At many international departure gates, a camera is mounted at the gate or held by a government customs officer or airline staff member, to take a live photo of each passenger during boarding.
That image is sent to the Customs and Border Protection cloud-based Traveler Verification Service, which compares each person’s mugshot to a gallery built from your passport or visa photo and compares it to the flight manifest. The government has already checked the flight manifest and decided who can travel and who can’t. Now they want to match people against the manifest. If there’s a match, you’re allowed to depart the country. If there’s no match, you get a manual document check.
Historically, the U.S. didn’t have exit controls. The government vetted people entering the country, but there was no checkpoint to leave. Now we have “biometric exit.”
And this is expanding. An ‘interim final rule’ cleared this month, removing limits in place for the program’s pilot and authorizing nationwide deployment across air, sea and land borders.
Biometric Gates at LAX
The program has been nearly a quarter century in coming. It’s authorized by 8 U.S.C. § 1365b which originated with 2001’s PATRIOT Act and was further developed in the Enhanced Border Security Act of 2002.
In theory, U.S. citizens can opt out and get a manual ID boarding pass check instead. But there’s still an exit checkpoint to compare people against the manifest in order to verify that you’re authorized to leave. Customs and Border Protection says live photos are retained for up to 12 hours and then deleted.
- Actual experience is that opt-out notices at gates can be hard to find
- And that government and airline staff inconvenience passengers who opt out
The imigration agency’s traveler verification service is also used at TSA checkpoints, and has already become effectively less optional as its use becomes more widespread.
I used to think of the U.S., U.K., and Canada as being pretty unique in not having departure immigration controls. You just leave the country, but that really isn’t true anymore.
- United States: while there’s no departing immigration step to go through along with security, airlines are required to transmit departure manifests for every international outbound flight. The government has the opportunity to bar exit. And there’s now ‘biometric exit’ (facial recognition at the boarding gate) at 57 airports.
- United Kingdom: while there’s no staffed outbound immigration counters, the U.K. runs ‘exit checks’ where airlines scan passports and transmit data to the Home Office on all scheduled international departures. It’s not a physical exit booth, but exit controls have been in place since 2015.
- Canada: has no staffed outbound booth at airports, but they began collecting land exit data in 2019, and air exit data in mid-2020 from airline manifests.
And while most countries have immigration checkpoints to pass through prior to departure, it’s still the case that you can leave Ireland without one (as with others, they receive passenger reservations data and can effectively stop exits when desired) and the same goes for the Bahamas when leaving for countries other than the U.S. where passengers go through U.S. immigration (preclearance) prior to departure.
If you’re flying an international departure from the U.S., assume going forward that there may be a face scan at the gate.
These scans fail to match around 3% of the time – much higher for darker-skinned people and women – which means delaying their boarding. These tools are expected to extend to “every transaction in the airport” and airline participation gets them access to the data, which then becomes commercialized.
The Latin phrase civis romanus sum or “I am a Roman citizen” was enough to travel across the vast Roman Empire unaccosted, because the retribution of Rome was known to be both fierce and certain if one of their citizens was harmed. That was the Roman passport.
Modern passports weren’t needed to travel much of the world before World War I.
We’ve come a long way in the wrong direction over the last 100 years. You now have to ask permission from the government to leave, not just enter. But that’s been true for years – it just wasn’t as obvious, your biometrics weren’t collected for it, and that’s something that’s only expanding.
I’m an old fashioned civil libertarian, which makes me something of a dinosaur. I realize the ship on this has sailed, but I’ll still mourn the passing of a time when we didn’t need to show our papers – back when those papers weren’t digitized.
I feel the same way, Gary. And the digitizing system worked very poorly for me when I spent two months in the Dominican Republic. My beard got thicker and the computer couldn’t match the picture of me coming in with that going out. Eventually someone just overrode it.
But you know, given this administration’s obsession with getting people who they don’t want in the U.S. to leave, you would think that they would go the other way. Happily wave everybody out the door, the more the better, while making it tougher to return.
Biometric boarding is still OPTIONAL on international departures. This was purely a convenience for airlines to not staff gate agents for self boarding.
Similar to TSA you can still opt out and the amount of people doing so is increasing. Ironically, cuz DJT and California is quite pushing back on this. Ironically, last year they were all for it and wanted to use biometrics to verify vaccine cards etc…..so there was no fake vaccine passports out there…..
Privacy is privacy no matter what the issue…..
@ Gary — “Sent to the cloud.” What could possibly go wrong?
As always, well said, @drrichard.
Gary, you’d think those of us who frequent your blog would be in-favor of the relatively free and orderly movement of people and commerce, globally; you know, because we travel a lot… instead, we unfortunately have a small cohort of incredibly restrictive, regressive, and revisionist folks, who inevitably are gonna spread some horrible thoughts about this policy and their fellow humans. *deep sigh*
CBP may retain your live photos for up to 12 hours, although I highly doubt it, but the DHS, FBI, NSA, etc. will keep them long after you’re dead.
