Information on Certain Illegal Aliens Arrested in the United	 
States (09-MAY-05, GAO-05-646R).				 
                                                                 
The former Immigration and Naturalization Service estimated that 
as of January 2000 the total unauthorized immigrant population	 
residing in the United States was 7 million. This total includes 
those who entered the United States illegally and those who	 
entered legally but overstayed their authorized period of stay. A
more recent study estimated that there were about 10 million	 
illegal aliens living in the United States as of March 2005. The 
study estimated that nearly 700,000 aliens entered the United	 
States illegally or overstayed their authorized period of stay	 
each year between 2000 and 2004. Some illegal aliens in the	 
United States have been arrested and incarcerated in federal and 
state prisons and local jails, adding to already overcrowded	 
prisons and jails. On April 7, 2005, we issued a report on	 
criminal aliens that were incarcerated in federal and state	 
prisons and local jails. Our report contained information on the 
number of criminal aliens incarcerated, their country of	 
citizenship or country of birth, and the cost to incarcerate	 
them. Congress also requested that we provide information on the 
criminal history of aliens incarcerated in federal and state	 
prisons or local jails who had entered the country illegally. For
a population of aliens that entered the country illegally and	 
were incarcerated in federal or state prisons or local jails,	 
this report addresses the following questions: (1) How many times
have they been arrested? (2) How many and what type of criminal  
offenses have they been arrested for? (3) What states were they  
arrested in?							 
-------------------------Indexing Terms------------------------- 
REPORTNUM:   GAO-05-646R					        
    ACCNO:   A23779						        
  TITLE:     Information on Certain Illegal Aliens Arrested in the    
United States							 
     DATE:   05/09/2005 
  SUBJECT:   Arrests						 
	     Correctional facilities				 
	     Crimes						 
	     Criminals						 
	     Data collection					 
	     Illegal aliens					 
	     Immigrants 					 
	     Law enforcement					 
	     Population statistics				 
	     Prisoners						 
	     Statistical data					 
	     FBI Integrated Automated Fingerprint		 
	     Identification System				 
                                                                 

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GAO-05-646R

United States Government Accountability Office Washington, DC 20548

May 9, 2005

The Honorable John N. Hostettler Chairman, Subcommittee on Immigration,

Border Security, and Claims Committee on the Judiciary House of
Representatives

The Honorable Steve King House of Representatives

The Honorable Melissa Hart House of Representatives

Subject: Information on Certain Illegal Aliens Arrested in the United
States

The former Immigration and Naturalization Service estimated that as of
January 2000 the total unauthorized immigrant population residing in the
United States was 7 million.1 This total includes those who entered the
United States illegally and those who entered legally but overstayed their
authorized period of stay. A more recent study estimated that there were
about 10 million illegal aliens living in the United States as of March
2005.2 The study estimated that nearly 700,000 aliens entered the United
States illegally or overstayed their authorized period of stay each year
between 2000 and 2004. Some illegal aliens in the United States have been
arrested and incarcerated in federal and state prisons and local jails,
adding to already overcrowded prisons and jails.

On April 7, 2005, we issued a report on criminal aliens3 that were
incarcerated in federal and state prisons and local jails.4 Our report

1Estimates of the Unauthorized Immigrant Population Residing in the United
States: 1990 to 2000, Office of Policy and Planning, U.S. Immigration and
Naturalization Service.

2Estimates of the Size and Characteristics of the Undocumented Population,
Jeffrey S. Passel, Pew Hispanic Research Center, March 2005.

3An alien legally or illegally in the United States who has been convicted
of a crime.

4GAO, Information on Criminal Aliens Incarcerated in Federal and State
Prisons and Local Jails, GAO-05-337R (Washington, D.C.: April 7, 2005).

contained information on the number of criminal aliens incarcerated, their
country of citizenship or country of birth, and the cost to incarcerate
them. You also requested that we provide information on the criminal
history of aliens incarcerated in federal and state prisons or local jails
who had entered the country illegally. For a population of aliens that
entered the country illegally and were incarcerated in federal or state
prisons or local jails, this report addresses the following questions:

o  How many times have they been arrested?

o  How many and what type of criminal offenses have they been arrested
for?

o  What states were they arrested in?

