U.S. Customs and Border Protection is using new technology at many of the nation's border crossings that can read chip-enabled travel documents up to 30 feet from an inspection booth. The radio frequency identification readers are being used at 13 locations and could be in place by June at the 39 most utilized crossings near Mexico and Canada. The chips are currently in 32,000 driver's licenses in the state of Washington and 7,700 in New York.

Three other states--Arizona, Michigan and Vermont--will start using the new licenses later this year. U.S. authorities said the technology will reduce each inspection by six to eight seconds because information will appear on an officer's computer screen before drivers' arrive at the booth.

Some privacy advocates have raised concerns that the document readers lack safeguards and may be vulnerable to hackers lifting information from travel documents, but government officials maintain that protection are in place.

For more on border technology:
- see this federalnewsradio.com article