Customs and Border Protection collects a wealth of information through the technologies deployed at the ports of entry, all of which is stored in a master crossing record the agency keeps on every individual who enters the country.
That record contains information gathered at every crossing: the time, date and port of the crossing, the information taken from their travel documents, photos and data collected on their belongings and vehicles, and determinations made by customs officers throughout the process. For non-U.S. citizens, this also means biometric data, such as photos and fingerprints.
That record also includes data culled from a variety of federal databases and sources. But CBP doesn’t automatically share its records with other parts of the government—even other Homeland Security components. However, there are procedures and agreements in place that enable some information sharing, spreading the data beyond just CBP’s control.
Over the last few months, Nextgov has been reporting on where and how CBP collects information on people crossing the border, where and how that data is stored and shared, and the agency’s plans to collect and further integrate more data in the near future.
How Data Is Collected
Nextgov visited the Port of San Luis, Arizona in June, a land crossing on the southern border and one of two locations testing a facial recognition program for pedestrian travelers. CBP has been testing the program at land, air and seaports for a year, using the controversial technology to meet a Congressional mandate to use biometrics to authenticate travelers’ identities. The agency wants to integrate facial recognition technology into all ports of entry by 2025.
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