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Washington D.C. - U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) today announced that biometric identification technology is fully operational within all 136 Border Patrol stations. CBP’s current objective is to have IAFIS technology fully deployed to all Ports of Entry by the end of 2005. The technology, the Integrated Automated Fingerprint Identification System, or IAFIS, enables CBP officers and 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 against a huge nationwide database of previously captured fingerprints.

“This technology helps U.S. Customs and Border Protection shed light on those with criminal backgrounds we could never have identified before,” said U.S. Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Robert C. Bonner. "Its implementation is absolutely critical to our priority mission to keep terrorists and terrorist weapons out of the country.”

The IAFIS program began as a pilot in the San Diego Border Patrol Sectors Brown Field Station and the Calexico Port of Entry in August 2001. By the end of 2003, the program had evolved and was installed at 31 Border Patrol Stations and 28 ports of entry.

“Instantaneous and accurate information is the cornerstone of modern law enforcement,” added Bonner. “This system ensures that U.S. Customs and Border Protection is a law enforcement agency for the 21st century.”

From October 1, 2003 through August 31, 2004, CBP Border Patrol agents have arrested: 138 homicide suspects; 67 kidnapping suspects; 226 sexual assault suspects; 431 robbery suspects; 2,342 suspects for assaults of other types; and 4,801 involved with dangerous narcotics as a direct result of IAFIS technology.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection is the unified border agency within the Department of Homeland Security charged with the management, control, and protection of our Nation's borders at and between the official ports of entry. CBP is charged with keeping terrorists and terrorist weapons out of the country while enforcing hundreds of U.S. laws.