I think this "federal law enforcement" friend is a bit off. There's not nearly as much "big brother" going on as you suggest. I can't really go into details. But what looks like a camera taking pictures may actually be the LPR discussed here: http://www.cbp.gov/xp/CustomsToday/2...stoday_lpr.xml

Edit: to the above poster, some of us do actually use the travel registration site.