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Technology Stocks : Identix (IDNX) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: steve who wrote (25804)	4/9/2004 3:15:05 AM
From: steve	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 26039

Fugitives pose danger on northern and southern borders Whether it's footprints in the sand or people attempting an illegal border crossing-there are no indicators to alert a Border Patrol agent of danger. Maybe the person is an unarmed, exhausted family, an international terrorist, or a violent criminal. Uncertainty is the chip that can tip the scales from a routine apprehension to a dangerous incident. A reality is that some of the people trying to cross the border illegally are felons wanted for heinous crimes. This scene recently happened when Border Patrol agents on routine patrol in the Grand Forks, N. Dak., Sector apprehended the two East Indians who crossed the border illegally. The suspects did not have any identification or immigration documents. They didn't "look" more or less dangerous than anyone else apprehended the day, week or month before. The agents took them to the station for routine processing. Later that night, an off-duty agent watching a Canadian "crime-stopper" television news alert saw that Canadian authorities were looking for two East Indian suspects in connection with an attempted murder case. A few telephone calls later, it was confirmed that the two suspects were wanted for what is thought to be a drug related incident. Chahal Singh Ranjeet and Kuldeep Singh Dillon were accused of restraining and torturing a man in British Columbia or more graphically, they had doused their victim with gasoline and set him on fire. The victim sustained burns on 80 percent of his body. Canadian law enforcement agencies were notified of the arrest and extradition proceedings began. While agents are trained to exercise due care and diligence in performing their duties, the dynamics of the situation might change if they knew in advance that the suspect they apprehended was a psychopath. This type of apprehension is not atypical. Some two weeks earlier and more than a thousand miles away, agents from the Naco station in the Tucson, Ariz., Sector apprehended Anselmo Zamora-Altamirano, a fugitive who was on Mexico's most-wanted list for kidnapping and murder. Like the East Indians, he was also attempting to enter the United States illegally. Altamirano entered the United States near Palominas, Ariz., and was processed at the Naco station. Processing involves digitally scanning a suspect's right and left fingerprint and entering them into the U.S. Customs and Border Protection's Automated Biometric Identification System (IDENT). The "live" fingerprint is electronically compared against a database of previously scanned fingerprints of persons apprehended by the Border Patrol or are in FBI database for interstate crimes. The IDENT system revealed that the suspect had a "lookout" within the database. Photo Credit:James Tourtellotte A biometric fingerprint device (IDENT) scans an index finger for identification. Agents conferred with the CBP Intelligence Fugitive Unit, which confirmed the suspect's warrant for arrest in Vera Cruz, Mexico. The suspect remained in Border Patrol custody pending extradition to Mexico. "This case amply demonstrated our commitment to securing our nation's borders from terrorists and their weapons, as well as securing our homeland from criminals of all types," said CBP Commissioner Robert Bonner. These cases also demonstrate the kind of risk Border Patrol agents face every day in performing their duty. Most of the illegal immigrants intercepted are passive and do not resort to violence, some may even be guilty of committing petty crimes, but there are those capable of real atrocities. Agents walk into these situations trained, armed, and relying on their honed powers of observation, but they still face the unknown, and cannot always gauge the degree of danger they may face in keeping our borders safe. cbp.gov steve