It's been on line at all eight Tucson Sector US Border Patrol stations for nearly one year. Agents say it's not just a success; it's a godsend.
The IAFIS, or Integrated Automated Fingerprint Identification System, takes all ten prints from illegal entrants and matches them with the FBI Criminal Database. If a 'hit' comes up, agents detain their suspect. In many cases, the 'hits' turn out to be convicts under court order never to return to the U.S. ...
"Because the Tucson Sector is the busiest sector and has the most apprehensions for any sectors wtih the border patrol, now that we're using IAFIS system, we are identifying more of the individuals that we catch as having criminal records," explains Andrea Zortman, a spokes person for the US Customs and Border Protection.
To date, 28,324 criminals have been caught trying to get into the U.S. illegally, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection... That figure represents a 70% jump over all of 2004, but IAFIS wasn't put on line at all eight stations in the Tucson Sector until the end of the summer. |