U.S. to Photograph and Track Every Non-Citizen Entering or Leaving the Country Under New Rule

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has finalized a rule authorizing Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to photograph and track every non-U.S. citizen entering or departing the country, marking the full implementation of a long-delayed biometric entry-exit system.

The regulation, set to take effect December 26, empowers CBP to photograph "all aliens" at every port of entry and departure — including airports, seaports, and land crossings — as well as "any other point of departure."

DHS calls the initiative an "operational modernization" designed to enhance border security and reduce visa overstays, as Biometric Update reports. Civil-liberties advocates, however, describe it as a sweeping expansion of government surveillance.

The new rule eliminates previous pilot limits and age exemptions, allowing for facial-recognition cameras to operate at virtually every border interface the agency controls. The data collected will feed into CBP's Traveler Verification Service (TVS), a facial-recognition system that compares live images against existing passport and visa databases.

Verified matches are transmitted to CBP officers in real time, while photographs of non-citizens can be retained for up to 75 years in DHS's Automated Biometric Identification System (IDENT).

Until now, biometric screening has been uneven across entry and exit points. CBP's "Simplified Arrival" program already photographs most foreign travelers upon entry, but departures — especially by land and sea — were often unmonitored. The new rule closes those gaps and expands coverage nationwide.

DHS says the system will "streamline inspections," reduce document fraud, and "close information gaps" in tracking those who enter and fail to depart.

Though the rule applies to non-citizens, the cameras do not distinguish between citizens and non-citizens in real time. CBP says participation by U.S. citizens remains voluntary, with images deleted within twelve hours once citizenship is confirmed. However, a 2022 Government Accountability Office report found that privacy notices were inconsistent and that airline contractors were frequently unclear about how to handle opt-outs.

Critics, including the American Civil Liberties Union and the Center for Democracy & Technology, have raised concerns over data retention, potential misidentifications, and the risk of biometric data sharing between DHS, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and intelligence agencies. They warn the system could evolve into a long-term tracking tool affecting millions of lawful residents and visa holders.

The rule follows years of incremental expansion. On August 11, CBP issued a Request for Information seeking advanced facial-capture technology for high-traffic ports of entry, describing the move as part of efforts to "enable travelers to proceed in a continuous flow" while identities are verified within seconds.

CBP officials estimate that full nationwide implementation of the new system will take three to five years, depending on infrastructure development across hundreds of land, air, and maritime crossings.