Since December 26, entry and exit from the US for all non-Americans, tourists, visa holders, or permanent residents, is accompanied by mandatory biometric checks.
In addition to a passport and facial recognition, fingerprints, a scan of the color and structure of the eye, which has a unique pattern for each person, and the palm of the hand may be required.
The checks make no exceptions based on age: even children under 14 and seniors over 79 must undergo them.
Canadian diplomats and citizens are not exempt either.
The records are stored in federal archives for 75 years, making each visitor digitally "alive" for decades.
This system has caused mixed reactions: the MAGA base supports it for "national security", while lawyers and civil rights activists claim privacy violations.
Part of the data management is the company Palantir, founded by Peter Thiel, a close Trump ally. The data could be used for global behavioral analysis, creating a “map” of faces, movements and habits, according to Thiel’s vision for the use of technology by governments.