DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 13, 2002
(202) 514-2007
www.usdoj.gov
TDD (202) 514-1888
ATTORNEY GENERAL DIRECTS CLOSING OF NICS LOOPHOLE TO KEEP GUNS OUT OF THE HANDS OF PROHIBITED ALIENS AND ANNOUNCES NEW PROSECUTORS TO PROMOTE SCHOOL SAFETY
WASHINGTON, DC - Attorney General John Ashcroft today announced four initiatives to protect innocent Americans from gun crimes. The Attorney General first ordered the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Immigration and Naturalization Service to improve the National Instant Criminal Background Check System’s (NICS) ability to prevent aliens from purchasing guns in violation of federal law and to prosecute those who attempt to obtain guns illegally.
Although federal law prohibits aliens who are illegally or unlawfully in the United States from purchasing guns, the NICS system since its inception in 1998 has not adequately determined whether alien gun purchasers are in the country legally. Under the new directive, the INS will review the records of all non-citizen gun purchasers to determine their immigration status and will automate the Immigration Alien Query (IAQ), enabling NICS to better determine whether the prospective purchaser is a prohibited alien while providing firearms dealers with an answer immediately.
“Our paramount responsibility is the safety of Americans through the prevention of violence and the prevention of illegal activity,” said Attorney General Ashcroft. “The Brady Act’s requirement of establishing a system to ensure that prohibited persons, including prohibited aliens, do not receive guns, can and must be fulfilled to the best of our ability.”
Second, the Attorney General directed the FBI to process background checks more efficiently by requiring the Director of the FBI to increase the immediate “proceed” or “deny” responses to 90 percent of all gun checks. Under the proposal, if NICS receives a “delay” response, it will be routed to a NICS examiner. The examiner will review the relevant records and immediately advise the gun dealer whether the transaction may proceed.
As federal law currently allows would-be purchasers to obtain a gun if the federal background check is delayed longer than three business days, increased efficiency will decrease the ability of illegal aliens and others from obtaining guns illegally by default. Third, the Attorney General promoted state initiatives to update and automate their criminal history files.
As NICS background checks are only as accurate as the criminal-history records on which they are based, the Department of Justice will continue to assist states in updating their records. As requested by the Attorney General, the Bureau of Justice Statistics has conducted a study of incomplete state criminal-history records and today announces their preliminary findings.
Based on the Bureau’s report, the Justice Department will renew its commitment to the National Criminal History Improvement Program (“NCHIP”) by allocating the program $141 million over the next three fiscal years. Fourth, the Attorney General announced that the Justice Department is undertaking a new initiative known as Project Sentry, a vital federal-state project that will work to protect our nation’s children from the tragedies of gun violence in schools.
Under the program, every U.S. Attorney’s office in the nation (94) will obtain a new prosecutor that will work with the community to develop a “Safe School Task Force” that will prosecute and supervise juveniles who violate federal and state firearms laws, prosecute adults who illegally give firearms to juveniles, and promote school safety through community outreach efforts. ###