With the help of biometric technology, U.S. Customs and Border Protection stopped a woman reportedly attempting to cross the border from Canada to Whatcom County using a passport and COVID-19 vaccine information that were not her own.
The incident occurred the day after Thanksgiving on Nov. 26 at the Peace Arch Port of Entry in Blaine, according to a CBP news release on the incident.
"The addition of facial biometric technology and the vigilance of our CBP officers prevented the entry of someone suspected of fraudulently using another individual's passport and COVID-19 vaccination card to cross international borders," CBP Director of Field Operations for the Seattle Field Office Brian J. Humphrey said in the release. "This advanced biometric technology, combined with skilled CBP officers, provides travelers with a secure, efficient, and touchless arrival process that strengthens border security."
A CBP officer detected a facial mismatch while processing the woman, who arrived as a passenger in the bus terminal, according to the release.
The woman admitted to investigators that she was using her sister's U.S. passport and COVID-19 vaccination card because she had not been vaccinated, according to the release.
"Simplified Arrival is an enhanced international arrival process that uses biometric facial comparison technology to automate the manual document checks that are already required for admission into the United States," the release states. "This process provides travelers with a secure, touchless travel experience while fulfilling a longstanding Congressional mandate to biometrically record the entry and exit of non-U.S. citizens."
The process compares biometric facial data when travelers have already been required to verify their identity by presenting travel documents, according to the release. Travelers who arrive in pedestrian lanes or undergo I-94 process to pause for a photo at a primary inspection point, and a CBP officer then reviews the documents and compares the photo to the traveler's passport or visa photo on file.
"This enhanced process using facial biometrics only takes a few seconds and is more than 98 percent accurate," according to the release. "In addition, foreign travelers who have traveled to the United States previously may no longer need to provide fingerprints, as their identity will be confirmed through the touchless facial biometric process."
U.S. travelers and foreign nationals can opt out of the biometric process by notifying a CBP officer as they approach the primary inspection point and are then processed with previously established processes for admission to the U.S., according to the release.
CBP also said that it has employs "strong technical security safeguards" to protect personally identifiable information used in the facial biometric process, according to the release, as new photo comparisons of U.S. citizens are deleted within 12 hours and those of foreign nationals are stored in a secure U.S. Department of Homeland Security system.
Since the system was implemented, 113 million travelers have been processed using biometric facial comparisons at air, land and sea ports of entry, according to the release. CBP also has prevented 1,100 impostors from illegally entering the U.S. by using travel documents issued to other people, the release reported.
