PAF
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Anthony Kimery
July 04, 2025
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is on the verge of reissuing a sweeping regulatory overhaul that will usher in a new nationwide biometric surveillance regime. One that could also see the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) biometric database being put under CBP authority.
Beyond the regulatory text lies a broader convergence of state surveillance, Silicon Valley influence, and anti-immigrant enforcement priorities that will be fueled by a budget that is set to dramatically expand CBP’s mandate and bankrolls the companies that benefit from it. It also gives credence to allegations – first reported by Biometric Update – that CBP will be given authority over DHS’s Office of Biometric Identity Management (OBIM).
At the core of this new regulation is facial recognition technology, which will be embedded into CBP’s Traveler Verification Service (TVS) and applied across all air, sea, and land ports of entry and exit, marking a revival and formalization of Trump-era ambitions to track every non-U.S. citizen who crosses the country’s borders. TVS is a cloud-based facial recognition system designed to automate identity verification across all travel modes.
The regulation appears to closely align with a 2020 Trump DHS proposal to collect the biometrics of all aliens entering and leaving the U.S. – a regulation that was shelved by the Biden administration in 2021 following the first round of public comments.
While the stated intent behind the reg’s revival is the need to track every non-U.S. citizen who crosses the country’s borders, TVS will also capture the face of every U.S. citizen in the process, which is a technological capability that CPB has been working on for some time.
The regulation, RIN 1651-AB12, was submitted by DHS to the White House’s Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs on July 3. If approved, it will be issued as an interim final rule – an administrative shortcut that enables DHS to begin enforcement immediately without first receiving public comment.
Under the Administrative Procedure Act (APA), agencies can bypass the normal rulemaking process in specific cases using the “good cause” exception provision, which states that “when the agency for good cause finds … that notice and public procedure thereon are impracticable, unnecessary, or contrary to the public interest,” a final rule can be issued without public comment and review.
.
.
Under this bill, CBP’s $23 billion budget for 2024 would nearly triple, with tens of billions allocated for biometric and AI-powered surveillance tools. This is not merely a funding measure—it is a legislative framework that consolidates surveillance power in the hands of both the state and a select few private corporations. The 940-page bill does much more than allocate dollars; it would codify a vision of the national security state where biometric surveillance, AI, and immigration enforcement converge at unprecedented scale.
Among the beneficiaries are Anduril Industries and Palantir Technologies, two companies whose founders have deep ties to Trump and the tech-libertarian wing of Silicon Valley. Anduril, founded by Oculus creator and Trump donor Palmer Luckey, stands to gain significantly from the bill’s $2.8 billion set-aside for surveillance towers and sensors along the southern and maritime borders.
.
.
Read full article here:
www.biometricupdate.com
July 04, 2025
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is on the verge of reissuing a sweeping regulatory overhaul that will usher in a new nationwide biometric surveillance regime. One that could also see the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) biometric database being put under CBP authority.
Beyond the regulatory text lies a broader convergence of state surveillance, Silicon Valley influence, and anti-immigrant enforcement priorities that will be fueled by a budget that is set to dramatically expand CBP’s mandate and bankrolls the companies that benefit from it. It also gives credence to allegations – first reported by Biometric Update – that CBP will be given authority over DHS’s Office of Biometric Identity Management (OBIM).
At the core of this new regulation is facial recognition technology, which will be embedded into CBP’s Traveler Verification Service (TVS) and applied across all air, sea, and land ports of entry and exit, marking a revival and formalization of Trump-era ambitions to track every non-U.S. citizen who crosses the country’s borders. TVS is a cloud-based facial recognition system designed to automate identity verification across all travel modes.
The regulation appears to closely align with a 2020 Trump DHS proposal to collect the biometrics of all aliens entering and leaving the U.S. – a regulation that was shelved by the Biden administration in 2021 following the first round of public comments.
While the stated intent behind the reg’s revival is the need to track every non-U.S. citizen who crosses the country’s borders, TVS will also capture the face of every U.S. citizen in the process, which is a technological capability that CPB has been working on for some time.
The regulation, RIN 1651-AB12, was submitted by DHS to the White House’s Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs on July 3. If approved, it will be issued as an interim final rule – an administrative shortcut that enables DHS to begin enforcement immediately without first receiving public comment.
Under the Administrative Procedure Act (APA), agencies can bypass the normal rulemaking process in specific cases using the “good cause” exception provision, which states that “when the agency for good cause finds … that notice and public procedure thereon are impracticable, unnecessary, or contrary to the public interest,” a final rule can be issued without public comment and review.
.
.
Under this bill, CBP’s $23 billion budget for 2024 would nearly triple, with tens of billions allocated for biometric and AI-powered surveillance tools. This is not merely a funding measure—it is a legislative framework that consolidates surveillance power in the hands of both the state and a select few private corporations. The 940-page bill does much more than allocate dollars; it would codify a vision of the national security state where biometric surveillance, AI, and immigration enforcement converge at unprecedented scale.
Among the beneficiaries are Anduril Industries and Palantir Technologies, two companies whose founders have deep ties to Trump and the tech-libertarian wing of Silicon Valley. Anduril, founded by Oculus creator and Trump donor Palmer Luckey, stands to gain significantly from the bill’s $2.8 billion set-aside for surveillance towers and sensors along the southern and maritime borders.
.
.
Read full article here:
CBP’s biometric border dragnet and the corporate state behind it | Biometric Update
US Customs and Border Protection is on the verge of reissuing a sweeping regulatory overhaul that will usher in a new nationwide biometric surveillance regime.
www.biometricupdate.com
