The eyes have it along the Texas-Mexico border, as 1200 WOAI's Michael Board reports the Border Patrol and border county sheriffs are using a new eye-scan tool to check out people entering the US from Mexico.
Larry Guerra of the Border Sheriffs Coalition tells News Radio 1200 WOAI the technology is quick, far less intrusive than demanding papers that people have to fumble around to find, and it is far more precise in determining identity.
"It will come right back and say, 'no, that's not the name you used last week, might want to try again'," Guerra said. "That's opposed to fngerprinting, which takes a while."
He says the technology relies on an eye scan database which is located in the offices of a third party vendor in San Antonio. He says it is one of the most reliable systems in use anywhere in the world.
"The iris itself is unique in its characteristics," he said. "And it is a lot easier than a fingerprint."
The technology is now in place at border crossings in El Paso and Brownsville, and is about to be installed in Del Rio. The plan is to deploy it to border crossings statewide by the end of 2017.
The technology and the need for identity verification for people crossing into the US from Mexico, border officials say, shows the waste of money it would be to spend billions building a border wall. They point out that the vast majority of people who enter the US illegally do so at border crossings, and this technology will go a long ways toward making sure these individuals are stopped.