Warren Shepell had a disturbing experience this month while boarding a flight from Cleveland headed home to Toronto.
According to him, just before boarding the plane, two uniformed officers approached him on the boarding ramp (Jetway) and one took a photograph of him.
“I was stunned. I felt ambushed,” said Shepell, a renowned Canadian psychologist.
He says the men never explained who they were or why he was photographed.
“They didn't tell me anything and I just feel violated.”
Canadians visiting the United States will have to get used to being photographed while in transit: The country is moving forward with a plan to photograph Canadian travelers as they enter and exit the country on all modes of transportation.
For nearly a decade, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has used facial biometrics to verify the identity of international passengers arriving at U.S. airports. This process involves taking photographs of travelers and using biometric face comparison technology so that their face matches the photograph on their travel documents.
CBP is now expanding the program to collect images of departing passengers at all U.S. international airports. The agency also plans to photograph travelers as they enter and exit the country at all seaports, as well as in vehicle lanes. land borders.
CBP told CBC News it plans to fully implement facial biometric technology at land borders sometime next year. Full implementation at seaports and airports is expected within the next three to five years.
Meanwhile, CBP is already laying the groundwork for its plan. US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced the new rule on Friday this makes participation in the facial biometrics program mandatory for non-U.S. citizens, including Canadians. The regulation will go into effect on December 26, although full implementation of the program could take years.
Under the rule, photos of foreign travelers will be kept in the DHS database until they are 75 years old.
Many Canadian snowbirds crossing the land border into the United States have been told they must be photographed and fingerprinted as part of a new registration process.
CBP spokeswoman Jessica Turner said in an email that the expansion plan is consistent with “Congressional mandates to biometrically record most foreign nationals entering and leaving the United States.”
Facial biometrics are “about providing accurate records, enhancing security and enforcing immigration laws,” she said.
Tracking traveler departures also helps CBP identify those who have remained in the country longer than permitted.under the new DHS rule.
Privacy issues
Facial biometrics already in place at dozens of US airports for international departures. Turner confirmed that passenger Shepell was photographed by a CBP officer as part of this program.
Upon arrival at the airport, CBP uses fixed automatic capture cameras to photograph passengers. But the agency doesn't have fixed cameras in departure areas, so CBP officers are tasked with photographing travelers, Turner said.
The process at land borders will be less obvious. CPB is currently testing technology designed to “capture images of occupants in vehicles,” Turner said.
She says expanding the program will benefit travelers by providing a “fast, accurate and contactless method” to verify their identity.
This is also the wave of the future, with many countries introducing facial biometric technology at airports. Canada uses this for international arrivals, but says passengers can opt out by requesting a manual check. European Union rolls out a program that requires non-EU citizens to be fingerprinted and photographed before entering the region.
Despite its widespread use, the technology has raised concerns among privacy experts who say it could be misused.
“Building the infrastructure simply creates the opportunity to expand the mission,” said Jeramie Scott, senior adviser at the U.S. Electronic Privacy Information Center.
He says concerns are growing in the US, where there are no federal laws governing facial biometrics. This gap opens up the possibility of using traveler data for other purposes, such as tracking them, Scott says.
He noted that the Trump administration has already demonstrated that it will misuse personal data to help identify and deport illegal immigrants.
For example, recently the US Treasury signed an agreement share sensitive taxpayer data with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
“We've already seen this administration take information that they have … and try to use it for reasons or purposes beyond the original purpose for collecting it,” Scott said. “It really has a chilling effect across the board.”
TO calm Americans' concerns about privacyCBP assures them that it only stores their photographs for up to 12 hours, and that they I can refuse facial biometric data by requesting manual verification.
Canadians may also opt out for now, Turner said. But that will come to an end on December 26, when the new DHS rule goes into effect.
Passenger Shepell says no one told him he could refuse to be photographed. He says that if he had known, he would have refused.
“I just don’t trust the system,” Shepell said. “I’m a very strong proponent of privacy.”
But CBP's Turner said there's no need to worry about the facial biometrics program.
“CBP is committed to its privacy obligations and has taken steps to protect the privacy of all travelers,” she said.
Turner added that the agency uses facial comparison technology “only at certain times and in certain places where travelers are already required to show identification” and that the sole purpose of the program is to automate document checks.
A deterrent to travel?
Now that Shepell is aware of CBP's plans to expand facial biometrics, he is reconsidering further travel to the United States. He also thinks CBP should warn air travelers when border agents are waiting at the Jetway to take photos.
“I was also concerned about the fact that I was not warned in advance that this was going to happen,” he said.
US immigration lawyer Len Saunders says CBP's plan to photograph Canadians en masse could further harm Canada's tourism industry in the country.
“It certainly doesn’t help attract foreigners to the United States,” Saunders said. “This is another deterrent.”
Since U.S. President Donald Trump took office, travel by Canadians to the country has fallen sharply, partly due to anger over Trump's trade war and talk of Canada becoming the 51st state.
In SeptemberCompared to last year, return trips by Canadians heading to the U.S. were down 27 percent for air travel and nearly 35 percent for land travel.
However, Saunders says that even if that number drops further due to concerns about facial biometrics, it's unlikely the Trump administration will take action.
“They don't seem to be in the business of promoting tourism,” he said. “I don't think the American government really cares.”
