WASHINGTON, D.C. - Foreign nationals attempting to enter or leave the United States find themselves under increased scrutiny under a new policy issued by the Department of Homeland Security. The policy requires foreign nationals, including green card holders and other non-U.S. citizens legally residing in the U.S., to be photographed upon crossing the U.S. border, in or out, Fox News Digital reports.
Facial recognition is already employed at airport checkpoints, however, the new rule will expand its use to include all points of entry to the United States, including by air, land, and sea.
“This final rule amends [the] Department of Homeland Security (DHS) regulations to provide that DHS may require all aliens to be photographed when entering or exiting the United States, and may require non-exempt aliens to provide other biometrics,” a summary of the new policy published in the Federal Register reads.
“The final rule also amends the regulations to remove the references to pilot programs and the port limitation to permit the collection of biometrics from aliens departing from airports, land ports, seaports, or any other authorized point of departure. In addition, DHS is requesting comments on the specific collection process as well as costs and benefits for new transportation modalities,” it continued.
While previous rules included age exemptions, the new policy authorizes facial recognition for travelers under 14 years old and over 79.
The previous policy’s exemptions were due to “technological limitations on collecting fingerprints from children and elderly persons,” it read. The policy noted that “traditional law enforcement policies and other policies” typically excluded running criminal history background checks on children.”
“These exemptions are not applicable to CBP’s facial comparison-based biometric entry-exit program, as the use of biometrics has expanded beyond criminal history background checks and now plays a vital role in identity verification and management, and combating the trafficking of children,” the new policy states.
“Furthermore, internal CBP studies of biometric facial match accuracy, historical matching data, examination of biometric matching of ages under 14 and over 79, and CBP standard operating procedures associated with these ages no longer support exempting facial biometric collection from these populations. Exemptions based on age will continue to apply to biometrics other than facial images.”
The new policy will take effect on Dec. 26. It is part of the administration’s immigration enforcement agenda, which focuses on expanding border surveillance and tightening entry requirements, Fox News Digital reported.
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