DHS says its biometric-at-sea trial is a success

DHS announced last week that in the first year of operation, its biometrics-at-sea program has been a success and accomplished its intended goals. In its first twelve months, the program collected biometric data from 1,368 migrants, prosecuted 90 of those migrants, and helped reduce the flow of illegal migration by nearly 50 percent in the waters between Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic. “The Coast Guard is charged with securing America’s borders along more than 95,000 miles of coastline,” said Rear Adm. Wayne Justice, director of Response Policy. “The use of biometric technology is an effective tool which will help increase maritime domain awareness through the positive identification of those we interdict. This collaborative effort is helping to deter illegal migration by applying consequences through successful prosecution.”

This program was initiated last November, and it is an information sharing effort between US VISIT and the U.S. Coast Guard aiming to identify illegal migrants who are interdicted at sea. The pilot program provides the Coast Guard with the technical capability to capture fingerprints digitally from illegal migrants apprehended at sea. The Coast Guard then uses satellite technology to compare the migrant information against US VISIT’s data, which includes information about wanted criminals, immigration violators, and those who have previously encountered government authorities. Until now, the Coast Guard did not have the technology accurately to identify illegal migrants interdicted in highly traveled areas, such as the area around Puerto Rico. The success of the program means that the government will now be willing to develop and fund effective mobile solutions for biometric collection and analysis.