Customs and Border Protection officers have processed more than 91 million travelers in the air, land and seaport environments using facial comparison technology at more than 250 locations, an agency official says.
Since 2018, the biometric technology has identified nearly 890 impostors in the air and land environments and has identified more than 107,000 foreign nationals who have overstayed their visa terms, Jody Hardin, deputy executive director for planning, program analysis and evaluation, said last month at the annual Federal Identity Forum hosted virtually by AFCEA.
CBP made the decision in 2015 to begin using facial comparison technology to implement congressional mandates directing biometric technology be used to track the departure of foreign nationals departing the U.S. in accordance with their visa terms. Previously, the agency relied solely on biographic checks.
The facial comparison technology allows CBP officers at checkpoints to focus on interviewing travelers and conducting law enforcement to sort out potential law breakers, Hardin said. CBP, which uses a top rated facial matching algorithm supplied by NEC Corp., says the technology is more than 98 percent accurate and only takes a few seconds to confirm an identity.
Hardin said that facial comparison technology is deployed at 32 U.S. airports for exit checks, 198 airports for arrival checks, 11 seaports and 71 land border pedestrian crossings for arrival. The airport exit deployments don’t necessarily cover all the international departure gates at those airports.
For air exit, CBP is partnering with airports and airlines who pay for the purchase of the cameras that are deployed at departure gates. The benefit to airport and airline stakeholders is that the automated facial comparison identification doubles as a passport and document identity check, enabling quicker boarding of aircraft.
CBP is hoping to test the capture of facial biometrics of individuals in privately owned vehicles is developing mobile applications to self-report departures, Hardin says.
The use of biometrics for entering and exiting the U.S. is mandatory for foreign nationals and voluntary for U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents.