Coast Guard to Photograph and Fingerprint Migrants

The U.S. Coast Guard announced that it plans to use a special-purpose handheld gadget to PHOTOGRAPH AND FINGERPRINT people near Florida attempting to illegally enter the United States by sea. Starting in Spring, Coast Guard cutters in the Florida Straits will be given devices that both take the fingerprints and digital photographs. Once captured, the images are processed and compared against a database, with results returned within five minutes. In other news, the Coast Guard hasn't been photographing or fingerprinting illegal immigrants a full six years after September 11.