The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has introduced updated regulations requiring foreign nationals — including green card holders and other non-U.S. citizens legally residing in the country — to be photographed each time they enter or exit the United States.
While Customs and Border Protection (CBP) already uses facial recognition at airport checkpoints, this new rule significantly broadens the program to cover every U.S. entry and exit point, including air, land, and sea crossings.
The expanded initiative is designed to strengthen verification procedures, enhance national security, and reduce document fraud by collecting more comprehensive biometric data and images.
According to the summary of the rule published in the Federal Register, “This final rule amends Department of Homeland Security (DHS) regulations to provide that DHS may require all aliens to be photographed when entering or exiting the United States, and may require non-exempt aliens to provide other biometrics.”
It continues: “The final rule also amends the regulations to remove the references to pilot programs and the port limitation to permit collection of biometrics from aliens departing from airports, land ports, seaports, or any other authorized point of departure. In addition, DHS is requesting comments on the specific collection process as well as costs and benefits for new transportation modalities.”
A notable change in the policy removes previous age-based exemptions, now authorizing biometric facial scans for travelers younger than 14 and older than 79.
“The exemptions in the current regulations for biometric collection based on the age of the individual (i.e., under 14 and over 79) were based on technological limitations on collecting fingerprints from children and elderly persons, as well as traditional law enforcement policies and other policies, such as not running criminal history background checks on children,” the policy explains.
“These exemptions are not applicable to CBP’s facial comparison-based biometric entry-exit program, as the use of biometrics has expanded beyond criminal history background checks and now plays a vital role in identity verification and management, and in combatting the trafficking of children,” it adds. “Furthermore, internal CBP studies of biometric facial match accuracy, historical matching data, examination of biometric matching of ages under 14 and over 79, and CBP standard operating procedures associated with these ages no longer support exempting facial biometric collection from these populations. Exemptions based on age will continue to apply to biometrics other than facial images.”
The new policy is scheduled to take effect on December 26.
The update aligns with the Trump administration’s broader immigration and border-security agenda, which emphasizes expanded surveillance and stricter entry and exit verification systems.
