Victor Ortega BROWNSVILLE – Sites like the Brownsville International Gateway Bridge near the UTRGV campus are now advertising the collection of biometric data from all noncitizens entering the country, according to a Nov. 20 news release from the Department of Homeland Security.
Faces of noncitizens are being stored in a government database to verify their identity as part of a new biometrics rule by DHS.
Reynaldo Anzaldua, Department of Informatics and Engineering systems professor, said biometrics is an evolving technology since the last century.
“Biometrics is not anything new, by the way,” Anzaldua said. “And, biometrics is just basically using some form of your body to verify something, whether it’s your fingerprint, your iris, your voice. It’s using one of your unique body attributes to verify one, that it’s you, that kind of thing.”
According to the Human Rights Research Center, biometric data collection is part of millions of individuals daily routine, such as fingerprints and facial recognition in mobile apps.
Rodolfo Richards, international business senior, is a student from Mexico City. He crosses to and from Reynosa at least twice a week.
Richards said he has no issue with the recent development due to the measures already in place to get a visa.
“When I got my Visa they asked me a lot of questions, they interviewed me for everything. They checked my social media, my pictures, my family,” Richards said. “I already accepted [DHS] having all of my information, so I don’t feel like this affects me.”
Jose Perez, accounting junior, is a US citizen. He said he believes the new biometric measures are good for security purposes.
“I don’t see an issue. On the contrary, I think it’s a security measure, not only for the country but for everyone that enters the country.”
Diane J. Sabatino, Customs and Border Protection Active Executive Assistant, said they are working to advance the technology to further protect ports of entry.
