Agencies at Odds Over Fingerprint Checks

Wed Dec 29, 1:58 PM ET



WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Terrorists and criminals could slip into the United States because immigration and law enforcement agencies have not coordinated their fingerprint databases, the Justice Department (news - web sites) said on Wednesday.

Disagreements between the agencies mean that visitors entering the country are subject to incomplete fingerprint checks, according to a Justice Department audit.

The department's inspector general said efforts have stalled on a uniform national fingerprint identification system because the Justice Department, the Department of Homeland Security and the State Department disagree on a uniform method for collecting fingerprints and allowing access to the data.

The inspector general's report said although Homeland Security has launched a registration program to fingerprint and photograph most visitors to the United States, the majority are still not checked directly against the FBI (news - web sites)'s complete fingerprint database.

"As a result, criminal aliens -- including many who committed violent crimes that threaten public safety -- are not identified and prevented from entering the United States," Inspector General Glenn Fine wrote in the report.

Part of the problem is due to the fact that Homeland Security and the State Department take only two digital fingerprints of foreigners at consulates or border entry points. The FBI's database contains 10 fingerprints that are obtained using a different technique.

The Homeland Security Department says its fingerprint checks are effective.

Currently, Homeland Security checks fingerprints of foreigners against partial data extracted from the FBI's database. The inspector general said the partial data is prone to have errors or omissions.

"Further, the fingerprint file of 'known or suspected terrorists' is only transmitted to the (Department of Homeland Security) once a month," Fine's report said. "Consequently, criminals or terrorists could be missed by checks against the extracted records."

The inspector general said "high-level policy decisions" must be made in a "timely way" to overcome the discrepancies between the departments.