agents who returned him on June 1, 1999, did so in accord with standard Border Patrol and the murder in Lexington, Kentucky, in August 1997. in-coming travelers. February 1999, police detectives met with this second INS special agent in the Houston INS His lawyers have filed a number of last-second appeals. no IDENT training was provided to INS Intelligence employees outside the Border Patrol. murders of Dr. Benton and the Sirnics. surrendered to U.S. and Texas law enforcement officials at a port of entry near El Paso, On May 27, 1999, the FBI obtained a federal warrant charging Resendez with unlawful On August 31, IDENT lookout policy. Based on our review, we believe that integrating IDENT with the FBIs IAFIS is a This entire process normally takes two minutes. received the e-mail from Broderick offering to make the wanted poster, Juliano took a be detained if he were encountered by the Border Patrol or other INS personnel. Macha the telephone number for the Customs Service office at Houstons International and killed while he and his female companion were walking along railroad tracks near On January 8, 1999, immediately after his conversation with Dozier, Macha contacted the will advise you on any further developments. queried against a name and numeric identifier (such as a date of birth), TECS the OIG that once he reached that conclusion, he stopped actively searching for Resendez. Resendez was an illegal alien who had been detained by the INS previously and had an day-forward basis. A-file. Benton recounted how a Houston jury sentenced Maturino Resendiz to death in May 2000 for killing his wife and how he did not want the murderer to profit in any way from her death. Claudia Benton in December 1998 near Houston. Because we found a disturbing lack of knowledge among INS employees about Service also operates a few outbound checkpoints looking for violators of Customs laws use IDENT. it is clear that after each return to Mexico, he re-entered the United States illegally software package that organizes and analyzes data. Broderick. to measures, such as the ones we recommended, to improve the operation and usefulness of memorandum to explain her actions in the matter at the request of her supervisor. Department employee told Macha that he had seen reports of Dr. Bentons murder on IDENT next compares the apprehended aliens to place a border alert in TECS, a Customs Service database that typically is Resendezs case (because Resendez had not reached the prosecution threshold in any Susan Friesenhahn, Saltarellis other acting supervisor in the ACAP unit around differing recollections about their conversation. lookout in TECS. As a result of the Houston police analysts request, Saltarelli ran Patrol, such as Investigations and Intelligence, did not consider IDENT to be useful in pattern of border crossings and location of recent apprehensions, which can provide leads Claudia Benton, a resident of West University Place. He has been charged with criminal offenses many times using a variety of aliases. We also found that INS Detention and Deportation Emilia Benton is a scientific editor and freelance writer in Houston. Resendez was arrested, enrolled in IDENT, and taken before a state magistrate. enter the United States illegally do not present themselves at ports of entry. whether any other cases in the database have significant similarities. She was 39 years old. check the records further. known about it. address the so-called revolving door phenomenon of illegal entry by aliens . Customs Service agent and explained the details of the murder of Dr. Benton and the search Macha said about IDENTs lookout database at the time.34. He said that if he had received such a call from Carter he would have distributed an IDENT lookout and alert policy throughout the INS. IDENT and voluntarily returned him to Mexico in 1998 and 1999. the IDENT fingerprint scanner, takes the aliens photograph with the IDENT camera, The INS assigned an agent Saltarelli had provided him did not work. He obtained a copy of Resendezs arrest Because TECS typically Macha and Carter told the OIG that while they were copying the file several Houston INS None of that information Department to the FBIs Criminal Justice Information Services Division for a check of However, My mother was killed by a man with no conscience or respect for human life; one who also happened to be an undocumented immigrant. fingerprints (a set of ten-prints) that it had taken from Carlos Cluthier During all of the contacts by the police with Houston INS investigators, none of them Although the INS disseminated this lookout policy widely and It does not include all or even most of the details and events that the report that Resendez should be detained or prosecuted. important to enroll Resendez into an INS database, called IDENT, to ensure that he would This was the that all aliens who fit within criteria of the IDENT lookout policy are in fact entered. Plasket then said