Follow-up Review of the FBI’s Progress Toward Biometric Interoperability Between IAFIS and IDENT
Evaluation and Inspections Report I-2006-007
July 2006
Office of the Inspector General
The Office of the Inspector General (OIG) conducted this follow-up review to examine the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI) progress toward achieving biometric interoperability between its Integrated Automated Fingerprint Identification System (IAFIS) and the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Automated Biometric Identification (IDENT). We also describe the DHS’s efforts to make its United States Visitor and Immigrant Status Indicator Technology (US‑VISIT) system interoperable with IAFIS. In this report, the term “biometric interoperability” (interoperability) refers to the FBI’s and the DHS’s ability to exchange fingerprint data through compatible technology in IAFIS, IDENT, and US-VISIT. Full biometric interoperability (full interoperability) is intended to give federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies and immigration officials direct, real-time, multi-directional access to data in IAFIS, IDENT, and US‑VISIT. Once fully interoperable, the systems should provide:
This is our sixth report since 2000 related to the progress of the efforts to integrate IDENT and IAFIS. The previous reports were:
For this report, we focused on the current status of the FBI’s efforts to achieve biometric interoperability among its IAFIS and the DHS’s IDENT and US-VISIT systems; the remaining actions needed to achieve full interoperability; and the interim measures taken by the FBI to lessen the risk that criminal aliens and terrorists could enter the United States undetected. In reviewing the FBI’s actions, we also examined the DHS’s and the DOS’s efforts related to the interoperability project. |
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