DHS plans up to $440M in government-wide purchases of face, iris and fingerprint scanners, including border cameras that read every car occupant's face

On Sept 10, 2026, DHS's Office of Procurement Operations issued a solicitation for a government-wide, multiple-award contract for biometric capture devices, under which DHS and other agencies intend to spend up to $440,736,478 over up to five years. DHS components must use it, and contracting officers at any federal agency can order from it. It has five tracks (fingerprint, face, iris, palmprint and multi-modal), and DHS estimates $258.3 million for multi-modal devices alone.

The requirements include cameras mounted at land ports of entry that automatically photograph every occupant of a car through the windshield as it approaches the inspection booth at 5 to 20 mph. The images go to CBP's Traveler Verification Service to be matched against photos in "Government holdings." Vendors must say whether the cameras capture faces when occupants look away or are asleep, and through masks, visors, hats and sunglasses. Optional face requirements include capture at 2 to 400 meters with remote pan, tilt and zoom, and matching a person's "Scars, Marks, and Tattoos."

DHS says the contract replaces one-off device purchases scattered across agencies. Proposals were due Sept 18, 2026. No award had been posted on SAM.gov as of Sept 29.

How we know: Solicitation read directly. These are planned amounts, not money spent. No awards yet.