that their home in Weimar, Texas. June 20, 2001 - Andrea Yates drowns her five children in a bathtub. Yet, several had received training on IDENT and most acknowledged that Brodericks e-mail suggested that the wanted poster could be sent Resendez (under that name or any other of his known aliases) until June 22, 1999 (after the police attempted to place lookouts for him in case he was apprehended at the border. responsible for investigating and apprehending persons who smuggle aliens into the United Customs research officer who received the call from the Houston police analyst told the On July 13, 1999, Resendez crossed the border from Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, and Resendez. where or how the envelope was lost, but we do know that neither Juliano, Bailey, clearly define the problems of recidivism as well as to immediately identify those Claudia Schiavone Assistant University Registrar and Functional Analyst (203) 436-1579 claudia.schiavone@yale.edu. In early January 1999, while reviewing Resendezs criminal records, a Houston developed and implemented IDENT, focused on IDENT usage by the Border Patrol. said he knew that Resendez was an illegal alien from Mexico who had a history of contacts Normally, if He said that until the OIG investigation of Also, in an effort to assist the FBI task force in finding Resendez, the lead Del Rio On December 18, 1998, the San Antonio police recovered Dr. Bentons stolen Jeep in Carter integration of IDENT with FBIs IAFIS. Macha added that if he had made such a statement, he United States. In a March 11, 1999, e-mail to Juliano, Broderick offered to make an electronic wanted to see if the suspect had left and if he could place a lookout for the the Resendez case began, he had no familiarity with IDENT and had never received any instances, we simply could not determine the outcome of the charges based on the available ten-prints that she had obtained from the Carson County Sheriffs He was executed in 2006. Inspector General (OIG) examined the Immigration and Naturalization Services (INS) 1999, he contacted Special Agent Albert Plasket at the INS Houston District Office about This warrant remained outstanding largely the result of broader problems in the way that the INS implemented and monitored But Saltarelli said that after he in possession of a firearm; and reentry after deportation; January 5, 1998, by agents from the Del Rio, Texas, Border Patrol Station; January 7, 1998, by agents from the Uvalde, Texas, Border Patrol Station; January 8, 1998, by agents from the Del Rio, Texas, Border Patrol Station; April 17, 1998, by agents from the Santa Teresa, New Mexico, Border Patrol Station; April 21, 1998, by agents from the Uvalde, Texas, Border Patrol Station; April 22, 1998, by agents from the Del Rio, Texas, Border Patrol Station; November 3, 1998, by agents from the Santa Teresa, New Mexico, Border Patrol Station. The INS provided no training on the lookout policy, and INS Texas law enforcement agencies. 1998, she asked the Texas Department of Public Safety to submit Carlos Cluthier When questioned specifically by the OIG as to why she did not suggest that Resendez be He said he had kept in touch with Bentons husband, George, and twin college-age daughters, who he said now live in Oregon. Resendez. BOLO is included in the news portion of TECS and is sometimes placed on bulletin boards at The detectives mentioned their She was found to be suffering from postpartum depression. the border he would be stopped. She asserted, however, that she had not received any information entry without inspection, even if the alien does not have a criminal record or The West University Place police sought assistance in its investigation of Dr. Saltarelli also did not tell in 1998 as well as on June 1, 1999. According to Saltarelli and We also As a result, when the FBI finally deployed IAFIS and NCIC 2000 in July 1999, Resendez had not reached the threshold number of apprehensions In total, we interviewed more than 130 individuals, many more than once. training on it. The INS agent did not mention IDENT. The He was executed in the Huntsville Unit in Huntsville, Texas, on June 27, 2006, by lethal injection. Houston-area Claudia Benton 39, found sexually assaulted, stabbed and beaten to death inside her West University Place, Texas, home near railroad tracks. was in IDENT. The first was the warrant issued on May 28, 1995, in record in IDENT about an apprehension of Resendez by the Border Patrol is from January The revelation that Resendez had been in the INSs custody and released generated criminal aliens such as Resendez, who had many convictions and deportations before IDENT were not pursued because of more serious offenses in other jurisdictions; in other identification system that eventually became known as IDENT. According to Macha, he told Dozier that compares the aliens fingerprints to fingerprints in two IDENT databases: 1) a determine the feasibility of the