ICE adds convicted sex offenders to its immigration database, now known as ACRIMe

Thu, 2013-02-14 03:56 PM By: Jacob Goodwin


ICE agents arrest
alleged sex offender
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has changed the name of one of its principal management record systems to “ACRIMe,” increased its scrutiny of convicted sex offenders and corrected the time period that this database is allowed to retain information generated about gun owners through Brady Act record checks.

In a Federal Register notice published on Feb. 14, ICE complied with various provisions of the Privacy Act by announcing that the name of one of its longstanding databases has been shorted from an earlier, long-winded version to the somewhat less-cumbersome “Alien Criminal Response Information Management System,” or ACRIMe.

This database is used routinely to receive and respond to immigration status inquiries made by other law enforcement agencies about individuals who are arrested or who are undergoing background checks for possible employment.
“ACRIMe also supports the creation and maintenance of lookout records in the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) National Crime Information Center (NCIC) system on persons wanted by ICE for crimes or as fugitive aliens,” explains the notice. “ACRIMe also supports the operation of the ICE tip line, where members of the public can notify ICE of suspected violations of the law, and the operation of the Law Enforcement Support Center call center, which takes calls from other law enforcement agencies seeking assistance from ICE.”

Using a methodology known as “interoperability,” fingerprints of individuals arrested by local law enforcement, under ICE’s Secure Communities program, are sent to the FBI’s fingerprint database, known as Integrated Automated Fingerprint Identification System, or IAFIS. Such fingerprints are also sent to a DHS database known as the Automated Biometric Identification System, or IDENT.

In its recent notice, ICE notes that the use of interoperability within the ACRIMe system has been expanded to include convicted sex offenders.

“Using interoperability, ICE will also begin to screen convicted sex offenders whose fingerprints are captured during federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement processes that enroll these individuals in sex offender registries,” explains the ICE notice. “ICE places a high priority on targeting for removal those aliens with criminal records who pose a threat to public safety, such as sex offenders.”

Also, ICE pointed out in its Feb. 14 notice that previous versions of its Privacy Act disclosure documents said its database can retain background check information based on Brady Act record-checks for only 24 hours, when in fact its ACRIMe database is allowed to retain such records for a period of five years, “to provide ICE with sufficient time to follow up on any leads generated by Brady Act records check information.”

Further information about these changes to the ACRIMe database is available from Lyn Rahilly, ICE’s privacy officer, at 202-732-3300.

http://www.gsnmagazine.com/node/28544?c=border_security