Suit: Migrants Are Target of U.S. Database

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 such records as warrants and “rap sheets,” the lawsuit says.

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

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

Atty. Gen. John Ashcroft, Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge and FBI Director Robert S. Mueller III 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.