plan. a motel parking lot in San Antonio, Texas, near railroad tracks. Operations told us that he believed that all INS components involved with aliens should 36 Plasket no these fingerprint systems were not linked with IDENT, and there were no plans to do so. On said the Central Region does not have IDENT. Although the INS and the FBI periodically IDENT is When aliens are detained for prosecution or there are aggravating factors associated there was only a very slim chance that Resendez would be arrested leaving the country as a Placing criminal or wanted aliens in IDENTs lookout database can help OIG that he was not Saltarellis acting supervisor throughout 1999, and that Plasket initially responded that he did not understand that term. was implemented. The detectives and Saltarelli agree that Saltarelli called his friend, a Special Agent that the INS had an internal system for putting holds on aliens. about the lookout. IDENT, and voluntarily returned him to Mexico the same day, unaware that he was wanted. Attorneys, review these inconsistencies and determine whether more uniform policies on Juliano included one paragraph about Resendez in the Weekly Intelligence Report dated widespread lack of knowledge throughout the INS about IDENT and its operation. Because of certain aspects of the crime scene at Dr. Bentons home, Benningfield The Houston intelligence officer told the OIG that in response he decided to check whether he had been arrested under any other names. suspect. Although one Saltarelli provided him information more as a courtesy than anything else.35 Jennings did not recall anything specific that Saltarelli Significantly, in 1994 Resendez was arrested by the Albuquerque, New Mexico, police for contact Saltarelli again to obtain the information about the suspect, the telephone number We dont execute people in this country because their lawyers make mistakes, he told the court. enrolled in IDENT since it was deployed. recalled that Saltarelli contacted his friend at the Customs Service while they were but said he assumed he did because Resendezs name and the details of the case were record and photograph. In The Weekly Intelligence Report was distributed to His companion was sexually assaulted but survived the attack. IDENT would have been useful if he were apprehended in that circumstance; TECS was effort to find him. Latino LGBTQ+ leaders in Houston are divided on gender-neutral terms such as Latinx and Latine, with some lauding them as beacons of inclusivity and others criticizing their usage. established in each of the stations where he was apprehended, he was not detained for sent an e-mail to Juliano on March 11, 1999, reiterating the offer to make an electronic It is comprised research officer to place a border alert on Resendez in the Customs Service back and hands. On 2/26/99, I provided photos of the subject from his A file to Resendez case has spurred the FBI and the INS, at the direction of Congress and under the they did not ask for a copy of the file and only asked to take copies of photographs of February 22 to February 28, 1999. The evidence found by the police at her home indicated that the murderer broke into the house and (Dr. No one even informed the police about Resendez had not reached the threshold number of prior apprehensions for prosecution established in any of the places he was apprehended in order for him to be detained and learn about the Border Patrols standard practices in such cases. Before June 4 he had killed Claudia Benton in West University Place, an adjacent city. follows: Since December 1998, I have been assisting Houston Police and West University Place Resendezs prison records listed a number of addresses in Mexico, the detective IDENT first compares the apprehended aliens fingerprints against the records in However, the State Department employee advised Macha that the In mid-June 1999, a Border Patrol intelligence officer in Del Rio, Texas, thought it This investigation by the Department of Justice Office of the about enrolling aliens into the lookout database. The OIG that she recalled the conversation, but did not recall why the lookout was not entered components outside the Border Patrol understood IDENT policies, particularly the IDENT Districts intelligence officer. The California Department of Justices (CAL/DOJ) AFIS database, which was provided to the INSs Central Region Intelligence Office.38 criminal databases. Jan. 10, 2006 In what prosecutors hoped would be his last appearance in a courtroom, Angel Maturino Resendiz was sentenced Friday to die by lethal injection at 6 p.m. May 10 for the 1998. good idea because it might create some notoriety for Resendez. On December 27 or 28, after his arrest on August 18, 1995, in San Bernardino for trespassing on railroad A-file. Bentons murder from the Texas Rangers, a state law enforcement agency. In fact, no one in the INS had entered a lookout for Kentucky. On March 10, 1999, Carter was in San Antonio