Jean,
Having looked over the link (and that posted by Rick in #9102), it seems that I should pull back on my enthusiasm for more tenprinter sales on border checks. The INS has about 52 tenprinters in place, 36 by July 1, 1997 and the other sixteen since, and has not indicated in this document that they are going to get any more. When they refer to 1044 "workstations" they are referring to PCs that can bring up the IDENT database.
However, it does look like they may be upgrading their system in the future. Whether that means simply better modems, etc., faster computers, more single-finger bio-IDs, or more tenprinters is not clear. It's still true that a West Virginia Congressman wants to see more AFIS tenprinters installed, but it's also clear that the INS has a great deal of trouble handling this equipment in remote outposts.
I think the IDENT program may have been what an IDX announcement last year was referring to when it mentioned some unnamed federal agency that bought some TP-600s. The INS seems to want to downplay its publicity on where it is buying its tenprint machines. |
