During the Trump administration, new regulations were proposed to collect personal information such as DNA, iris and voice of immigrants, but the Biden administration did not implement them and they died; the picture shows immigration officials checking incoming aliens at border crossings. (Courtesy of Customs and Border Protection)
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) recently announced the repeal of former President Trump’s expansion of the collection of biometric information such as voice prints and DNA of incoming immigrants and their children and other dependents.
Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) said on the 7th, this decision to implement the executive order issued by President Biden in February.
The original rule, proposed last September, revised the age at which authorities could collect biometric information to 14; USCIS officials made it mandatory for adults applying for immigration benefits, including citizenship, short-term visa and green card aliens, to leave fingerprints, signatures and photographs.
In addition, DHS proposed changes at the time that would have required every citizen applying for immigration benefits, including dependent persons such as the applicant’s children, to submit biometric information unless the person qualified for a waiver from the federal government.
Iris Scans Still Required for U.S.-Mexico Border Entrants
Although the proposal was never implemented, it has resulted in a shift in DHS policy on the collection of personal data from immigrants and U.S. citizens, and several related programs announced last year have raised concerns and questions about their constitutionality from immigration and privacy advocates.
In a statement announcing the policy change, DHS said it would continue to collect biometric information where appropriate, such as iris scans and identification of immigrants entering the country through the U.S.-Mexico border.
The Biden administration has sought for months to repeal Trump-era immigration policies that restrict foreigners from applying for immigration and seeking asylum.
DHS also said last week that it would suspend the requirement that work visa holders submit their spouse’s fingerprints to extend their work visas; the mandatory requirement was enacted by the Trump administration in 2019 for security reasons, resulting in a backlog of processing units and tens of thousands of people unable to extend their visas.
USCIS vowed to repeal the rule within two years, court documents show, and it has been in effect since the 17th.
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