologies for collecting biometrics, as well as how that data is collected, stored and used.

She raises concerns about data-sharing, legal protection, technological problems, then proposes changes to control and limit the storage of biometrics to benefit not only immigrants, but all people in the U.S.

Read By the Numbers

Read the Executive Summary

Download the Full Report

Listen to the Telebriefing

Published On: Wed, May 23, 2012

http://www.immigrationpolicy.org/spe...ies-and-beyond