To obtain information to answer these objectives, we identified a
population of 55,322 aliens that the U.S. Immigration and Customs
Enforcement (ICE) in the Department of Homeland Security determined, based
upon information in its immigration databases, had entered the country
illegally and were still illegally in the country at the time of their
incarceration in federal or state prison or local jail during fiscal year
2003. We then analyzed selected data contained in the criminal history
record, commonly referred to as the rap sheet, of these illegal aliens
maintained within the Federal Bureau of Investigation's (FBI) Integrated
Automated Fingerprint Identification System (IAFIS).5 To assess the
reliability of immigration databases used to make the determination about
an alien's legal status, we discussed internal control processes for
ensuring data quality with responsible ICE staff and found the data to be
reliable for purposes of this report. To assess the reliability of IAFIS
data, we discussed the data collection methods and internal control
processes for ensuring data quality with responsible FBI staff and
reviewed relevant policies and procedures. IAFIS may not contain all of
the arrests for the illegal aliens in our study population since seven
states report only their first arrest to the FBI. Subsequent arrest data
is available only from the state's criminal history record system. While
the magnitude of any undercount is unknown, we found that the data we used
for our analyses were sufficiently reliable for the purposes of this
report.

5IAFIS contains the fingerprints and corresponding criminal history for
more than 47 million subjects. The fingerprints and corresponding criminal
history information are submitted voluntarily by federal, state and local
law enforcement agencies.

                                    Results

Several things should be noted regarding our analysis. First, an arrest
does not necessarily result in a prosecution or a conviction. Second, our
analysis is limited to the aliens that ICE determined to have entered the
United States illegally. Third, since all arrests for an individual may
not be recorded in IAFIS, our data represent the minimum number of arrests
for these illegal aliens. Last, our analysis is not designed to infer
conclusions about the arrest history of other illegal aliens not in our
study population who entered the country illegally and have been arrested.

In April, we discussed with your offices the results of our work. This
report conveys the information provided during those discussions (see
encl. I).

We performed our work from October 2004 through May 2005 in accordance
with generally accepted government auditing standards. Further details on
our scope and methodology, including how we selected the illegal aliens in
our study population, are discussed in enclosure II.

The briefing slides in enclosure I address each of our three questions. In
summary, for our study population of 55,322 illegal aliens, we found that:

o  	They were arrested at least a total of 459,614 times, averaging about
8 arrests per illegal alien. Nearly all had more than 1 arrest.
Thirty-eight percent (about 21,000) had between 2 and 5 arrests, 32
percent (about 18,000) had between 6 and 10 arrests, and 26 percent (about
15,000) had 11 or more arrests. Most of the arrests occurred after 1990.

o  	They were arrested for a total of about 700,000 criminal offenses,
averaging about 13 offenses per illegal alien. One arrest incident may
include multiple offenses, a fact that explains why there are nearly one
and half times more offenses than arrests.6 Almost all of these illegal
aliens

were arrested for more than 1 offense. Slightly more than half of the
55,322 illegal aliens had between 2 and 10 offenses. About 45 percent of
all offenses were drug or immigration offenses. About 15 percent were
property-related offenses such as burglary, larceny-theft, motor vehicle
theft, and property damage. About 12 percent were for violent offenses
such as murder, robbery, assault, and sex-related crimes. The balance was

6For example, a burglar may enter a home, steal some of the victim's
property, and drive away in the victim's car. If arrested, the person
could be charged with three offenses, burglary, theft, and motor vehicle
theft.

for such other offenses as traffic violations, including driving under the
influence; fraud-including forgery and counterfeiting; weapons violations;
and obstruction of justice.

o  	Eighty percent of all arrests occurred in three states-California,
Texas, and Arizona. Specifically, about 58 percent of all arrests occurred
in California, 14 percent in Texas, and 8 percent in Arizona.

The Departments of Justice and Homeland Security reviewed a draft of this
report and had technical comments, which we incorporated as

                                Agency Comments

                               and Our Evaluation

                                  appropriate.

We are sending copies to the Departments of Justice and Homeland
Security and interested congressional committees, and we will make
copies available to others who request them. In addition, the report will
be
available at no charge on GAO's Web site at http://www.gao.gov.

If you or your staff have any questions concerning this report, please
contact me at (202) 512-8816 or by e-mail at [email protected] or Michael
Dino, Assistant Director, at (213) 830-1150 or [email protected]. Key
contributors to this report were Amy Bernstein, Ann H. Finley, Evan
Gilman, Frederick Lyles, Jr., Jan Montgomery, Karen O'Conor, Jason
Schwartz, and Laura Czohara.

Sincerely yours,

Richard M. Stana, Director
Homeland Security and Justice Issues

Major offense category1                 Category includes                  
            Arson           arson, reckless burning, and possession of arson  
                                               materials                      
           Assault          assault, battery, assault with a deadly weapon,   
                                       endangerment, and threats              
          Burglary         breaking and entering, burglary, and possession of 
                                             burglary tools                   
     Disorderly conduct    disturbing the peace, fighting, intoxication,      
                           public nuisance, and disorderly conduct            
                            use/under the influence, possession, possession   
            Drugs           with intent to distribute, sales, manufacturing,  
                           transporting, and possession of drug paraphernalia 
                             deceptive practices or identification, fraud,    
     Fraud, forgery, and     giving false information, altering or forging    
       counterfeiting        documents, and counterfeiting or possession of   
                                     counterfeit materials or tools           
          Homicide                 murder, manslaughter, and homicide         
                             illegal entry, illegal reentry, false claim to   
         Immigration         U.S. citizenship, alien smuggling, and removal   
                                              proceedings                     
         Kidnapping            false imprisonment, kidnapping, and taking     
                                                hostages                      
        Larceny/theft       grand and petty larceny and theft, shoplifting,   
                                   embezzlement, and money laundering         

