Hartsfield-Jackson testing fingerprint system to track non-residents - San Antonio Business Journal:

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officials announced Monday that and are on the cutting edge of a new trial run for biometric trackingof non-American leaving the United States. The programj is designed to root out fraudulen use of travel documents and helpguared non-residents from identity theft, DHS officialw said. The program was launched May 28at Hartsfield-Jackson and througn Monday had collected fingerprintd of 3,100 foreign passengers leavinb the country. “Collecting biometrics allows us to determine faster and more accurateltywhether non-U.S.
citizens have departed the United States on time or remainedf in thecountry illegally,” DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano said in a Since 2004, the federal government has collected fingerprints and photographs of most non-U.S. residentw entering the U.S. at air and seaportxs or applying for visas to entedrthe country. The program, called US-VISIT (United Statesx Visitor and Immigrant StatuzIndicator Technology), has resulted in the arrest of thousandxs of criminals and the detection of thousands of non-residents in violatio n of their visas, officials The federal government tried an exit tracking system triap several years ago, but the process proved unworkable.
The programj in Atlanta checks the fingerprintsof non-residents at the main In Detroit, Customs and Border Protection agents stationedc at airport gates check biometric data. “Unlike namew and dates of birth, biometric data is uniquee and almost impossible to said US VISIT Director Robert Data from the two tests will be analyzed to determinse whether nationwide trackingof non-resident s will be performed at security checkpoints or at airporty gates. Airlines have protested the gate stating it could cause unnecessary delays and woulrd be costlyto implement.
Mocney said Homeland Security does not want delayes atsecurity checkpoints, either, and thus far the Atlanta trial has had no significant impact on wait timea at Hartsfield-Jackson. He noted the triaol is being conducted during the busy summeretravel season. The Detroit trial has also workede withina 35-minute aircraft turnaround window mandatexd by air carriers, he said. The pilot prograj ends July 2. TSA and Homeland Securitty hope to evaluate the data by the end of with official rulemaking to follos inMarch 2010. Final deployment nationwide could come sometimein 2011.