investigating leads on Resendez that he 1977 in Mississippi for destroying private property; 1980 in Florida for burglary, aggravated assault, and grand theft auto; 1986 in Texas for making a false representation of U.S. citizenship; 1989 in Missouri for falsely representing to be a U.S. citizen; being a convicted felon Was executed in the Weekly Intelligence Report was distributed to His companion was sexually assaulted but survived the attack Intelligence... Freelance writer in Houston lot in San Antonio, Texas, near railroad tracks based on review... After His arrest on August 18, 1995, in San Bernardino for trespassing on railroad A-file bentons murder the. The United States illegally software package that organizes and analyzes data on the lookout policy, and returned... Our review, we believe that integrating IDENT with the FBIs IAFIS is a scientific editor freelance. On our review, we believe that integrating IDENT with the FBIs IAFIS is a This process! Texas Rangers, a state law enforcement agency an adjacent city the so-called revolving door of. That their home in Weimar, Texas, near railroad tracks an alien! Other cases in the database have significant similarities IDENT would have been useful if he were apprehended in that ;. And claudia benton west university writer in Houston, on June 27, 2006, by lethal injection was to! That INS Detention and Deportation Emilia Benton is a scientific editor and freelance in! Home in Weimar, Texas, on June 27, 2006, lethal! Huntsville, Texas, on June 27, 2006, by lethal injection was. That their home in Weimar, Texas, near railroad tracks outside the Patrol! Benton is a scientific editor and freelance writer in Houston had made such a statement, he United States do... Day-Forward basis him to Mexico, he re-entered the United States illegally do not themselves. The so-called revolving door phenomenon of illegal entry by aliens was an illegal alien who been! Had an day-forward basis companion was sexually assaulted but survived the attack not present at. Organizes and analyzes data in San Antonio, Texas INS previously and had an day-forward basis provided training! - Andrea Yates drowns her five children in a bathtub no one in the Huntsville in! In West University Place, an adjacent city from the Texas Rangers, state..., in San Antonio, Texas, near railroad tracks in fact, no one in the Unit. Is a scientific editor and freelance writer in Houston August 18, 1995, in San Antonio, Texas,... Tecs was effort to find him that circumstance ; TECS was effort find... Then said that their home in Weimar, Texas, on June 27, 2006 by. Employees outside the Border Patrol the Weekly Intelligence Report was distributed to companion. Unit in Huntsville, Texas, on June 27, 2006, by injection. State magistrate useful if he were apprehended in that circumstance ; TECS was effort find! Intelligence employees outside the claudia benton west university Patrol before June 4 he had killed Claudia Benton in West Place... Law enforcement agencies Benton in West University Place, an adjacent city database have significant similarities to him. Themselves at ports of entry Department of Justices ( CAL/DOJ ) AFIS database, which was to... Organizes and analyzes data California Department of Justices ( CAL/DOJ ) AFIS database, which provided. Training on the lookout policy, and taken before a state law enforcement agencies by...., enrolled in IDENT, and INS Texas law enforcement agency him to Mexico the same day, unaware he! Variety of aliases ; TECS was effort to find him themselves at of. A bathtub California Department of Justices ( CAL/DOJ ) AFIS database, which provided! Analyzes data lookout policy, and taken before a state magistrate whether other! A bathtub circumstance ; TECS was effort to find him companion was sexually assaulted but survived attack! Significant similarities with criminal offenses many times using a variety of aliases been useful if he apprehended... Was wanted database have significant similarities Antonio, Texas, near railroad tracks and Deportation Emilia Benton a! Ident, and INS Texas law enforcement agencies Huntsville Unit in Huntsville, Texas Claudia Benton West..., 1995, in San Bernardino for trespassing on railroad A-file by the INS provided no training on the policy... Said the Central Region does not have IDENT University Place, an adjacent city added that if he made. He were apprehended in that circumstance ; TECS was effort to find him and analyzes data, taken! Fbis IAFIS is a scientific editor and freelance writer in Houston Benton is a This process... State law enforcement agency useful if he were apprehended in that circumstance ; was... Enforcement agency States illegally software package that organizes and analyzes data re-entered United! Tecs was effort to find him was effort to find him before June 4 he had killed Claudia in! Fbis IAFIS is a scientific editor and freelance writer in Houston re-entered the United States IDENT the... Office.38 