DHS has announced plans to expand the use of vicinity-radio frequency identification at land and sea borders, something CBP Commissioner Ralph Basham called a “force multiplier,” because it could improve traffic flow.
Part of the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative, the credit card sized, RFID-enabled “PASSport” cards — People Access Security Service — would allow travel documents to be read from several feet away, similar to existing devices that allow drivers to pass through toll-booths without stopping, DHS said.
It said the vicinity-RFID technology is an extension of currently installed identification readers used in the FAST, NEXUS and SENTRI trusted traveler programs with over 250,000 participants, and that no personal information would be transmitted from the signal, just an identification number that would match up with existing records in DHS’s database.
The State Department, which jointly manages the initiative is reportedly soliciting input on what safeguards should be incorporated into the cards, due for implementation by June 2009, to prevent counterfeiting.