---
title: "U.S. Homeland Security Wants to Scan the Face of All Travelers"
description: "The Department of Homeland Security is proposing regulations that would require all travellers to have their faces scanned when entering or leaving the U.S."
date: "2019-12-03"
modified: "2019-12-03"
authors:
  - name: "Victor Tangermann"
    job_title: "Senior Editor"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor"
url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/us-homeland-security-scan-face-all-travelers"
categories:
  - "Future Society"
tags:
  - "biometric"
  - "customs and border protection"
  - "department of homeland security"
  - "the digest"
---

# U.S. Homeland Security Wants to Scan the Face of All Travelers

![The Department of Homeland Security is proposing regulations that would require all travellers to have their faces scanned when entering or leaving the U.S.](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/us-homeland-security-scan-face-all-travelers.jpg>)
*\<em\>Image: Delta\</em\>*

## Say Cheese

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is set to propose regulations next July that would require all travelers to consent to face scans when entering or leaving the U.S., [according to *Reuters*](<https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-immigration-privacy/u-s-homeland-security-proposes-face-scans-for-citizens-idUSKBN1Y62JO>).

The idea is to cut down on the number of fraudulent uses of travel documents and help catch criminals and suspected terrorists. But unsurprisingly, the plans are already being met with sharp criticism.

"Travelers, including U.S. citizens, should not have to submit to invasive biometric scans simply as a condition of exercising their constitutional right to travel," senior policy analyst at the American Civil Liberties Union Jay Stanley told *Reuters*.

## Big Brother

The U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), the largest law enforcement arm of the DHS, has already been testing technologies that involve collecting biometric data from foreign travelers. According to a DHS report released in April, the CBP's Biometric Exit program will be dramatically be expanded to [cover 97 percent](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/airport-face-scans-97-percent>) of outbound passengers within four years at U.S. airports.

An even more [controversial project](<https://futurism.com/facial-recognition-us-borders>) [first reported on by *The Verge* in 2018](<https://www.theverge.com/2018/6/5/17427150/facial-recognition-vehicle-face-system-homeland-security-immigration-customs>) involved U.S. border agents scanning faces of drivers at land crossings without even receiving consent first.

**READ MORE:** [U.S. homeland security proposes face scans for citizens](<https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-immigration-privacy/u-s-homeland-security-proposes-face-scans-for-citizens-idUSKBN1Y62JO>) \[*Reuters*\]

**More on biometric scans:** *[US Airports Will Scan 97% of Outbound Flyers’ Faces Within 4 Years](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/airport-face-scans-97-percent>)*

## Author
I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida.

### Author social links  
[Bluesky](<https://bsky.app/profile/vtanger.bsky.social>)