Nogales, Ariz. — U.S. Customs and Border Protection announced today the start of an innovative facial biometric test in select vehicle lanes at the Area Port of Nogales, Mariposa crossing, for travelers arriving in the United States. This enhanced process for international travel, known as Simplified Arrival biometric, uses facial biometrics to automate the manual document checks that are already required for admission into the United States and provides travelers with a secure, touchless travel experience.
“We are excited to be testing this innovative technology at the Mariposa crossing,” said Area Port Director Michael Humphries. “Simplified Arrival will enhance and further secure the vehicle entry process at our land border ports of entry.”
The new technology will be deployed at three marked inbound vehicle lanes at the Mariposa POE. As travelers approach the vehicle lanes with the facial biometric system, the camera will attempt to take a photo of each occupant in the vehicle and match it to photos of those travelers already in government holdings (i.e., images such as passport, visa, or prior encounters). Travelers who wish to opt out of the biometric testing can simply use a lane not designated “Biometric,” which will be clearly marked above lanes 3, 5, and 9. At all other lanes, the traveler will have the standard document check.
CBP has a Congressional mandate to biometrically record all foreign nationals who enter and exit the United States. The addition of facial biometrics to verify an individual's identity will strengthen security by providing CBP officers greater assurance to make an informed decision about a traveler's admissibility, while preventing impostors from using a genuine travel document that does not belong to them.
CBP remains committed to protecting the privacy of all travelers. U.S. citizens who use the lanes with facial biometric technology will have their photo deleted within 12 hours of the entry inspection process. Consistent with regulatory requirements, photos of foreign nationals who are required to provide biometrics, are securely transferred and stored in the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Automated Biometric Identification System (IDENT).
The biometric test will run for 4 weeks. Following, CBP will evaluate the system’s ability to capture a quality facial image for each occupant in the vehicle, as well as the efficacy of the biometric matching, to inform future biometric enhancements for vehicle entry processing.
Travelers are not required to complete any additional CBP processing by participating in the pilot; as a result, CBP anticipates minimal impact to the traffic flow at the Mariposa POE. For more information about CBP’s efforts to further secure and streamline travel through biometric facial comparison technology, please go to www.cbp.gov/travel.