INS Sends Names of Deportees to FBI
Posted Jan 11, 2002

The INS announced on December 5, 2001 that the Service would be sending the names of approximately 314,000 individuals with outstanding orders of deportation or removal to the FBI for entry into the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) database. This information will be available to law enforcement officials even on the state and local level. Once these officials have access to the information, the previously removed or deported individuals would be subject to apprehension if stopped by the police even in a routine traffic stop.

Prior to this change, the NCIC database contained names of foreign nationals only if they were being sought on criminal charges. The database is now expanded to include deportees. The INS estimates that this system will result in the location of up to 10 percent of the missing deportees each year.

The fallout from this change is uncertain. There are fears that there may be confusion and wrongful detentions due to common names, misspelled names, inaccurate or old information, etc. Additionally, there are some people who may have been ordered deported without their knowledge. These in absentia deportations occur when an individual fails to appear for a scheduled court date. In some instances, individuals do not know about their court dates due to post office and INS mailing errors, their own failure to provide updated address information, and errors by their attorneys.

If any MurthyBulletin or MurthyDotCom readers fear that they may have been ordered deported or removed from the U.S. without their knowledge, the INS has a status number for checking on Court cases. It provides instructions in English and Spanish. In order to use this computerized system, the caller must know the Alien number of the individual in question. After punching in the A number on the telephone keypad, the computer will provide status information regarding any immigration court case involving that person. If there is no record, the computer will advise that there is no record under the A number. The toll-free status number is 1-800-898-7180.

The Alien number is a number assigned by the INS that starts with the letter "A." The INS only assigns an A number to people with certain types of cases, such as permanent resident cases, EADs, and Court cases. H1B non-immigrants are not assigned A numbers as part of their H1B cases. As stated above, although it is possible to have a deportation or removal case without being aware of it, these cases are not initiated without any basis. Typically, removal cases are generated based upon violations of immigration and/or criminal laws. Individuals who have maintained status and have not violated U.S. or immigration laws ordinarily are not in jeopardy of deportation orders.