Customs officers at IAH take a closer look at faces

Photo of Andrea Leinfelder

Customs and Border Protection is analyzing the distance between travelers' eyes and the width of their foreheads to better track international travelers.


"The use of biometrics is approaching an almost everyday type of experience," said Henry Harteveldt, founder of San Francisco-based Atmosphere Research Group, a travel industry research company. "It's much more common now than it was 10 to 20 years ago."




Customs "sees potential for the technology to transform the travel process provided privacy issues can be addressed," an agency spokesperson said in an email. "The use of biometrics to confirm identity from the beginning to the end of travel has the potential to reduce the frequency travelers have to present travel documents throughout the airport."


Officials say capturing this type of biometric information will ensure travelers aren't lying about their identity. And the agency spokesperson emphasized that Customs worked closely with its privacy office. If the photo captured at boarding is matched to a U.S. passport, the photo of that traveler - having been confirmed as a U.S. citizen - is discarded after a short period of time.

"I don't think there's going to be any resistance by consumers to this," Harteveldt said, "provided they're given very clear explanations about what information is being collected, why it's being collected and a high-level understanding of the safeguards that will be taken to keep their biometrics data safe and secure."

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How facial recognition technology works

Individuals have their picture taken, and software measures different points on the face: the distance between their eyes, the width of their forehead, the distance from top of their forehead to bottom of the chin, etc.

"There are all kinds of different measurements that you can use," said Betsy Sigman, professor of operations and information management at Georgetown University's McDonough School of Business.

The software then compares those measurements with pictures in a database until it finds a match.

Sigman called the facial recognition technology "extremely effective."

Opinions vary on whether capturing such data from departing travelers will boost security or hurt airlines' on-time performance. But the point is moot. Laws requiring exit control have been on the books for many years.

"It is already required by law, and it has taken way too long to implement an effective exit technology," said Andrew Arthur, resident fellow in law and policy at the Center for Immigration Studies, a Washington, D.C.-based think tank that pushes for stricter immigration controls.


Harteveldt, however, said passport and visa information is already collected when travelers leave the country. He doesn't believe biometrics are needed.

"I'm just not sure it adds a lot of value to the exit process," he said.

But compared with fingerprint technology, Harteveldt said facial scanning can be faster and cleaner. There's no need to touch anything. Customs officers at Bush Intercontinental began taking the fingerprints of some departing international travelers in 2015.



The new technology is supposed to be faster and more accurate.

"Whether that's true or not, time will tell," Roman said.


They both agree, however, that the vigilance is warranted.

"Our technology needs to keep evolving," Roman said. "We need to keep changing what we're doing. It makes it more difficult for the insurgents to create long-term research and development projects to overcome existing technology."