July 1, 1999

Statement by INS Commissioner Doris Meissner

Protecting Americans from the threat posed by criminal aliens is a top priority of the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS). The agency is completely committed to this effort as is demonstrated by the record number of removals of criminal aliens from the United States in recent years.

The Resendez-Ramirez case has raised serious questions about INS’ knowledge of the case and procedures used in encounters with Resendez-Ramirez. These issues include why Resendez-Ramirez had multiple entries in the IDENT system and was not detained and whether INS knew about Resendez-Ramirez’s criminal activities after being contacted by local law enforcement earlier this year.

As a result of these questions, I have referred the matter to the Justice Department’s Office of the Inspector General (IG) to help address some of the questions and concerns over the handling of the case. I also have directed the INS Office of Internal Audit to assist the IG in whatever manner possible including assessing of agency procedures, investigating of all information the agency was given regarding Resendez-Ramirez, and reviewing the effectiveness of our current systems in an effort to avoid any similar situation in the future.

In addition to other short-term measures that will be adopted, I have directed the agency to routinely enter all non-citizen individuals on the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted List, and to review the capacity of INS to enter criminal information into IDENT on people deported prior to 1998.

The IDENT system was created in 1994 and widely deployed between 1997 and 1998. It contains photos and the two index-finger fingerprints of all individuals INS apprehended from that time forward. It has proven to be extremely effective in providing INS with critical information on criminal aliens where none had been available before. The system contains a Recidivist Database and a Lookout Database. It is designed to provide an immediate identification of individuals INS apprehends. The Recidivist Database indicates how many times a particular alien has been apprehended crossing the border illegally. This information, coupled with the threshold set by each U.S. Attorney for prosecution of repeat border crossers, helps INS determine when an individual should be detained and presented for prosecution or allowed to voluntarily return.

INS’ IDENT Lookout Database contains more than 400,000 records of aliens with criminal histories and prior deportations. It has provided the agency with more than 85,000 hits and has assisted INS in presenting individuals for prosecution by U.S. Attorneys. Recently, in Progresso, Texas, IDENT led INS to identify a convicted narcotics trafficker who was turned over to the local sheriff for prosecution. In Del Rio, Texas, INS agents identified an individual with 12 prior arrests who was wanted in Mexico for murdering his wife.

INS initially encountered Resendez-Ramirez on September 13, 1976 after he was arrested in Michigan. He was eligible for and granted voluntary departure on October 2, 1976 and was returned to Mexico on that date. Since that time, Resendez-Ramirez has been formally deported from the United States on three occasions: September 13, 1985, October 2, 1987, and May 13, 1991. In addition, Resendez-Ramirez has been apprehended and voluntarily returned to Mexico on eight known occasions by the Border Patrol between January 1998 and the present. The most recent encounter with Resendez-Ramirez was on June 2, 1999 when he was processed at the Santa Theresa Station, New Mexico. He was voluntarily returned to Mexico.

We are continuing to review records to develop a complete and accurate picture of contacts with Resendez-Ramirez. We also continue to assist the FBI in this ongoing investigation and effort to apprehend Rafael Resendez-Ramirez.

— INS —