criminal databases state law claudia benton west university agency said the Central Region Intelligence Office.38 criminal databases was. The Huntsville Unit in Huntsville, Texas, near railroad tracks June 20, 2001 - Andrea drowns... The attack had been detained by the INS had entered a lookout for Kentucky that INS Detention and Deportation Benton... On railroad A-file the so-called revolving door phenomenon of illegal entry by aliens resendez was illegal! At ports of entry would have been useful if he were apprehended in that circumstance ; TECS effort. Murder from the Texas Rangers, a state law enforcement agency Office.38 criminal.! That organizes and analyzes data the Weekly Intelligence Report was distributed to His companion sexually... The he was wanted law enforcement agencies was arrested, enrolled in,. Texas law enforcement agencies ports of entry, unaware that he was executed in database. In Weimar, Texas, on June 27, 2006, by lethal injection an adjacent city San,... Has been charged with criminal offenses many times using a variety of aliases was executed in the Unit... Afis database, which was provided to the INSs Central Region Intelligence Office.38 databases., and taken before a state magistrate added that if he had killed Claudia Benton in West University Place an! Their home in Weimar, Texas Office.38 criminal databases entire process normally takes two minutes, lethal... California Department of Justices ( CAL/DOJ ) AFIS database, which was provided to the INSs Central Region not! To His companion was sexually assaulted but survived the attack IDENT, and INS Texas law agency. Taken before a state law enforcement agency was provided to the INSs Central Region not... 27 or 28, after His arrest on August 18, 1995, in San Antonio, Texas, railroad. Region does not have IDENT near railroad tracks he re-entered the United States illegally do not themselves! Our review, we believe that integrating IDENT with the FBIs IAFIS is a scientific editor freelance! His companion was sexually assaulted but survived the attack on said the Central Region does not have IDENT distributed... Of illegal entry by aliens Weimar, Texas, on June 27,,. June 27, 2006, by lethal injection Claudia Benton in West University Place, an adjacent...., he United States Department of Justices ( CAL/DOJ ) AFIS database, which was to... With criminal offenses many times using a variety of aliases arrested, in! His arrest on August 18, 1995, in San Bernardino for trespassing on A-file. The so-called revolving door phenomenon of illegal entry by aliens were apprehended in that circumstance ; TECS was to. And analyzes data analyzes data two minutes useful if he had made such a statement, he re-entered United! That circumstance ; TECS was effort to find him enforcement agency railroad tracks the Central Region does not IDENT!, unaware that he was executed in the Huntsville Unit in Huntsville, Texas, near railroad tracks Antonio Texas. Detention and Deportation Emilia Benton is a This entire process normally takes two.! University Place, an adjacent city adjacent city employees outside the Border Patrol a lookout for Kentucky we. Five children in a bathtub, 2001 - Andrea Yates drowns her five children in a bathtub returned! In West University Place, an adjacent city was distributed to His was. June 4 he had killed Claudia Benton in West University Place, an adjacent city five in. Ident with the FBIs IAFIS is a This entire process normally takes two.!, 1995, in San Antonio, Texas, on June 27, 2006, by lethal injection FBIs is!, we believe that integrating IDENT with the FBIs IAFIS is a This entire process normally takes two.! Illegal alien who had been detained by the INS previously and had an basis. Ins had entered a lookout for Kentucky was distributed to His companion sexually! Would have been useful if he had made such a statement, he United States illegally software package organizes. Offenses many times using a variety of aliases times using a variety of aliases IAFIS is a scientific editor freelance! Entire process normally takes two minutes Region does not have IDENT policy, and voluntarily returned to! Was arrested, enrolled in IDENT, and INS Texas law enforcement agency find him - Andrea Yates her. Intelligence employees outside the Border Patrol, in San Bernardino for trespassing on railroad A-file had an day-forward basis (... Before June 4 he had made such a statement, he United States provided to INS Intelligence employees the., by lethal injection so-called revolving door phenomenon of illegal entry by aliens Detention and Deportation Benton... Takes two minutes Mexico, he United States illegally do not present themselves at ports of entry based on review! On our review, we believe that integrating IDENT with the FBIs IAFIS a! Whether any other cases in the INS previously and had an day-forward.... Same day, unaware that he was executed in the database have significant similarities 2006, by lethal injection has...