Major offense category                  Category includes                  
    Motor vehicle theft      auto theft, carjacking, and taking a vehicle     
                                            without consent                   
                          escaping, evading, being a fugitive of justice,     
Obstruction of justice failing to appear, failing to register as a sex     
                          offender, resisting arrest, and interfering with or 
                          obstructing an officer or justice proceedings       
                          destruction of property, vandalism, and criminal or 
      Property damage                     malicious mischief                  
                          armed robbery, robbery of a dwelling, robbery of a  
          Robbery                      bank, and unarmed robbery              
        Sex offenses      lewd and lascivious acts, rape, sexual assault,     
                          indecent exposure, prostitution, and molestation    
      Stolen property      buying, selling, receiving, or possessing stolen   
                                               property                       
                          driving under the influence, hit and run, no proof  
     Traffic violations      of insurance, no driver's license, and moving    
                            violations such as speeding and failure to stop   
     Weapons violations      possession of a weapon, discharging a weapon,    
                          altering a weapon, and carrying a concealed weapon  
                               includes trespassing, gang participation,      
           Other          littering, child cruelty, racketeering, and illegal 
                                             waste dumping                    

                                                            Offenses for
                                       Offenses for illegal illegal aliens in
                                       aliens in federal    state prisons and
                       Total offenses  prisons              local jails
    Criminal offense   Number  Percent   Number    Percent   Number   Percent 
          Drugs        166,722   24%     64,737      24%     101,985    24%   
       Immigration     144,166   21%     84,382      32%     59,784     14%   
Traffic violations  55,060    8%      13,290      5%      41,770     10%   
         Assault       50,958    7%      14,908      6%      36,050     8%    
     Obstruction of                                                           
         justice       45,632    7%      15,064      6%      30,568     7%
        Burglary       38,689    6%      13,156      5%      25,533     6%    
      Larceny/theft    31,883    5%      12,206      5%      19,677     5%    
Fraud, forgery, and                                                        
     counterfeiting    25,773    4%      8,564       3%      17,209     4%
Weapons violations  22,263    3%      7,236       3%      15,027     4%    
Motor vehicle theft 20,950    3%      6,494       2%      14,456     3%    
         Robbery       15,305    2%      4,177       2%      11,128     3%    
     Stolen property   13,415    2%      4,201       2%       9,214     2%    
       Sex offense     11,833    2%      2,501       1%       9,332     2%    
Disorderly conduct   8,768    1%      2,986       1%       5,782     1%    
     Property damage    6,478    1%      2,238       1%       4,240     1%    
        Homicide        5,992    1%      1,156       <1%      4,836     1%    
       Kidnapping       3,236    <1%      837        <1%      2,399     1%    
          Arson          457     <1%      173        <1%       284      <1%   
          Other        24,310    4%      9,403       4%      14,907     4%    
          Total        691,890  100%    267,709     100%     424,181   100%   

                     Offense                       Number         Percent     
                   Immigration                     12,694           68%       
                      Drugs                        3,978            21%       
                     Unknown                       1,183            6%        
           Weapons, explosives, arson               251             1%        
            Fraud, bribery, extortion               185             1%        
       Burglary, larceny, property crimes            95             1%        
                     Assault                         41             <1%       
                     Robbery                         28             <1%       
                   Kidnapping                        26             <1%       
               Court, corrections                    25             <1%       
                    Homicide                         13             <1%       
                      Other                          62             <1%       
                     Totals                        18,581         100.0%      

