New technology being installed at border checkpoints across the southern border will enable officials to more thoroughly check the identities of people entering the United States, News Radio 1200 WOAI reports.
The Border Patrol station in El Paso has become the first to use the Inmate Recognition and Identification System (IRIS) which reads the eyeballs of people entering the country.
Larry Guerra of the Texas Border Sheriff's Association, says people entering the country illegally frequently use false names and identity papers, and this device will be able to immediately check out their real identity.
"Whether it is somebody who is picked up in San Diego or Brownsville, this technology will allow us to identify that individual, using whatever name he wants to use at the time."
IRIS technology can be connected to a smart phone, giving Border Patrol officers the ability to check somebody's identity in the field, as well as at a border control station or in a detention facility.
The plan is to have IRIS introduced at Border Patrol stations in Val Verde and Cameron Counties before the end of this month, and at all 31 border checkpoints by the end of the year.
Despite claims that a border 'wall' would be the best defense against illegal entry, the vast majority of illegal immigrants cross into the U.S. at existing crossings, at bridges over the Rio Grande or at border points in New Mexico, Arizona, and California.
Officials say IRIS will help them catch more illegal immigrants before they get into the country, especially the dangerous offenders who have been deported and are returning.