Non-U.S. citizens traveling through Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport on their way out of the country are part of a new Customs and Border Protection pilot of handheld fingerprinting devices.
Using mobile, quick-scan devices, CBP officers will be stationed at the loading gate for select departing flights recording fingerprints and passports of foreign nationals. Those records will be compared in real time to biometrics taken when the traveler entered the country to ensure the person who landed is the same person leaving.
CBP is piloting several similar biometric initiatives, all revolving around three core mission goals:
- Identify and close the biographic gaps and enhance the entry/exit system;
- Perform targeted biometric operations; and
- Transform the entry/exit process through the use of emerging biometric technologies.
As the pilot proceeds, the program will be expanded to nine more airports this fall: Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, Newark, New York, San Francisco and Washington-Dulles. The expanded pilot will run through June 2016.
Aaron Boyd is an awarding-winning journalist currently serving as editor of Federal Times — a Washington, D.C. institution covering federal workforce and contracting for more than 50 years — and Fifth Domain — a news and information hub focused on cybersecurity and cyberwar from a civilian, military and international perspective.
