The United States will significantly expand its use of facial recognition technology to track non-citizens entering and leaving the country, according to a new federal regulation published on Friday. The rule aims to combat visa overstays and passport fraud, representing a major step in the long-standing effort to create a comprehensive biometric entry-exit system.
The regulation, scheduled to take effect on December 26, 2025, authorizes U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to require non-U.S. citizens to be photographed at all points of departure, including airports, seaports, and land border crossings. This move expands upon earlier pilot programs. Under the new rule, authorities could also mandate the submission of other biometric data, such as fingerprints or DNA. A notable change is the removal of previous age exemptions, meaning the requirement will now also apply to children under 14 and adults over 79.
This regulation is a direct effort to close a long-identified gap in U.S. immigration enforcement. The Congressional Research Service estimated in 2023 that about 42% of the approximately 11 million immigrants in the U.S. without legal status had initially entered with a visa and then overstayed their authorized period. The need for a system to track departures was highlighted after the 2001 terrorist attacks, as two of the perpetrators were found to have overstayed their visas. Although Congress first passed a law mandating an automated entry-exit system in 1996, its full implementation has been elusive for decades. Currently, CBP uses facial recognition for all commercial air arrivals but only records exits at certain locations. With this new rule, CBP estimates it can fully implement a biometric system at all commercial airports and seaports within the next three to five years.
The growing use of facial recognition at U.S. borders has raised significant concerns among privacy and civil rights watchdog groups. Critics are worried about government overreach and the potential for error in the technology. A 2024 report by the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights found that facial recognition systems are more likely to misidentify Black people and individuals from other minority groups, raising concerns about algorithmic bias. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has argued that the technology is unreliable and serves as a foundation for a "perpetual surveillance state," noting that while U.S. citizens can technically opt out, that choice is "often illusory" in practice. The Department of Homeland Security will open a new 30-day public comment period for the regulation starting October 27.