SIBA issues statement urging biometric exit legislation

The Secure Identity & Biometrics Association (SIBA) has issued a statement encouraging Congress to pass biometric exit legislation in the United States.

“This key 9/11 Commission recommendation need wait no longer for full implementation at air and sea ports. The science is there, and proof is in the 16 nations that have fully implemented best-in-class biometrics that speed travel and virtually eliminate fraud, most of them in the past couple of years,” SIBA CEO Janice Kephart said in the statement. “Passage of a biometric exit bill – and full deployment by DHS– is both cost-effective and feasible now.”

“DHS established technical feasibility back in 2009 when two air pilots, one in Detroit and the other in Atlanta, confirmed that biometrics not only work, but are support immigration integrity and security goals,” Kephart says. “Also, technology innovations in the last five years have significantly reduced deployment costs of an integrated biometric exit system—making it even more affordable.”

According to SIBA, this particular study found that one in 30,000 travelers refused biometric enrolment.

Biometric exit systems are a contentious topic of debate in border control and biometrics communities.

Reported previously in BiometricUpdate.com, last year, the European Data Protection Supervisor published a scathing response to a proposed biometrics entry and exit system for travelers in the EU, arguing there is too much to be worried about, including cost, access to data and necessity.

This has also previously been debated by the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee.

Article Topics

Congress  |  exit legislation  |  SIBA