US expands facial recognition at borders to track non-citizens

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By Ted Hesson

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The U.S. will expand the use of facial recognition technology to track non-citizens entering and leaving the country in order to combat visa overstays and passport fraud, according to a government document published on Friday.

A new regulation will allow U.S. border authorities to require non-citizens to be photographed at airports, seaports, land crossings and any other point of departure, expanding on an earlier pilot program.

Under the regulation, set to take effect on December 26, U.S. authorities could require the submission of other biometrics, such as fingerprints or DNA, it said.

It also allows border authorities to use facial recognition for children under age 14 and elderly people over age 79, groups that are currently exempted.

The tighter border rules reflect a broader effort by U.S. President Donald Trump to crack down on illegal immigration. While the Republican president has surged resources to secure the U.S.-Mexico border, he has also taken steps to reduce the number of people overstaying their visas.

The growing use of facial recognition in U.S. airports has raised privacy concerns from watchdog groups worried about overreach and mistakes. A 2024 report by the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights said tests had shown facial recognition was more likely to misidentify Black people and other minority groups.

The Congressional Research Service estimated in 2023 that some 42% of the 11 million immigrants in the U.S. illegally at the time had overstayed a visa. 

The U.S. Congress in 1996 passed a law mandating the creation of an automated entry-exit system, but it has never been fully implemented.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection already uses facial recognition for all commercial air entries but only employs it to record exits at certain locations, the regulation said. 

CBP estimates that a biometric entry-exit system can be fully implemented at all commercial airports and seaports for both entry and exit within the next three to five years.

(Reporting by Ted Hesson; Additional reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Chris Sanders and Marguerita Choy)