WASHINGTON (TNND) — U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and Chile’s Minister of Public Security Luis Cordero signed a letter of intent for the Biometric Identification Transnational Migration Alert Program (BITMAP) in Santiago, Chile on Wednesday.

Data sharing benefits everyone except those criminals and bad actors that may be producing or planning nefarious activities against our citizens,” Noem stated, “biometric data is crucial for vetting, tracking and holding accountable the worst of the worst criminals who pose threats to nations and public safety.”

According to the Department of Homeland Security, BITMAP is designed to encourage data sharing between the United States and foreign law enforcement.

Through BITMAP, the United States will receive biometric and biographic information within the borders of other countries. In return, the United States will also share information it collected with partner countries “on a case-by-case basis.”

Information collected and shared will involve disclosing whether an individual is a “Known or Suspected Terrorist” (KST) or poses an immigration, criminal or international security risk.