News and insight into biometric identification and authentication

ICE program success sees expansion in Texas

Wednesday, June 9, 2010

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) with U.S. Representative Henry Cueller have announced that success with ICE’s biometric-enabled Secure Communities program will see an expansion of the initiative to an additional twelve counties in South Texas. The Secure Communities program is designed to remove illegal citizens living in the U.S. if they have been convicted of a crime by tracking biometric information of those entering the country.


The criminals with illegal immigration status are discovered through joint efforts between ICE, the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security. Fingerprint records from criminal booking at prisons is compared with records in the FBI databases and biometric records kept by the Department of Homeland security of those legally in the U.S. So far the program launched in June 2009 in Laredo, Texas, has successfully removed more than 20,000 convicted criminal aliens. ICE is hoping for nationwide enrollment in the program by 2013. [end] 

Newport Digital Technologies, Inc. and Summit Government Group have entered into an agreement to promote sales of the N37B rugged mobile computing device.

NPDT’s N37B rugged mobile computer is a device, certified by AT&T, for industrial applications such as inventory management, asset tracking, health care, law enforcement, field service/sales applications, and meter reading. In addition, the N37B is built to military standards, MIL-STD-461F and MIL-STD-810F, making it an ideal solution for government and military applications as well.

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The 10th Annual Tech Titans and Titan Fast Awards have named Entrust’s IdentityGuard Mobile application a finalist in the Corporate Horizon category. The award is granted by the Texas based technology trade organization, Metroplex Technology Business Council (MTBC).

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The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Turkey has selected Gemalto to provide its Coesys issuance solution for the personalization of new electronic passports for Turkish citizens.

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In their investigation of a Chinese woman accused of credit card theft, Japanese police discovered that the woman had had her fingerprints surgically altered, according to an Epoch Time article. The woman, named Lin Xiuai, confessed to having a special clinic China perform the surgery to have her fingerprints changed for the equivalent of just under $4,500 due to wanting to enter Japan and having being arrested there in 2001 for suspicion of illegally entering the country. The surgery was successful enough that it enabled her to pass the biometric checkpoints at the airport.

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U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) have announced that ICE’s Secure Communities program has begun in Florida. Secure Communities is set-up to help state officials identify criminal foreigners, both legally and illegally in the United States, already in police custody.

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3M and Cogent Inc. announced that they have entered into a agreement for 3M’s acquisition of Cogent Inc. for approximately $943 million, or $10.50 per share.

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