customs officer

American Citizens Could Be Subject to Required Facial Recognition Scans While Entering or Leaving U.S.

The Trump administration plans to expand facial scans from a pilot program for foreign travelers to include all travelers, including permanent residents and citizens.

  • By Haley Samsel
  • Dec 05, 2019

The Department of Homeland Security plans to propose a rule next year requiring all travelers entering or leaving the country, including U.S. citizens, to be photographed by customs agents.

Next July, the Trump administration plans to introduce the regulation as part of an effort to better track travelers as they enter and depart the U.S, Reuters reported. Customs and Border Protection agents have already piloted facial scan and fingerprint technology with foreign travelers, but citizens and legal permanent residents have not been previously subjected to the requirements.

The news came in the administration’s proposed regulatory agenda for 2020, which the public will have 30 to 60 days to comment on once it is officially announced. In the agenda, the administration argues that the collection of biometric data will “prevent persons attempting to fraudulently use U.S. travel documents and identify criminals and known or suspected terrorists.”

Privacy and anti-facial recognition advocates are already speaking out against the policy, stating that the expansion of data collection would violate the civil rights of Americans. Sens. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) and Mike Lee (R-Utah) have already spoken out against the DHS Biometric program, urging the department to stop expanding the technology.

Now, Markey said he will introduce legislation to block the department from using the system on American travelers, ensuring that citizens are “never forced to hand over their facial recognition information.”

"The Department of Homeland Security should immediately withdraw plans to force Americans to undergo facial recognition and hand over their biometric information," Markey said to CBS News. "This proposal would amount to disturbing government coercion, and as the recent data breach at Customs and Border Protection (CBP) shows, Homeland Security cannot be trusted to keep our information safe and secure.

Jay Stanley, a senior policy analyst with the American Civil Liberties Union, said in a statement to TechCrunch that the new regulation is “reneging” on the DHS’ promise not to make the use of biometric technology mandatory for Americans.

“Travelers, including U.S. citizens, should not have to submit to invasive biometric scans simply as a condition of exercising their constitutional right to travel,” Stanley said. “The government’s insistence on hurtling forward with a large-scale deployment of this powerful surveillance technology raises profound privacy concerns.”

In its filing, the Trump administration said that it plans to issue a separate fast-track regulation this month that will move the entry-exit project to a status beyond its current designation as a pilot project.

A spokesperson for CBP told TechCrunch said the agency is still in the rulemaking process and “will ensure that the public has the opportunity to comment prior to the implementation of any regulation.”

About the Author

Haley Samsel is an Associate Content Editor for the Infrastructure Solutions Group at 1105 Media.

Featured

  • Report: 47 Percent of Security Service Providers Are Not Yet Using AI or Automation Tools

    Trackforce, a provider of security workforce management platforms, today announced the launch of its 2025 Physical Security Operations Benchmark Report, an industry-first study that benchmarks both private security service providers and corporate security teams side by side. Based on a survey of over 300 security professionals across the globe, the report provides a comprehensive look at the state of physical security operations. Read Now

    • Guard Services

  • Identity Governance at the Crossroads of Complexity and Scale

    Modern enterprises are grappling with an increasing number of identities, both human and machine, across an ever-growing number of systems. They must also deal with increased operational demands, including faster onboarding, more scalable models, and tighter security enforcement. Navigating these ever-growing challenges with speed and accuracy requires a new approach to identity governance that is built for the future enterprise. Read Now

  • Eagle Eye Networks Launches AI Camera Gun Detection

    Eagle Eye Networks, a provider of cloud video surveillance, recently introduced Eagle Eye Gun Detection, a new layer of protection for schools and businesses that works with existing security cameras and infrastructure. Eagle Eye Networks is the first to build gun detection into its platform. Read Now

  • Report: AI is Supercharging Old-School Cybercriminal Tactics

    AI isn’t just transforming how we work. It’s reshaping how cybercriminals attack, with threat actors exploiting AI to mass produce malicious code loaders, steal browser credentials and accelerate cloud attacks, according to a new report from Elastic. Read Now

  • Pragmatism, Productivity, and the Push for Accountability in 2025-2026

    Every year, the security industry debates whether artificial intelligence is a disruption, an enabler, or a distraction. By 2025, that conversation matured, where AI became a working dimension in physical identity and access management (PIAM) programs. Observations from 2025 highlight this turning point in AI’s role in access control and define how security leaders are being distinguished based on how they apply it. Read Now

Most   Popular

New Products

  • Luma x20

    Luma x20

    Snap One has announced its popular Luma x20 family of surveillance products now offers even greater security and privacy for home and business owners across the globe by giving them full control over integrators’ system access to view live and recorded video. According to Snap One Product Manager Derek Webb, the new “customer handoff” feature provides enhanced user control after initial installation, allowing the owners to have total privacy while also making it easy to reinstate integrator access when maintenance or assistance is required. This new feature is now available to all Luma x20 users globally. “The Luma x20 family of surveillance solutions provides excellent image and audio capture, and with the new customer handoff feature, it now offers absolute privacy for camera feeds and recordings,” Webb said. “With notifications and integrator access controlled through the powerful OvrC remote system management platform, it’s easy for integrators to give their clients full control of their footage and then to get temporary access from the client for any troubleshooting needs.”

  • Camden CV-7600 High Security Card Readers

    Camden CV-7600 High Security Card Readers

    Camden Door Controls has relaunched its CV-7600 card readers in response to growing market demand for a more secure alternative to standard proximity credentials that can be easily cloned. CV-7600 readers support MIFARE DESFire EV1 & EV2 encryption technology credentials, making them virtually clone-proof and highly secure.

  • PE80 Series

    PE80 Series by SARGENT / ED4000/PED5000 Series by Corbin Russwin

    ASSA ABLOY, a global leader in access solutions, has announced the launch of two next generation exit devices from long-standing leaders in the premium exit device market: the PE80 Series by SARGENT and the PED4000/PED5000 Series by Corbin Russwin. These new exit devices boast industry-first features that are specifically designed to provide enhanced safety, security and convenience, setting new standards for exit solutions. The SARGENT PE80 and Corbin Russwin PED4000/PED5000 Series exit devices are engineered to meet the ever-evolving needs of modern buildings. Featuring the high strength, security and durability that ASSA ABLOY is known for, the new exit devices deliver several innovative, industry-first features in addition to elegant design finishes for every opening.