Ironically you can now leave many former Warsaw Pact countries into Western Europe without a passport or any papers. My how times have changed.
This is so easily extrapolated to nightmare scenarios. Pics get taken of peaceful protesters. Those get kept indefinitely by the FBI. Pics can be shared between government databases. Protesters get labeled part of “a terrorist organization.” Someone who protested peacefully could then be headed out of the country for a [much needed] vacation. Their pic flags them in the database as a “known terrorist.” Not only are they refused boarding/leaving — they get imprisoned without a warrant or probable cause. It could also be used to keep women from leaving (because @bortions!) and imprison them too. And once birthright citizenship is revoked, they’ll use this as a way to abuse people, because the cruelty is the point, not having more people leave voluntarily.
@LS – we can only hope this info is used for these purposes. I’m all for cracking down on protestors specifically. Most are radical and if not terrorists they do often break laws and commit terroristic acts. They need to start paying for their actions and I’m glad we are now committed to cracking down on them. About time the US and law enforcement grew a set of
in other news, ICAO decided to deny IATA’s request to raise mandatory pilot ages from 65 to 67 which makes it very unlikely to succeed in the US.
Bring out your tin foil hats!
@Retired Gambler — You’re referring to January 6, right? Oh, you’re not…see.
I’m a little lost on the issue. The state, or almost all of us, have had our photos from our Drivers License.
Now the feds have it directly rather than getting them from the state.
In the meanwhile, TSA lines are much quicker.
Unless you are arguing for no photo ids ever, including for drinking age and drivers license.
@Gary Leff — Did you see that Icelandic LCC Play abruptly ceased operations today? Is that a one-off, or is there more turbulence ahead!
Hmmmm. Small guvmint. At the least the 5 g chipped vaccines ain’t important now
Oh, and Greece is about to go on a General Strike starting October, so hope nobody’s planning on a late-season jaunt to Santorini…turbulence, friends, buckle up!
One disadvantage of such system is that fliers will be asked to remove their masks and expose themselves to possible pathogens.
I used to go from the USA to Canada as a kid on a bicycle with friends and had to show no identification. Coming back to the USA was the same. The ship sailed a long time ago on identification everywhere.
@derek — You meant to say… that the rest of us will be exposed to… looking at your face… eek!
@jns — Still going on about the bike, eh? Alright, Citizen Kane, tell us about Rosebud while you’re at it…
@drrichard: Surely you missed the part about how that has been 24 years in coming and was dictated by the so-called Patriot Act, which was a huge mistake IMO that was an overreaction to 9/11. Anyhow, it’s not a Trumpian idea – this was started back before the guy was even on The Apprentice.
@AngryFlier — And, the original problem with the Patriot Act was that whoever leads our country can and often does abuse its nearly-unlimited power, as each has done since, including #43, 44, 46, 45-47, both sides, all sides. Ever since, each just says a decision is for ‘national security’ or ‘an emergency’ (without further proof or explanation), then basically suspends the Constitution and does whatever they want to whomever they want without meaningful recourse. Regardless of which ‘team’ is in charge, this remains a very real problem for us all, and we really should’ve never enacted that law, and it still can and should be rescinded. This pretext of ‘security’ and preventing ‘terrorism’ (which is often re-defined to fit whatever needs and wants of those in power) is not a good enough reason to forever violate everyone’s privacy and other rights.
If you have done nothing illegal, you have very little to worry about. The United States got caught with its shorts down with the attack on Pearl Harbor (way before technology). One might think we learned from Pearl Harbor but then the bombing of the World Trade Center in 1993 and the catastrophic September 11th bombings (way better technology) caught us with our shorts down AGAIN!. A non-citizen comes to the United States legally. Gets a photograph made when leaving the home country and gets a photograph made upon entry to the US. Do the two match what’s on the passport and visa? Yes! Welcome aboard! Overstay your welcome..uh oh. Violate a US law and get a mug shot? Uh oh! The same thing can happen if a US citizen travels abroad. Violate the host country laws…uh oh! It’s too bad that so many bad actors around the world have disrupted the way things used to be. This isn’t “Beaver Cleaver’s” world any more. People are afraid of government overreach and I will agree with them, for the most part. I was born at the tail end of WW II, and yes, I don’t want to be stopped on the street by some jackbooted thug hissing, “I vant to see yourrr papers!” The United States has every right to protect and defend the borders. “Big Brother” is here folks. You might as well get used to it. So far, just opening the gates to anyone and everyone without vetting won’t protect the country. The country’s “fly is unzipped” right now. Got a better idea?
