Dominican Republic deploys pilot facial recognition system on Haiti border

The Dominican Republic has begun a pilot for a facial recognition system along its border with Haiti, the Director General of Immigration announced.

Vice Admiral Luis Rafael Lee Ballester said the new biometric technology is part of a broader effort to regulate cross-border security and strengthen identification for commerce.

Ballester explained that biometric equipment has been installed and is being tested as part of the pilot program. A representative from the U.S. Customs and Border Protection accompanied Ballester to review the Directorate’s technological rollout and to discuss cooperation.

“In a few days we will be working on a resolution that the General Directorate of Immigration will issue, establishing the biometric procedures and regulations that foreigners participating in binational markets must comply with,” Ballester said, as quoted in Jamaica Observer.

In other words, following a test phase, immigration authorities will issue official regulations governing how foreigners must register their biometric data and declare their country of origin before participating in commercial activities on Dominican soil.

The announcement coincides with a push to increase immigration interdictions. Ballester urged undocumented Haitian migrants to depart voluntarily, warning that newly trained immigration agents will step up enforcement.

In 2023, DR president Luis Abinader vowed to implement a biometric data collection system at the country’s western border with Haiti despite opposition from its neighbor. Haitians expressed strong disapproval at the plan, fearing it could make it difficult to re-enter the Dominican Republic after returning to their country.

The Caribbean nation has been building a wall with biometric features at the border with Haiti as part of a plan to control illegal immigration and the flow of illicit goods. The border wall has a biometrics capturing system provided by Dermalog to monitor border movements.

Article Topics

biometric identification  |  biometrics  |  border security  |  Caribbean  |  DERMALOG  |  Dominican Republic  |  facial recognition  |  Haiti