WASHINGTON, Sept. 13 (UPI) -- Illegal aliens in Texas will be used to test iris scanners as a quicker alternative to fingerprints, the Department of Homeland Security said.
The agency will conduct a two-week test of commercially sold iris scanners next month at a Border Patrol station in McAllen, Texas, USA Today reported Monday.
"The test will help us determine how viable this is for potential (department) use in the future," said Arun Vemury, a program manager at the department's science and technology branch.
The scanners are not widely used, but advances in technology allow cameras to photograph the eye at distances up to 6 feet, rather than the few inches required of older cameras, the newspaper said.
If successful, the scans could more quickly identify suspected terrorists, and others on federal no-fly lists, officials say.
Iris scans might be quicker than fingerprints.
"You can walk up to a wall-mounted box, look at the camera and that's it," said Patrick Grother, a National Institute of Standards and Technology computer scientist.
Not everyone supports the use of iris scanners.
"If you can identify any individual at a distance and without their knowledge, you literally allow the physical tracking of a person anywhere there's a camera and access to the Internet," said American Civil Liberties Union attorney Christopher Calabrese.
