Current:Home > MarketsMigrants lacking passports must now submit to facial recognition to board flights in US -Elite Financial Minds
Migrants lacking passports must now submit to facial recognition to board flights in US
View
Date:2025-04-16 21:08:43
McALLEN, Texas (AP) — The U.S. government has started requiring migrants without passports to submit to facial recognition technology to take domestic flights under a change that prompted confusion this week among immigrants and advocacy groups in Texas.
It is not clear exactly when the change took effect, but several migrants with flights out of South Texas on Tuesday told advocacy groups that they thought they were being turned away. The migrants included people who had used the government’s online appointment system to pursue their immigration cases. Advocates were also concerned about migrants who had crossed the U.S.-Mexico border illegally before being processed by Border Patrol agents and released to pursue their immigration cases.
The Transportation Security Administration told The Associated Press on Thursday that migrants without proper photo identification who want to board flights must submit to facial recognition technology to verify their identity using Department of Homeland Security records.
“If TSA cannot match their identity to DHS records, they will also be denied entry into the secure areas of the airport and will be denied boarding,” the agency said.
Agency officials did not say when TSA made the change, only that it was recent and not in response to a specific security threat.
It’s not clear how many migrants might be affected. Some have foreign passports.
Migrants and strained communities on the U.S.-Mexico border have become increasingly dependent on airlines to get people to other cities where they have friends and family and where Border Patrol often orders them to go to proceed with their immigration claims.
Groups that work with migrants said the change caught them off guard. Migrants wondered if they might lose hundreds of dollars spent on nonrefundable tickets. After group of migrants returned to a shelter in McAllen on Tuesday, saying they were turned away at the airport, advocates exchanged messages trying to figure out what the new TSA procedures were.
“It caused a tremendous amount of distress for people,” said the Rev. Brian Strassburger, the executive director of Del Camino Jesuit Border Ministries, a group in Texas that provides humanitarian aid and advocacy for migrants.
Strassburger said that previously migrants were able to board flights with documents they had from Border Patrol.
One Ecuadorian woman traveling with her child told the AP she was able to board easily on Wednesday after allowing officers to take a photo of her at the TSA checkpoint.
___
Associated Press writer Elliot Spagat in San Diego contributed to this report.
veryGood! (2)
Related
- SFO's new sensory room helps neurodivergent travelers fight flying jitters
- Western nations were desperate for Korean babies. Now many adoptees believe they were stolen
- Video shows missing Louisiana girl found by using thermal imaging drone
- Road work inspector who leaped to safety during Baltimore bridge collapse to file claim
- Nearly half of US teens are online ‘constantly,’ Pew report finds
- WNBA playoffs bracket: Final standings, seeds, matchups, first round schedule
- 80-year-old man dies trying to drive through flooded North Carolina road
- Midwest States Struggle to Fund Dam Safety Projects, Even as Federal Aid Hits Historic Highs
- Gen. Mark Milley's security detail and security clearance revoked, Pentagon says
- At Google antitrust trial, documents say one thing. The tech giant’s witnesses say different
Ranking
- The FBI should have done more to collect intelligence before the Capitol riot, watchdog finds
- Pac-12 gutting Mountain West sparks fresh realignment stress at schools outside Power Four
- YouTuber MrBeast, Amazon sued by reality show contestants alleging abuse, harassment
- At Google antitrust trial, documents say one thing. The tech giant’s witnesses say different
- How to watch the 'Blue Bloods' Season 14 finale: Final episode premiere date, cast
- Rare G.K. Chesterton essay on mystery writing is itself a mystery
- Georgia election rule changes by Trump allies raise fear of chaos in November
- Civil rights groups call on major corporations to stick with DEI programs
Recommendation
NHL in ASL returns, delivering American Sign Language analysis for Deaf community at Winter Classic
Seeking to counter China, US awards $3 billion for EV battery production in 14 states
Judge denies effort to halt State Fair of Texas’ gun ban
Youth activists plan protests to demand action on climate as big events open in NYC
Person accused of accosting Rep. Nancy Mace at Capitol pleads not guilty to assault charge
Tomorrow X Together's Yeonjun on solo release: 'I'm going to keep challenging myself'
SpaceX faces $633,000 fine from FAA over alleged launch violations: Musk plans to sue
As fire raged nearby, a tiny town’s zoo animals were driven to safety