                Enclosure II: Objectives, Scope, and Methodology

Using data we had obtained for our report, Information on Criminal Aliens
Incarcerated in Federal and State Prisons and Local Jails, GAO-05-337R, we
selected our study population of aliens that illegally entered the United
States using the following methodology. We started with data we obtained
from the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) on the population of aliens
incarcerated in federal prison as of December 27, 2003. We added to this
the population of convicted criminal aliens incarcerated in state prisons
and local jails between July 1, 2002, and June 30, 2003 for whom state and
local governments sought reimbursement under the State Criminal Alien
Assistance Program (SCAAP).1 These two populations were chosen because
they were the latest population data we had when we began our analysis.
From this combined population we identified those criminal aliens that had
both an alien identification number and an FBI identification number in
the data records we obtained. An alien identification number is a unique
number assigned to an alien who has come into contact with immigration
authorities. The FBI identification number is a unique identifier the FBI
assigns to a set of fingerprints that allows linking relevant records of
arrests and any subsequent activity within the criminal justice system. We
needed to have alien identification numbers in order to be able to
identify those aliens illegally in the United States and FBI numbers in
order to obtain the relevant criminal history record information from the
FBI. For those criminal aliens with both an alien identification number
and an FBI identification number, we requested that the U.S. Immigration
and Customs Enforcement (ICE) within the Department of Homeland Security
identify those aliens that, according to their records, had entered the
country illegally. For those aliens that ICE identified as having entered
the country illegally, we provided the FBI number and other identifying
information to the FBI and requested their criminal history records. The
criminal history record for each unique FBI identification number
contained the dates of each arrest, the arresting agency, an offense
code,2 and a literal description of each offense for which the alien was
arrested, e.g., drug possession, burglary, robbery. The arrest information
for each illegal alien is all arrests recorded in IAFIS as of October 28,
2004. Table 1 describes the number of criminal aliens at each level of our
analysis.

1The Department of Justice Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) program that
reimburses state and local governments for a portion of their costs of
incarcerating some, but not all, criminal aliens illegally in the country.

2A numeric code that the arresting law enforcement agency assigns to the
criminal offense.

Table 1: Selection of Illegal Alien Study Population Used For Our Analysis

                                                Inmates incarcerated by state
                                              prisons and local jails between
                                             July 1, 2002, and June 30, 2003,
                   Inmates incarcerated in federal and submitted to SCAAP for
                                    prison on December 27, 2003 reimbursement

              Number of convicted criminal aliens            46,063   262,105 
     Number of unique convicted criminal aliens with a FBI   36,390    59,427 
       identification number and an alien identification             
                            number                                   
     Number of the above unique convicted criminal aliens    18,581    36,741 
         that ICE determined to have entered illegally               
    Total population of illegal aliens used in our analysis  55,322  

Source: GAO

To determine the number of arrests for our study population of illegal
aliens, we totaled the number of unique dates of arrest for each unique
FBI number contained in the FBI criminal history records we obtained. The
earliest arrest record was in 1947, the latest October 28, 2004. The
criminal history records contained several hundred thousand different
literal descriptions of arrest offenses. To determine the offenses for
which these illegal aliens were arrested, we categorized the arrest
descriptions contained in the criminal history records into 1 of 19 major
offense categories (e.g., immigration, drugs) using FBI guidance to law
enforcement agencies on how to categorize different types of crimes. FBI
officials concurred with the way we categorized the literal descriptions
into the 19 major offense categories. To identify the states these illegal
aliens were arrested in, we analyzed the data contained in the arresting
agency field of the criminal history record for each unique date of
arrest.

Data Reliability 	We determined that the BOP data are sufficiently
reliable for the purposes of this report. To assess the reliability of the
data, we discussed with responsible BOP officials how data on the number
of federal inmates and whether they are a citizen or an alien are
collected and maintained in BOP's inmate tracking system called SENTRY. We
reviewed BOP policies and procedures related to entering data into the
SENTRY system and reviewed a Department of Justice Inspector General
review of the SENTRY system.

We determined that SCAAP data are sufficiently reliable for the purposes
of this report. To assess the reliability of the SCAAP data, we discussed
with responsible BJA officials how data on criminal aliens reimbursed

through SCAAP are collected and maintained. We reviewed BJA SCAAP policies
and procedures and guidance on how state and local jurisdictions can apply
for reimbursement under the program. State and local jurisdictions submit
inmates to BJA for reimbursement based on the inmates' self-reporting
their country of citizenship or place of birth. The state and local
jurisdictions certify they have exercised due diligence in determining
which inmates qualify for reimbursement and the inmates' data, such as
name and if available, alien identification and FBI identification
numbers.

We determined that ICE data are sufficiently reliable for the purposes of
this report. To assess the reliability of ICE's determination that aliens
with both an alien identification number and an FBI identification number
had entered illegally, we discussed with the ICE official who conducted
the analysis the process he used to make this determination. The
determination was made after querying several immigration databases using
the unique alien identification number we had supplied.

We determined that the FBI's IAFIS data on arrests are sufficiently
reliable for the purposes of this report. To assess the reliability of the
data, we discussed with responsible FBI officials how data on arrests are
collected and maintained in IAFIS. We reviewed FBI policies and procedures
related to entering data into the FBI system. The FBI estimates 8 percent
of the criminal arrests are no longer maintained by the FBI because 7
states, Colorado, Florida, Montana, Oklahoma, Oregon, New Jersey, and
North Carolina only report their first arrest to the FBI.

We performed our work from October 2004 through May 2005 in accordance
with generally accepted government auditing standards.

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