US Homeland Security Resurrects Border Biometric Rule

The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has reintroduced a sweeping biometric data collection rule aimed at expanding surveillance across all national borders. Originally drafted under the first Trump administration, the revised regulation mandates facial recognition scans and other biometric captures from virtually all non-US citizens upon entry and exit – including children.

The updated rule, formally titled ‘Collection of Biometric Data from Aliens Upon Entry to and Departure from the United States’, expands biometric modalities beyond fingerprints and visa photos to include facial images, iris scans, fingerprints, and potentially DNA. The biometric screening will take place at all modes of entry: air, land, and sea.