Canadians may soon have to go through 'facial biometrics' at U.S. land border
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has confirmed plans to use facial biometrics at its land borders, and they will affect Canadians.
In an email to Daily Hive, a CBP spokesperson said that the agency has been testing camera technology at a few locations on the northern and southern borders as part of the entry/exit mission.
That means travellers can soon expect to have their photo taken when exiting the U.S. at land borders with Canada and Mexico. According to CBP, facial biometric records are used to track overstays.
CBP said that its goal for expanding to outbound vehicle lanes is to be able to biometrically confirm departure from the U.S.
For frequent travellers to the U.S., biometrics isn’t new.
As early as 2002, CBP was mandated to use biometric technology to issue visas and screen foreign nationals entering the country. In 2004, the U.S. started collecting biometric data from non-U.S. citizens exiting the country at airports.
These security measures are in place at airports with international arrivals and upon exit from 58 airports. CBP also uses facial biometrics for travellers entering the U.S. via cruises and pedestrian lanes.
Currently, Canadians returning home from the U.S. by vehicle are only required to provide biographic information.
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On May 9, Wired reported that CBP plans to “log every person leaving the country by vehicle by taking photos at border crossings.”
However, CBP’s spokesperson refuted this, stating that they don’t log every person and that the entry/exit mandate applies to most foreign travellers.
They added that travellers who don’t want to participate in the facial biometric process can notify a CBP officer to request a manual document check for processing consistent with existing requirements for entry to the U.S.
According to the CBP website, biographic information for air travellers includes date of birth, passport number, document number, country of citizenship, etc. However, CBP didn’t specify if it requires additional documents for a manual check at its land borders.
Although they’ve been testing the technology, CBP said there’s no specific timeline for when it plans to implement facial biometrics for travellers leaving by land.