On the border, Austria takes migrant fingerprints, then discards them

The fingerprint of a refugee is taken at the migrants registration center of the Patrick-Henry Village refugee center in Heidelberg, Germany, in this January 28, 2016 file photo. REUTERS/Ralph Orlowski/Files

SPIELFELD, Austria/BRUSSELS (Reuters) - On the Austrian-Slovenia border, one of the last stops on the migrant route to Germany, a policeman explains that after his 12-hour shift taking new arrivals' fingerprints, most are lost minutes after they are taken.

"We are not allowed to save the fingerprints," the Austrian policeman, who wanted to remain anonymous, said as he sat in a tent at the Spielfeld border crossing. "We do what we're asked to do."