The U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is moving forward with plans to photograph every individual leaving the country by car, a major expansion of its biometric surveillance program. According to a statement made to Wired by CBP spokesperson Jessica Turner, the agency aims to eventually apply facial recognition technology to outbound vehicle traffic at official border crossings — though no specific timeline for the rollout has been announced.
This marks a significant broadening of the agency’s current efforts, which already include photographing and matching the faces of travelers entering the United States with government records such as passports, visas, and green cards. “Although we are still working on how we would handle outbound vehicle lanes, we will ultimately expand to this area,” Turner stated.CBP’s use of biometrics for tracking travelers began over a decade ago, gaining momentum in 2016 with pilot programs at airports. That year, in partnership with Delta Air Lines, CBP started photographing passengers boarding international flights — starting with a Tokyo-bound flight at Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport. Since then, the program has grown to encompass 57 major U.S. airports, including LAX, JFK, and DFW.
According to CBP, facial recognition is favored for its simplicity and user-friendliness. “Everybody knows how to stand in front of a camera and have his or her photo taken,” said John Wagner, deputy assistant commissioner of CBP’s Office of Field Operations. In contrast, iris scans and fingerprint collection have proven more complex for travelers to perform correctly.
However, facial recognition is not the only biometric method in use. CBP also employs handheld devices — known as Biometric Exit Mobile — at airports to collect certain travelers’ fingerprints, which are then cross-checked against law enforcement databases. The agency claims this multi-layered biometric system enhances national security by identifying individuals with criminal records attempting to leave under false identities.Though often associated with the Trump administration’s immigration agenda — including incentives for undocumented immigrants to self-deport — CBP’s biometric exit tracking predates his presidency. Since the creation of the Department of Homeland Security after 9/11, immigration enforcement and surveillance have increasingly been framed as national security imperatives. Biometric data collection, once a niche pilot, is becoming a cornerstone of how the U.S. manages both its borders and its image of who belongs within them.
As civil liberties groups raise concerns about privacy, data security, and government overreach, the CBP continues to frame its actions as both legal and necessary. But the expansion into outbound traffic — especially personal vehicle travel — suggests a future where every international traveler is not just tracked, but thoroughly documented.
