Customs & Border Protection Has Scanned More Than 1 Billion Travelers With Facial Biometrics

Customs and Border Protection says it has now verified the identity of more than 1 billion travelers with facial biometrics, announcing the milestone in an Oct. 5 statement. The agency says the system runs at entry in every U.S. airport with international arrivals, at exit in 66 airports, at 42 seaports, and in all pedestrian lanes at the northern and southwest border crossings, with some vehicle lanes covered as well.

CBP also says it received $673 million under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act to expand the system across all U.S. ports of entry, and it has struck data-sharing deals with cruise lines. By its own count, the program has biometrically identified more than 600,000 overstayers and more than 2,300 impostors since 2018.

CBP says it discards photos of American citizens within 12 hours of identity verification. Citizens who prefer to opt out can simply notify an officer or airline representative and have their passport inspected manually, the agency says.

As the Epoch Times notes further, the need for speeding up the implementation of an automatic biometric entry/exit data system came into focus following the 9/11 attacks, when several pieces of legislation, along with the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States, emphasized the need for it.

In 2013, Congress mandated identifying noncitizens who enter and leave the United States.

The CBP developed the Traveler Verification Service as part of the effort – a facial biometrics matching service that automates the process.

Facial biometrics enable CBP to identify criminals, including suspected terrorists; identify people overstaying in the United States; prevent visa fraud; and block individuals already removed from the United States from reentering illegally.

“Although U.S. citizens are not covered by this rule, they may continue to voluntarily participate in the facial biometrics process at entry and exit,” CBP said.

“U.S. citizens who prefer to opt out of the facial biometrics process may simply notify a CBP officer or airline representative and undergo manual inspection of their passport, as required for international travel.”

Identification Systems

The United States has various identity verification and storage mechanisms, including biometrics.

The Automated Biometric Identification System holds more than 320 million unique identities, processing 400,000 biometric transactions daily.

The system is owned by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which uses biometrics for various purposes, including facilitating legitimate travel, as well as identifying and preventing illegal entry into the country.

CBP, which comes under DHS, operates the Automated Targeting System, which is a tool that compares traveler, conveyance, and cargo information against law enforcement and intelligence data.

U.S. law also requires air carriers operating in the United States to provide DHS and the CBP with certain passenger reservation details.

“This information is transmitted to CBP before departure and used primarily for purposes of preventing, detecting, investigating, and prosecuting terrorist offenses and related crimes and certain other crimes that are transnational in nature,” according to CBP.