The Trump administration wants to photograph anyone leaving the US in a car
US Customs and Border Protection wants to keep an eye on anyone leaving the country in a vehicle. Wire
This week, reported that the agency planned to photograph all passengers in cars traveling to Mexico or Canada via land. This included backseat passengers. The program will use facial recognition to match pictures with travel documents such as passports and visas. A CBP spokesperson told Wired that it was not immediately obvious that the surveillance system would track auto-deportations. However, she did not rule out future uses. CBP spokesperson Jessica Turner confirmed “Not to say it won’t happen in the future, though, with the way self-deportation is going,” .
The Trump administration has taken a number of self-deportation measures, including offering 1,000 payouts to undocumented migrants to leave the country on their own. It also listed 6,004 living immigrants on temporary parole as legally deceased. This included canceling their Social Security Numbers, effectively voiding the ability to work or receive benefits.
CBP’s incoming border crossing program will mirror the outgoing border photography plan. In a separate Wired report earlier in the week, the agency revealed that it had asked tech companies for suggestions on how to track all vehicles entering the country, including those sitting two or three rows behind. It is turning to Big Tech as its own efforts haven’t met expectations. CBP’s cameras failed to meet face-matching requirements in 61 percent cases during a recent test at a Texas/Mexico border crossing.
These moves coincide with a deteriorating immigration approval for President Trump. A late-April survey by WaPo, ABC News and Ipsos revealed that his approval rating for immigration was down seven points. In February, he was net positive on the topic with two points. A late-April poll by NYT and Sienna College revealed that 53 percent registered voters believed Trump had “gone too far” regarding immigration enforcement.
