The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is allocating $18.6 million to introduce non-binary screening systems for gender-neutral passengers at U.S. airports.

The new technology, set to launch this month, aims to enhance the customer experience of non-binary passengers and improve their civil rights.

The funds for the gender-neutral imaging technology will come from the omnibus spending legislation recently signed by President Joe Biden.

TSA Executive Director for Travel Engagement, Jose Bonilla, stated, “The way that we’ve operated the system is specifically based on [the] blue button if the individual is perceived by the officer to be male, pink button if the individual is perceived by our officer to be female.”

Bonilla added that transgender or non-binary passengers are often flagged and subjected to additional screenings or pat-downs when their assumed gender does not match the technology’s identification.

The TSA receives 26,542 screening complaints per year, with over 6% coming from members of the LGBTQ+ community.

The agency hopes the new technology will reduce the number of complaints and pat-downs.

The TSA has also implemented policies to aid transgender and non-binary passengers, such as updating operating procedures to minimize pat downs and streamlining identity validation by removing gender considerations at security checkpoints.

The agency has also made TSA PreCheck “more inclusive” by including an “X” gender option on the program application.