“IMMIGRATION LAW CONNECTION”

Today, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and
 the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE), announced that ICE is
using a new biometric information sharing capability in every Florida 
county to help federal immigration officials identify aliens, both 
lawfully and unlawfully present in the United States, who are booked
 into local law enforcement’s custody for a crime. This capability is
 part of “Secure Communities” – ICE’s comprehensive strategy to improve and
modernize the identification and removal of criminal aliens from the 
United States. [download ICE's pamphlet]

Formerly, during the booking process, arrestees’ fingerprints were 
checked for criminal history information only against the Department of
 Justice’s (DOJ) Integrated Automated Fingerprint Identification System 
(IAFIS), a biometric database maintained by the FBI.

With the implementation of “Secure Communities”, this fingerprint
information is now automatically and simultaneously checked against both 
the FBI criminal history records and the biometrics-based immigration 
records in the Automated Biometric Identification System (IDENT), which 
is maintained by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

If any fingerprints match those of someone in the DHS biometric system, 
the new automated process notifies ICE. ICE evaluates each case to 
determine the individual’s immigration status and takes appropriate
 enforcement action. This includes aliens who are in lawful status and
those who are present without lawful authority. Once identified through 
fingerprint matching, ICE will respond with a priority placed on aliens
 convicted of the most serious offenses first – such as those with 
convictions for major drug offenses, murder, rape and kidnapping.

“This program maximizes the use of biometric technology to exchange 
critical public safety information,” said FDLE Commissioner Gerald 
Bailey. “FDLE is pleased to work with ICE and local law enforcement to
 help protect Florida citizens.”

“The Secure Communities strategy provides an effective tool to help ICE
 identify aliens charged with crimes in law enforcement custody with 
little or no cost to our law enforcement partners,” said ICE Assistant
Secretary John Morton. “Applying this biometric information sharing tool
in Florida improves public safety by enabling ICE to prevent the release 
of criminal aliens back into our communities when they complete their
 sentences.”