CBP plans facial recognition surveillance of all vehicle exits from US borders
CBP is planning to photograph all travelers leaving the US by vehicle at land borders and use facial recognition to match their faces to travel documents. The system has already been deployed at 57 airports and reportedly achieved only 61 percent accuracy in recent testing.
What happened
CBP plans to photograph every person leaving the US by vehicle at official land border crossings and match their faces using facial recognition technology to their passports, visas, or other travel documents.
CBP has been collecting biometric data from outgoing travelers for over a decade. The agency currently uses biometric facial comparison technology at 57 airports including Atlanta, Los Angeles, Dallas-Fort Worth, and New York. CBP spokesperson Jessica Turner confirmed expansion to outbound vehicle lanes, though no public timeline was provided.
Index analysis
A recent test of CBP's facial recognition system at a Texas-Mexico crossing showed the cameras met face-matching validation requirements only 61 percent of the time, prompting the agency to ask tech companies for suggestions on how to improve tracking of vehicle occupants including those seated in rear rows.
Classification
Sources and evidence
This record was researched and written by the Index, based on the following original reporting.