Over 100,000 Criminal Aliens Busted
For instance, US Customs and Border Protection Border Patrol agents arrested a 31 year-old undocumented Mexican national wanted in connection to a homicide in Florida.
Border Patrol agents stopped a 1993 Aerostar van with Tennessee license plates east of Albuquerque New Mexico. After questioning, it was determined that the driver and the 10 passengers were illegally in the United States. They were all transported to the Albuquerque Border Patrol Station for processing.
Using biometric identification technology, it was determined that the driver, Alberto Hernandez-Ortiz, had an outstanding felony warrant in connection to a 2004 murder that occurred in Fort Myers, Florida in which the victim was stabbed to death. The suspect is currently in custody pending extradition to Florida. The remaining 10 illegal aliens were granted a voluntary return to Mexico.
The technology, the Integrated Automated Fingerprint Identification System, or IAFIS, enables CBP Border Patrol agents to search fingerprint databases simultaneously using the Automated Biometric Identification System (IDENT) and the FBI fingerprint database. It provides rapid identification of individuals with outstanding criminal warrants by electronically comparing a live-scanned fingerprint with a nationwide database of biometrically indexed fingerprints.
In another case, CBP officers at the Paso Del Norte port of entry encountered 29-year-old Alex Daniel Vasquez-Fuentes as he entered the US as a pedestrian Friday morning. CBP officers asked for identification and he presented a birth certificate but no additional documents.
During questioning, Vasquez-Fuentes admitted that the certificate was not his and he was wanted in the Phoenix area. CBP officers obtained a ten-print digital image of his fingerprints and ran the data through the Integrated Automated Fingerprint Identification System and discovered his true identity and that a warrant existed for his arrest. After confirming the warrant with authorities in Maricopa County, CBP officers turned Vasquez-Fuentes over to the El Paso Police Department.
In still another case, CBP officers at the Bridge of the Americas port of entry encountered 37-year-old Jose Guadalupe Reveles Barbosa as he entered the US as a pedestrian Friday afternoon. CBP believed he was attempting to live and work in the US illegally so they sent him to a secondary inspection area. During the secondary inspection, CBP officers performed a National Crime Information Center query on Reveles Barbosa and learned that he was being sought by authorities in Maricopa County for homicide/attempted second degree murder and interfering with judicial proceedings. He was taken into custody and turned over to the El Paso Police Department.
Sources: US Customs and Border Protection, US Border Patrol, National Association of Chiefs of Police