SAN DIEGO — The federal government is using eye scans and facial recognition technology for the first time to verify the identities of foreigners leaving the United States on foot — a trial move aimed at closing a longstanding security gap, officials announced Thursday.
Before now, foreigners who left the country rarely were checked by U.S. authorities as they walked into Mexico or Canada through ports of entry.
The checkout system that launched Feb. 11 at a busy San Diego border crossing with Mexico aims to ensure those who enter the country leave when their visas expire and identify those who violate that. Up to half of the people in the U.S. illegally are believed to have overstayed their visas.
Border officials in December started collecting the same information on noncitizens walking into the U.S. through the Otay Mesa crossing connecting Tijuana and San Diego.
Congress has long demanded biometric screening such as fingerprints, facial images or eye scans from people leaving the country, but the task has posed enormous financial and logistical challenges at busy land crossings. Privacy advocates worry the data could be misused or fall into the wrong hands.
Authorities are using the trial runs to determine which technology is the fastest, most accurate and least intrusive in screening people coming and going at all land crossings along the 1,954-mile border with Mexico. Final results are expected this summer, with the goal of expanding the checks to all land, air and sea ports.
“That’s what we want to be able to do, is know when the person entered the country and know when they leave,” said Charmaine Rodriguez, assistant port director of the Otay Mesa cargo facility.
Ramon Rangel, a 29-year-old truck driver from Tijuana, walked his bicycle through the Otay Mesa checkpoint Thursday, scanning his documents, stepping onto painted footprints on the ground and looking up at a green light that registered his eye and facial features. The process to verify his identity with his documents took a few seconds.
“I was surprised, but I think it’s a good idea for the U.S. to know who’s leaving and whether they have a visa,” said Rangel, who crosses regularly and said the extra checks were quick.
Foreigners checked at the border who have overstayed their visas will be allowed to continue to Mexico, with a note on their record, officials said. Those with criminal records or warrants could be detained.
Federal officials say they will not share or retain the data collected in the trial runs.
