WASHINGTON, (Jan. 26, 2005) — The U.S. Department of Homeland Security, announced today that the US-VISIT biometric screening program at Canada-U.S. border points will begin testing radio frequency identification (RFID) technology.

“We are driven by a vision of the way our borders can and should operate in the future, and that future is getting closer and closer with every layer of US-VISIT we deploy,” said DHS Under Secretary Asa Hutchinson. “Through the use of radio frequency identification technology, we see the potential to not only improve the security of our country, but also to make the most important infrastructure enhancements to the U.S. land borders in more than fifty years.”

The technology will be tested at a simulated port this spring. By July 31, 2005, the testing will begin at the ports of Pacific Highway and Peace Arch in Washington; Nogales East and Nogales West in Arizona; and Alexandria Bay in New York; The testing or “proof of concept” phase is expected to continue through the spring of 2006.

The test is designed to occur in multiple ports that illustrate various weather and traffic conditions.

The optimal technology will allow for a unique and automatic identifier to be issued to pedestrians and visitors crossing in vehicles. The benefits of deploying RFID technology at the land border allow for the automatic recording of visitors’ arrival and departure.

The entry procedures are now operational at the 50 busiest land ports of entry, 115 airports and 15 seaports, and more than 17.5 million foreign visitors have been processed.