CBP’s Biometric Tech Detects Imposter Using His Brother’s Passport at Dulles Airport

US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) used its Simplified Arrival system to apprehend a man trying to pass through US customs with his brother’s US passport. The man in question is a resident of Minneapolis, Minnesota, and was caught entering the country at Dulles International Airport in Washington, D.C.

Simplified Arrival is a facial recognition system that matches a photo of the traveler taken at a border checkpoint to the images of that individual that the government already has on file, including passport photos. The system noticed a discrepancy between the man and his travel document, prompting the 25-year-old to admit that it was his brother’s passport during a secondary examination. The man was then taken into custody after a computer check revealed that he had outstanding arrest warrants for drug and ammunition possession in Ramsey County, MN, and had also committed a probation violation.

“Posing as someone else when attempting to enter the United States is a serious violation of U.S. immigration law and has very serious consequences, such as criminal prosecution,” said CBP Baltimore Field Office Acting Director Keith Fleming. “This is a great example of how our officers use biometric facial comparison to detect the entry of impostors deliberately masquerading as lawful travelers.”

The man arrived at Dulles on a flight coming from Doha, Qatar. He is one of more than 300 imposters identified with facial recognition technology since September of 2018, out of more than 57 million total travelers, and the second spotted at Dulles after a man with a Senegal passport was turned away in October.

CBP itself has spent the past few months aggressively expanding the Simplified Arrival program. The agency has deployed facial recognition technology at Miami International Airport, San Francisco International Airport, Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, Los Angeles International Airport, and McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas since September.

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January 4, 2020 – by Eric Weiss