A Happy New Year…
… OR A SCARY NEW YEAR?
December 27, 2025
Hate to be a Debbie Downer, but in the interest of getting ahead of yet another worrisome federal government policy that has great potential to further violate our privacy and possibly our civil rights, I’m taking a bit of a dive into something flying just under the radar right now.
The Department of Homeland Security is proposing a new rule for ESTA, the Electronic System for Travel Authorization, used by visitors to the US under the Visa Waiver System that allows people from most of the EU and other US allies to come here for up to 90 days without a visa.
The new rule, created pursuant to an executive order requiring tougher screening procedures at US entry points, replaces the current on-line application with a mobile phone app. It requires biometric data like DNA, fingerprints, face, and even iris scanning “when feasible.” Also required: social media accounts from the past five years, IP addresses, and phone numbers and email addresses going back a decade.
Why should we be concerned if none of this applies to US citizens? Two reasons.
First, it doesn’t take a big stretch of the imagination to predict that people who repeatedly abuse civil rights and who aspire to further quash dissent could and might actually expand such a program to include all of us. Our privacy is already compromised. How much farther do we want that to go? Since January of 2025 we have discovered, to our horror, that once the federal government is corrupted there are few protections against overreach. How much more power are we prepared to grant to a system that has shown itself vulnerable to malicious intent?
Second, tourism will surely suffer. I would not willingly provide my DNA or iris scan to what is currently a bunch of criminals so I could see the Grand Canyon or visit relatives I could talk to on Zoom. Who knows their IP address from ten years ago? If you switched providers, it changed. Who pays attention to that? Old email addresses? Old phone numbers? Tourists in the US spent almost $1.3 trillion in 2024 according to the US Travel Association. Can we afford to lose that kind of economic stimulus?
And not everyone has mobile phones or understands the use of apps. What are the implications for those without the necessary technology or ability to use it?
This one little rule change to a program most of us might never use could further lay the groundwork for a surveillance state. (See: https://assets.aclu.org/live/uploads/2025/04/2025-04-28-Data-Linkage-Policy-Paper-v5.pdf ). One little item we’d never notice. But put it together with other efforts to create databases of our social media postings and additional personal information, and you are looking at something potentially quite unsettling.
(See: https://www.snopes.com/news/2025/06/13/citizens-palantir-surveillance-database/ )
There are three years left in this presidential term. Three more years of malevolent indifference to the populace of this country. Three more years of grift, greed, lies, and abuse of government apparatus, including the military, for personal gain or to benefit wealthy supporters. (Read this thread from Jenny Cohn on Bluesky if you want to understand the impact of ultra wealthy ideologues on current US international aggression. https://bsky.app/profile/jennycohn.bsky.social/post/3maz7ncpd3s2v but I digress.)
We are long past the point of hoping these anti-democratic regime lieutenants won’t do the abhorrent things they promise. They are already doing them. Look no further than the nightmare of blatant, illegal kidnappings by ICE and CBP. Nothing will stop them except us.
I intend to write more about what we can do, but right now we can all comment publicly on this proposed rule and share our concerns with our Senators and Congressional Representatives.
To comment on the rule, which must be done before February 9, 2026:
Send email to: CBP_PRA@cbp.dhs.gov and reference OMB Control Number 1651-0111. (That’s CBP_PRA)
Possible email text:
I am opposed to this rule change under ESTA, the Electronic System for Travel Authorization. (OMB Control Number 1651-0111) Its requirements are onerous and overly intrusive, and it contains no language assuring US citizens it will never be applied to them.
How does one provide 5 years of social media? People open and close social media accounts all the time. There are myriad platforms. If one were overlooked, would that be lying on a legal form?
How would one find e-mail addresses from years past? Does this include work e-mail? Because I’m quite sure I’d have no idea how to track something like that down. IP addresses change when providers change. How does one even know what IP addresses one had five years ago if one has moved or left a company?
Asking for physical markers beyond fingerprints is very intrusive. I would never agree to giving DNA or an iris scan, for example. As a tourist, I’d rather not visit a country that demanded this type of personal data. How will a requirement like this impact US tourism?
Finally, although this rule does not currently target anyone beyond those visiting the country for business or travel, there is absolutely no guarantee such strictures would not ultimately be imposed upon US citizens or legal residents at some point in future.
I urge that this rule be clarified and/or re-written to require more readily available information that might keep the US safe from foreign attackers while also allowing for unimpeded business, family, and tourist visits to our country. Safeguards for the civil rights and privacy of US citizens should be expressly included.
Done. Thank you, Amy Parker.