Get ready to strike a pose and say “cheese” if you’re heading to the U.S., because any visits to our southern neighbour will soon come with a photo op.
What happened: The U.S. Department of Homeland Security announced that all non-U.S. citizens entering or leaving the country, including at land and sea borders, could be required to be photographed. Border officers will also be allowed to require travellers to submit other biometrics, like fingerprints.
- The move is a significant expansion of the U.S. facial biometrics program, which has existed at certain international airports for years.
Why it matters: We are a long way away from the days when Canadians could travel to the U.S. without so much as a passport, and as the reasons to avoid crossing the border pile up, Canadians are staying away, taking 30% fewer trips to the States than last year.
Yes, but: It’s not just the U.S. that’s rolling out programs to collect sensitive personal data about the people crossing its borders. Earlier this month, the European Union began photographing and fingerprinting all travellers entering the bloc. South Korea has been doing it for years.
Bottom line: Like delayed flights and disappointing hotel gyms, a foreign government stashing your mugshot and prints in their database is now one of the to-be-expected hassles of international travel.—TS