News and Document archive source
copyrighted material disclaimer at bottom of page

NewsMinesecuritybigbrotherdatabases — Viewing Item


National crime information center database

Original Source Link: (May no longer be active)
   http://sundaygazettemail.com/section/APNews/News/ap0654n

http://sundaygazettemail.com/section/APNews/News/ap0654n

Lawsuit alleges national crime database unfairly targets immigrants

By ERIN McCLAM
Associated Press Writer

NEW YORK (AP) -- Immigrant and ethnic minority groups sued Wednesday to stop the federal government from entering immigration data into a national crime database, saying the practice illegally targets immigrants under the guise of post-Sept. 11 security.

Congress authorized the database, the National Crime Information Center, in 1930 as a clearinghouse for local, state, federal and international criminal records. It typically is used for criminal records such as warrants and "rap sheets,'' according to the lawsuit.

But since Sept. 11, the lawsuit says, the Bush administration has entered immigration data such as orders of deportation.

The lawsuit asks a federal judge to block entry of such records and to erase the thousands of civil immigration records that already have been entered.

Attorney General John Ashcroft, Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge and FBI Director Robert Mueller are named as defendants.

The Bush administration has repeatedly said its post-Sept. 11 security measures, including tougher enforcement of immigration laws, are vital to preventing terrorism. Officials with the Justice and Homeland Security departments did not immediately return calls for comment Wednesday.

The lawsuit, filed by several groups, argues that the policy has resulted in unlawful arrests and fear of authorities among immigrant communities.

"We are not in any way arguing that the federal government does not have the right to enforce federal immigration law,'' said Lee Gelernt, a lawyer with the American Civil Liberties Union. "But we don't believe the local police can be legally enforcing civil immigration law.''

------

On the Net:

Justice Department: http://www.usdoj.gov

Department of Homeland Security: http://www.dhs.gov

American Civil Liberties Union: http://www.aclu.org

AP-ES-12-17-03 1540EST






matrix
3 million americans dna in federal dabase { June 3 2006 }
Aclu warns big brother
Bookstore record seizures { June 22 2003 }
British company offers homeland security database { December 12 2004 }
Everychild in england on safety list database
Expand dna databases
FBI broke law when collection domestic data { June 14 2007 }
Fbi reach in citizens financial records { November 12 2003 }
Fbi terror watch list has half million names { June 13 2007 }
Fbi wants fingerprints iris scans in database { January 15 2008 }
Federal plans database for all college and university students { November 29 2004 }
Feds sift americans banking records for terror { June 23 2006 }
Florida new counterterrorism database { August 6 2003 }
Immigration database lawsuit
Lexisnexis database personal information hacked
Medical info { August 13 2002 }
Minn state run police database shut down { December 18 2003 }
National crime information center database
New computer communcation homeland security network { February 24 2004 }
Nsa mines millions ordinary americans phone records
Parents shoot down statewide immunization database { March 31 2005 }
Pentagon creating student database { June 23 2005 }
Pentagons data collection jetblue
Pre crime
Rfids on sanfransisco library books
Single terror watch list
South carolina storing baby dna { June 25 2002 }
System use 50 times data loc { May 19 2003 }
Terror databases
Terror list denies citizens economic services { March 27 2007 }
Terror list has 5 million { January 20 2004 }
Us fingerprint british and other allies { April 2 2004 }

Files Listed: 32



Correction/submissions

CIA FOIA Archive

National Security
Archives
Support one-state solution for Israel and Palestine Tea Party bumper stickers JFK for Dummies, The Assassination made simple