The U.S. Department of Homeland Security last month activated a new database on incoming travelers

. The System of Records for Border Crossing Information centralizes data collected through a variety of pre-existing border security programs and retains it for 15 years for U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents, and 75 years for non-immigrant aliens. BCI drew criticism from privacy advocates on how long the data will kept and how it might be shared. "The potential for mission-creep and abuse in this system is already high, as the program cites making this data available for 'personnel hiring purposes,' " according to the Association of Corporate Travel Executives, which said the system "appears not to be tailored to addressing security concerns, but rather to an arbitrary data retention period not relevant to law enforcement purposes." Other non-profit groups expressing similar concerns included the Center for Democracy and Technology, the Constitution Project, the Identity Project and the World Privacy Forum.