The Department of Homeland Security has introduced updated directives mandating that foreign nationals, including green card holders and other legally residing non-U.S. citizens, be photographed upon entering or leaving the United States.

While facial recognition technology is already in use by Customs and Border Protection (CBP) at airport checkpoints, this new directive will expand its application to encompass all U.S. entry and exit points—whether by air, land, or sea.

This policy change aims to enhance CBP’s biometric screening program, facilitating more thorough image and data collection. The objective is to strengthen verification processes and combat document fraud.

The Department of Homeland Security has released a new travel rule requiring foreigners to be photographed during their entry or exit from the country. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

According to a summary in the Federal Register, “This final rule amends Department of Homeland Security (DHS) regulations to provide that DHS may require all aliens to be photographed when entering or exiting the United States, and may require non-exempt aliens to provide other biometrics.”

“The final rule also amends the regulations to remove the references to pilot programs and the port limitation to permit collection of biometrics from aliens departing from airports, land ports, seaports, or any other authorized point of departure. In addition, DHS is requesting comments on the specific collection process as well as costs and benefits for new transportation modalities,” it continued.

The rule also lifts previous age exemptions, authorizing facial recognition scans for travelers younger than 14 and older than 79.

CBP is expanding its existing process of photograph and data collection at airport, land and sea borders in an effort to provide enhanced security and additional oversight on travel documents. (Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/Getty Images)

“The exemptions in the current regulations for biometric collection based on the age of the individual (i.e., under 14 and over 79) were based on technological limitations on collecting fingerprints from children and elderly persons, as well as traditional law enforcement policies and other policies, such as not running criminal history background checks on children,” the policy stated.

“These exemptions are not applicable to CBP’s facial comparison-based biometric entry-exit program, as the use of biometrics has expanded beyond criminal history background checks and now plays a vital role in identity verification and management, and combatting the trafficking of children,” it added. “Furthermore, internal CBP studies of biometric facial match accuracy, historical matching data, examination of biometric matching of ages under 14 and over 79, and CBP standard operating procedures associated with these ages no longer support exempting facial biometric collection from these populations. Exemptions based on age will continue to apply to biometrics other than facial images.”

The new rules are slated to take effect on Dec. 26. (Getty Images)

The new rules are slated to take effect on Dec. 26.

The new rule comes as part of the Trump administration’s broader immigration enforcement agenda, which focuses on expanding border surveillance and tightening entry requirements.