Next Generation Identification (NGI)

The FBI’s Next Generation Identification (NGI), formerly Department of Justice Criminal Justice Information Services Division Integrated Automated Fingerprint Identification System, or IAFIS, is purportedly the largest electronic repository of biometric information in the world.Footnote 1 While historically, “biometrics” refers to fingerprints, today the category includes experimental modalities including palm prints, voice prints, irises, and facial recognition. NGI includes fingerprints that have been sent to the FBI via the criminal legal system primarily, by states, territories and federal law enforcement agencies. If you’ve ever been arrested before, you would be listed in NGI.

NGI is used by ICE in the field to quickly check a person’s biometrics against criminal legal history — especially if a person’s biometrics cannot be found in DHS’ IDENT database. 

ICE agents use EAGLE to submit biographic information, fingerprints, and arrest information to NGI for storage and for fingerprint-based criminal records checks. NGI sends back to EAGLE the results of the fingerprint check, including any criminal history information or wants and warrants on the individual. 

In the field, ICE officers can use the mobile device, EDDIE, to query simultaneously NGI for criminal history information and IDENT for a person’s immigration history. In response to the query, NGI and/or IDENT send a response, in less than a minute, to EDDIE indicating whether there is a fingerprint match. The NGI response includes a list of potential candidates who may match the prints submitted by EDDIE. NGI also provides the candidate’s Identity History Summary, which was formerly referred to as a “rap sheet.”