Isn’t one purpose of exit customs to catch individuals overstaying visas? Given the sheer number of airports in the US that have International travel it’s been unfeasible to build any kind of exit customs structures. Most airports do not have the room. As it stands now someone overstaying a visa in the US can easily leave and come back. I don’t know if custom officers (have the time) to check prior stamps for potential overstays.
Land border with Canada will have to change processing if everyone has to get out if the car for a photo.
Wow I agree with Fatty for once, bravo sir; credit where credit is due.
Except that I can see several high-handed moves coming up with this:
1) court order for child support will also flag use of a visa by citizens.
2) diagnosis of pregnancy could flag use of a visa for nine months unless canceled earlier by documented miscarriage. Otherwise no woman could leave the country on the assumption they are terminating their pregnancy
3) Autistics will be denied visas on the assumption that autism makes even a high masking person incompetent to travel.
It’s the end of an era for personal freedom.
This has almost nothing to do with Trump per se, his administration is simply implementing policy long in the works. Trump 45 was the only recent President to balk at Congress re authorizing the Patriot Act.
As more and more of the world travels there should be zero surprise that checks are getting automated (AI).
Just another byproduct of mass travel by the unwashed. Few people remember air travel before deregulation – sigh.
@ 1990 & Gary: agree
@Whitmore: FDR knew it was coming or should have known after cutting off oil to Japan. W should have known from Clarke if we wasn’t asleep at the switch & dumb as a brick. To my regret I voted for him the first time. “Elect the stupid one” is not good advice.
You’re conflating exit tracking, airline security, and exit visas. Nobody is stopping you from leaving and there is no legislation to stop you from leaving unless you have an arrest warrant, the same way it has always been. This is not a civil liberties matter.
And let’s reflect on how we got here: widespread international travel, visa overstays, and numerous actual terrorist attacks. You didn’t need a lot of security and controls as wealth and social customs restricted international travel to wealthy elites.
Finally, the civis Romanus analogy is wrong. First of all, the world is not the Roman/American empire. Secondly, legitimate Roman citizens were identifiable at a glance through dress and speech: you failed that test and you were in trouble. And less than 10% of the population were citizens.
@drrichard did it not occur to you to shave before leaving the country? Common sense dictates your passport photo and you look alike? I have come into and left the US on several occasions. I went through the interview, had my fingerprints taken and now have a Global Reentry Card, when leaving I have the TSA Pre-Check. If you are dealing with artificial intelligence, there are going to be glitches.
The Patriot Act is like a bad penny that just keeps coming back around. Repeal it, and release the Epstein files while we’re at it.
@Tom Thanks for the clear thoughts, agree 100%. Though the problem of abuse remains: when picking people out of a line just by recognizing their face is so easy, it begs for administrative minds to consider abusing it. Bureaucrats in power just can’t help themselves, everyone knows this… Absolute power corrupts absolutely.
So when the next idiot is in charge of the country, and she doesn’t like my (generally anonymous) comments on X about how locking people in their homes is authoritarian abuse of power, will I really be left in peace when showing my face at an airport? I guess I should remove my photo / facial features from my Twitter profile, yes… But I do wish for a world where I wouldn’t need to.
Slow and steady errosion of American rights by the fascist dictatorship.hope y’all are happy to have asked for this.
“Retired Gambler”…
You do realize that our forefathers had experience with tyrannical Kings who squashed anyone who spoke even the least against him. That is why it was Enshrined in our Constitution as the First Amendment. You listen too much to Fox FAKE NEWS (they admitted under oath that they lie and intentionally spread misinformation) and your Hero Vladimir Trump. Many of these “violent” protests were peaceful until Tyrant Trump sent in his Gestapo of thugs and former J6r’s who cowardly hide their faces because they KNOW what they are doing is wrong but have the perfect Thug Mindset to abuse others and turn peaceful protest ugly for their King.
So you think such action is Good for America and that all protestors (vast majority are and we’re peaceful) should be labeled terrorists. I wonder if you’d still feel that way if your daughter, granddaughter, son or grandson were to partake in a peaceful protest and later be labeled a terrorist. Perhaps not right now, but the future holds uncertainty. The only certainty is that Vladimir Trump wants to be King Over All and that is NOT America.
I’m really happy to see so many people in the comments here agree with my view (and Gary’s) that this is moving in the wrong direction. I’ve been opting out of the TSA photo for awhile now, and intend to opt out of this gate photo as well. I share the concerns many have stated of these photos being used for other purposes (remember when the IRS promised it would never allow tax records to be used for immigration enforcement…until ICE actually asked them to?)
And it’s not too late. Even if you haven’t opted out before, you can start now. One fewer picture in their database is still one fewer.
The Soviet Union had exit controls and a wall, too.