The Department of Homeland Security issued a proposal to increase the use of biometrics.
“DHS has determined that it is necessary to expand its routine biometric collections to include individuals associated with immigration benefit requests or other requests or collection of information, and to perform other functions related to administering and enforcing the immigration and naturalization laws, such as verifying identity,” the proposed rule, published on the Federal Register, says. “Using biometrics for identity verification and management will assist DHS’s efforts to combat trafficking, confirm the results of biographical criminal history checks, and deter fraud.”
The program is estimated to cost $288.7 million annually and $2.5 billion over ten years.
The department warned that current reliance on “biographic data may result in errors, misidentification of individuals, and the potential that immigration benefits may be granted to ineligible or incorrect individuals or imposters.”
“In contrast to biographic data, using biometrics for identity verification and management in the immigration lifecycle will help ensure that an individual’s immigration records pertain only to that specific individual,” DHS explained.
Comments on the rule may be submitted until January 2.
A similar biometrics program was announced over the summer.
The United States and Chile signed a new Biometric Identification Transnational Migration Alert Program (BITMAP) letter of intent to affirm their commitment to information sharing.
According to DHS, the BITMAP is a “bridge” for the two countries. Once the program is operational, the countries will “enjoy increased cooperation in identifying and tracking transnational criminals, terrorists, and other high-risk individuals who are attempting to enter American borders,” the agency said. The program will further allow Chilean officials to vet prisoners.
